Africa's Great Civilizations

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Africa's Great Civilizations
Africa's Great Civilizations poster.jpg
DVD Cover
Genre Documentary
Written byHenry Louis Gates Jr.
Directed byVirginia Quinn
Mark Bates
Presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
ComposerTom Howe
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
ProducersVirginia Quinn
Mark Bates
CinematographyGraham Smith
Duane McLunie
Jim Bishop
Gary Clarke
Eli Gamson
Nic Hofmeyr
Tom Pridham
EditorsGuy Scutter
Doug Howarth
Daniel Garcia Robles
Anthony Willis
Running time52–53 minutes per episode
Production companiesInkwell Films
McGee Media
Kunhardt Films
WETA
Original release
Network PBS
ReleaseFebruary 27 (2017-02-27) –
March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01)

Africa's Great Civilizations is a PBS six-hour television series hosted and written by Henry Louis Gates Jr. [1] [2] It aired on PBS in the United States from February 27, 2017 to March 1, 2017. [3]

Contents

Summary

In the series, Gates chronicles African history starting with the birth of humankind to the start of the 20th century. The show portrays 200,000 years of Africa's history and touches on subjects from the arts to writing and the dawn of civilization to the 21st century. [4]

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal release date
1"Origins"February 27, 2017 (2017-2-27)
Omo River, Mitochondrial Eve, Nubian pyramids, Bantu expansion
2"The Cross and the Crescent"February 27, 2017 (2017-2-27)
Yeha, North African Christian theologians, Islam in Africa, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Lake Tana
3"Empires of Gold"February 28, 2017 (2017-2-28)
Fez, Timbuktu, University of al-Qarawiyyin, Mali Empire
4"Cities"February 28, 2017 (2017-2-28)
Kilwa, Great Zimbabwe, Benin, Gondar
5"The Atlantic Age"March 1, 2017 (2017-3-1)
Kingdom of Kongo, Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba, Ouidah, the Atlantic slave trade
6"Commerce and the Clash of Civilizations"March 1, 2017 (2017-3-1)
Zulu Kingdom, Zanzibar, the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopian Empire

Release

On April 26, 2017, Gates introduced the series at the United Nations. The event was spearheaded by the Africa-America Institute. The series was released on both Blu-ray and DVD on May 16, 2017. [5]

Reception

The New York Times praised the series, but said it would have been good if it made more connections between the civilizations of the past and modern Africa. [6] Multifaith website Spirituality & Practice called the series "ambitious and poignant;" [7] while the UK Independent called it "Endlessly enthralling and tremendously dramatic." [8]

References

  1. ↑ Caruso, Nick (February 1, 2022). "What to Watch: Black History Month Specials, Movies and Documentaries".
  2. ↑ "Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s "Africa's Great Civilizations" Shows a Continent's Great Sweep". The New York Times . February 28, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  3. ↑ "'Africa's Great Civilizations': Henry Louis Gates on Why Understanding Africa's History Is More Vital Than Ever". February 27, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Africa's Great Civilizations". Africa's Great Civilizations. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ "'Africa's Great Civilizations' on DVD & Blu-ray". ShadowAndAct.com. Shadow & Act. May 4, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  6. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (February 28, 2017). "Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s 'Africa's Great Civilizations,' Shows a Continent's Grand Sweep". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ Gates, Henry Louis. "Africa's Great Civilizations | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice". www.spiritualityandpractice.com.
  8. ↑ "Africa's Great Civilisations, TV review: Endlessly enthralling and tremendously dramatic" . The Independent. July 17, 2018. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018.
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