The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad is an Amazon Prime original limited series released in 2021, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead. Directed and adapted for TV by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, the series takes us on a profound, mesmerising, and often brutal journey into America’s past.

The central character is Cora Randall, a young woman born into slavery in Georgia. Played with a plausible depth of vulnerability and strength by South African actress Thuso Mbedu, Cora embarks on a daring escape from the cotton plantation where she lives, haunted by the legacy of her mother, who escaped years earlier without her.

Chase Dillon is Royal, a critical character who helps illuminate for Cora (and us, the viewers) the possibilities and scope of freedom. He skillfully conveys the optimism, idealism, and passionate freedom that Royal symbolizes, providing a contrast to the murkier world in which Cora and the others find themselves.

The antagonist of the plot is the embodiment of malevolence in human form, an uncompromising slave catcher named Ridgeway, brilliantly portrayed by actor Joel Edgerton. Ridgeway is the personification of the institution of slavery itself - relentless, unforgiving, and merciless.

From its very premise, the title, 'The Underground Railroad', brings to mind a historical network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-19th century. They were used by African American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. This concept becomes a literal reality in the show. It presents this historical metaphor as a physical underground train network, filled with tunnels and tracks, stations and conductors, amplifying the fantastic with a blend of magical realism that creates an immersive and singular storytelling experience.

Each stop on this journey provides a new setting, each drastically different from the last. Barry Jenkins, the director of the series, has taken the liberty to experiment with these changing landscapes, which serve almost as separate vignettes or complete stories in their own right. These separate stories paint a vivid tableau of Cora's journey, with each state along the train route being reflective of a different social experiment concerning race in America.

The Underground Railroad is visually stunning and evocative. It’s an epic tale of courage, brutality, and the relentless pursuit of freedom. It vividly captures the pure endurance and resilience of those who lived through one of the bleakest periods in American history, showcasing the horrors of slavery and systemic racism with a stark, unflinching gaze. This is also coupled with moments of sheer beauty, tenderness, and hope that remain intact despite the grueling circumstances.

Musically, the show is a cinematic masterclass. Various auditory schemas are used to punctuate the drama, the tension, the sorrow, and the little joys that are scattered throughout the narrative.

Though it is a series that is centred around history, The Underground Railroad is not a tale that is confined by its time. The themes and experiences reflected in the story find echoes in contemporary issues of race, systemic oppression, and inequality. It makes profound statements on the nature of freedom, the legacy of pain, the spirit of resistance, and the idea of home.

Above all, it shines a light on the human capacity for hope and resilience. It portrays how even in the face of unbearable suffering, people can hold on to the audacity of hope, striving for freedom and human dignity.

Despite the overwhelming darkness of the themes it explores, the series manages to ensure that courage and resilience shine through. The Underground Railroad is, ultimately, about the undeniable human instinct to survive, to resist, to escape any form of subjugation, and to be free.

It is a powerful, thought-provoking, and highly affecting series. A must-watch for those appreciative of deeply moving cinematic storytelling with historical, as well as contemporary relevance. Overall, one could very well say that The Underground Railroad is more than a show. It is an experience and, quite possibly, an essential one.