Synopsis
The American historical drama miniseries The Good Lord Bird, originally a best-selling novel by James McBride and adapted by Ethan Hawke, follows John Brown, played by Hawke, and his quest for the abolition of slavery. Although Brown was a real historical figure, the miniseries is narrated by a fictional character, Henry Shackleford. Shackleford, played by Joshua Caleb Johnson, is a young, enslaved boy living in the Kansas Territories in 1857.
Shackleford meets Brown after Brown instigates a gunfight with Shackleford’s “master” at his tavern, in which Shackleford’s father is killed. Brown then goes on to “freeing” Shackleford, mistakes him for a girl and calls him Henrietta, before witnessing Shackleford eating Brown’s “lucky onion.” After that, Brown dubs him “Onion.” Shackleford sees little reason to correct the erratic and somewhat frightening white man, so he is fitted with a dress and rather reluctantly continues with Brown during the gory “Bleeding Kansas” conflict that lasted through the late 1850s, when Kansas joined the Union as a Free State.
The show follows Brown and his eccentric crew of abolitionist soldiers as they strive to end slavery. It shows Brown leading the initially successful and then disastrous raid on the US arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859. While the Civil War did not begin until 1861, arguably Brown’s actions put a match to an explosive situation, and made the problem of slavery unavoidable.
Although Onion is embarrassed to be mistaken for a girl, he quickly adjusts to some of the benefits of his assumed gender: less work, more help, more understanding, etc. From Onion’s perspective, the extremely religious Brown often flirts with the line between righteous reformer and madman. As Brown prepares for his secret mission to Harpers Ferry, the miniseries depicts his faith being disrupted by his doubts that white people will eventually be able to rise above racism, and that African-Americans will come together in a revolution, a revolt he hoped to trigger through his raid. While Onion is swept up in Brown’s exploits, he is also trying to figure out his own identity.
Both Hawke and McBride add a dark, comic narrative to the original historical account of John Brown and his motley crew, which gives the miniseries an interesting tone and adds subplots that historical films and series don’t often depict. Hawke eloquently, and somewhat humorously, captures a deeply troubling pre-Civil War era and somehow transforms it into a captivating and varied perspective on an extremely traumatic period in American history.
Critical Analysis:
There is a line in the show, The Good Lord Bird that is drawn between what is real and what was dramatized for the show. This is a TV series, and in the first two episodes, the audience can see the accuracy or inaccuracy. The accuracies surround the basic ideas of Brown and the actions that he does. What is sometimes widely dramatized is the actions themselves. There is even a time in the first two episodes where the reasoning is watered down.
Starting at the core of the show is the reasoning behind why Brown started trying to free the slaves is accurate in the show. Brown believed there was an eternal war against slavery that was unjustifiable. This idea is the whole point behind his actions. Then several times in the show Brown clarifies that to end slavery there must be some sort of violence. He would back this claim of violence with scripture from the bible. Though the reasons Brown freed some slaves were accurate, the way he proceeded in the show was somewhat inaccurate.
The scene where Brown raids Doyle’s home has several inaccuracies. To start with, the first inaccuracy was why he was at Doyle’s place. In the show, they make it seem they are there for retribution for Little Onion’s dad. Brown goes on to his son about protecting his sisters, and how he should protect Little Onion too. This was not the reason why Brown killed Doyle or raided his place. In reality, Brown went for Doyle because Doyle was more active in pro-slavery activities than what was stated in the show. The show portrayed Doyle as a man that was not in support of slavery of any type, and he may be even innocent of being killed. Doyle in reality showed through his actions many times he was for slavery.
Watching “The Good Lord Bird” where abolitionist, John Brown, takes a young, newly-freed slave, Little Onion, under his wing all while being so intentional in loudly expressing his disagreement with the slavery system in America, it is understandable how the mini series may be perceived to have some certain White savior undertones in its delivery and overall portrayal. Upon viewing the series it is reasonable for one to critique the accuracy of the series’ content especially with regard to the enthusiasm that so fueled the motivation of John Brown to carry out his plan of bringing an end to slavery as portrayed on screen. While this concern of whether or not John Brown’s true intentions were accurately depicted in the mini series, understanding the fact that John Brown was a man so deeply rooted in his spiritual-religious relationship with the Lord and truly believed that all men were created equal helps us as viewers to properly gauge the validity of the overall manner of John Brown’s character. In the series we see John Brown being excessively nice, compassionate and caring for Little Onion after being partly responsible for the murder of Little Onion’s father. As noted in the series, this was in fact due to the guilt he felt as a result of the unfortunate event. As a viewer, I questioned whether this behavior would have been likely of John Brown from an accurate historical perspective or if this portrayal served to undermine the severity of slavery and make John Brown out to be more likeable than American history would care to let on. However seeing that John Brown was certainly no pacifist and believed that the only way to rid the country of slavery and all other oppressive ideologies was through a means of violence, I would say that The Good Lord Bird mini series did very well in setting the overall mood for understanding the level commitment and dedication John Brown genuinely had to abolishing slavery.
