1804: The Hidden History of Haiti

1804: The Hidden History of Haiti is one of the very problematic but surprisingly better documentaries on the Haitian Revolution. While less accurate and featuring far fewer serious 'experts' than an older PBS documentary on the same subject, it actually does a better job connecting Haiti to the struggles of black people who are interested in pan-Africanism, black nationalism, Afrocentrism, and black struggles of today. And despite some of its absurd and nonsensical claims, it has a general structure or coherency which is an affirmation of Haiti and black people. This is great and noble, even though I am not interested in hotepism, Afrocentrism, or black nationalism. 

However, the documentary's numerous flaws, inconsistencies, and errors also weaken something with noble intentions. Early in the documentary, one of the Haitian 'experts' claims Africans were living in the island of Hispaniola before Columbus, but without offering any real proof. Then, another Haitian who participated in the film made numerous errors while the former offered a narrative on the Bois Caiman ceremony I never heard before (contradicted by rapper Akala, whose more plausible narrative was never fully explained by the film's narrators or guests despite the differences between the interpretations). By far, Akala was the most intelligent, perceptive, and interesting person in the documentary, despite the presence of Gerald Horne (the random Afrocentrist academics are of very little to me here, nor is Tariq Nasheed). The appearance of so few Haitian intellectuals, historians, and scholars severely weakened this documentary, and will likely limit its credibility to those who study the Haitian Revolution or Haiti itself. Perhaps even more heinous, the positive descriptions of Vodou are matched by caricatured video footage that does not resemble Vodou ceremonies in the least.

As a product of the same people behind the Hidden Colors series, there are some hilariously outrageous and absurd statements. Apparently, the month of August "electrifies" our melanin so that August is a favorite choice for revolutionary action among black people. The attempt to turn Wyclef Jean into some kind of saint was also hilariously absurd and further weakened the film, though it does at least try to incorporate some Haitians like Bello, Danto, and Jean into the story. But why didn't the filmmaker try to reach out to contemporary scholars of the Haitian Revolution or expand on the analysis beyond Makandal, Toussaint, and Dessalines? There was potential here for a better film, but no luck.