While the general ideologies of John Brown are accurately presented in this mini series in terms of his overt willingness to enact violence for the sake of true justice, the question of Little Onion’s significance in John Brown’s story is prevalent as well. Historically, while John Brown may not have actually taken a young “girl” under his wing on his mission to free all who were enslaved, what does this choice to include Little Onion’s presence and perspective serve to express about John Brown’s character? What purpose does Little Onion serve overall? I contend that Onion’s presence in the show, while not accurate, serves to make a statement about the level of personal involvement John Brown had in this abolitionist mission. While not all who benefit from the oppressive social system of slavery stand in agreement with said institution, it was not and is not uncommon for an individual to be passive in seeking justice for the oppressed while staying safe and comfortable within the walls of their bubbles of privilege. With that, the portrayal of John Brown taking on the role of caretaker for Little Onion emphasizes a sense of true authenticity with regard to the way John Brown felt towards people in general– all people. Although John Brown may not have taken on the care of a Black child, this depiction speaks to how he viewed all persons to be of value. So, the idea or potentiality of John Brown taking on such a personal role in any Black or Brown person’s life during the slavery time period is not so far fetched.
Suggested Reading: John Brown, AbolitionistThe Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights |
This additional reading entails the life of John Brown and looks at his life as an Abolitionist in the Midwest prior to the Civil War. Written by award winning historian, David S. Reynolds, the book looks into the mind of jOhn Brown and discusses his willingness to kill for what he believed in. While so deeply engrained in the bible and it’s word, we see John Brown go as far as killing people for their involvement in slavery. The book also draws on comparisons with modern day activists and civil rights leaders, looking to find a look into the mind of man so influential on the abolishment of slavery. This book would be recommended for all those who watch the show and are extremely interested in John Brown specifically and the crazy man that he is perceived to be.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.2307/2716299
CIVIL WAR KANSAS AND THE NEGRO
This article from the University Chicago dives into the Civil War specifically in Kansas and the fighting that endured. Kansas was known to have been a very radical state when it came to anti-slavery actions and this article goes into depth on this. More specifically, this article is important because it highlights the ideas and actions of African American’s in the Civil War and their reactions toward fighting in the war. It also goes in depth into how the people of Kansas were against slavery like other states, but thought of African Americans as largely inferior to them, and often treated them as such. This article would be ideal for people that want to learn more about African American history, specifically in Kansas, and how they were treated in a state that was anti-slavery during the Civil War. I would also recommend article to those who don’t understand and want to learn more about Kansas and its position on Slavery.
https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1995summer_watts.pdf
How Bloody Was Bleeding Kansas? Political Killings in Kansas Territory, 1854–1861 by Dale E. Watts
This article from the journal, Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains, looks into the events that took time during an era called Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas is the time frame in which The Good Lord Bird takes place. Bleeding Kansas was one of the key events that led to the abolisment of slavery during the middle of the 1800s. It is a term in US history used to describe the war between those who wanted to abolish slavery and those for slavery. It can also be used to describe the fighting between people of Kansas and Missouri, who had much different views on slavery and the war. This also goes into more depth on the political killings that are seen throughout the series and looks at how many political deaths happened during this era of history in Kansas. I would recommend this article to anyone who found the amount of killings throughout the show and the events that happened in Kansas to be interesting.
Team Work Duties:
Synopsis: Caryl Gonzalez-Gammon
Critical Appraisal: Aubrey Lackey, Paige Wilcox
Suggested Reading: Brooks Brown
Hello Team! Very interesting post. Where is the primary source outside reading, though? I see some secondary sources but not any original material from the period.
Brown’s sons are also a central part of GLB, and they also played a role in his anti-slavery violence. For our class purposes, you might drill down into “Bleeding Kansas,” the idea that a civil war had already erupted before 1861 in Kansas and Missouri, where guerrillas fought for control of state government. Brown’s advocacy had a long history, he was radicalized protecting runaway slaves from recapture under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, then progressed to more violent actions (the Pottowotamie Massacre, a version is presented here) before hatching the Harper’s Ferry slave revolt idea. Perhaps it would be useful to think about Brown as an example of the radicalization of White abolitionists in the late 1840s and 1850s, and also his alignment with Black abolitionist networks. Also, what about the Black characters other than Henrietta? I think the scenes with Pie and Sibonia in ep. 2, especially Sibonia’s speech before she’s killed, tell us something important. They also illustrate different forms of resistance and divisions within the community about how to respond to enslavement. What did you think of the portrayal of Frederick Douglass, and the humor? Was this a realist presentation?