Analysis Of The Birth Of A Nation

Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.

I was very shocked to see how the video showed how the movie Birth of Nation and how race opporates in the U.S are still prevelant today. We are still living a place where people of color are still thrown under the bus for things either they did'nt commit or just because it can be done to them because they are considered a minority and are known as second class citizens. An yes Jim Crows Laws still exsist today in a more discrete form, however, alot of people see it as well. Only difference is now people can join together as a movement to seek some sort of justice. That will probably never happen, since issues such as them ones shown in the video have been going on for years and may still go on for years to come. I believe out of all the information

D.W. Griffith’s film, “Birth of a Nation”, portrayed Klansmen as heroic figures in society. This sparked inspiration in William J. Simmons, who later commenced the second generation of the Ku Klux Klan. Within weeks, the Klan went from just thirty-four members to roughly one hundred. This would set the stage for the next several years.

Birth of a Nation uses its histrionic plot to show how tangled destinies of a southern and northern family before and after the Civil War. It willingly portrays southern blacks as spiteful and uncivil, the northern whites as crafty, dishonest, and conceited, and the film’s southern whites as anguish recurrent radical and erotic mortifications at the hands of white northerners and black southerners before factually being saved by the thoughtful, Ku Klux Klan. The film is divided to show the different aspects of those two sides during this historical time. During this time Africans were coming to America and it started the reconstruction on our country. D.W. Griffith made this film to show us the reality of racism at this point in time.

And in 1915 the NAACP held a nationwide campaign against the film by D.W. Griffifth called The Birth of a Nation. This film was made to glorify the Ku Klux Klan.

The Birth of a Nation, arguably one of the most ambiguous names in the history of cinema, is only about to get more complex and chaotic. The Birth of a Nation was originally the title of D.W. Griffith’s 1915 racist propaganda film about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan who “saved” the South from being dictated by blacks during the Reconstruction era when the North tried to rebuild the South after the Civil War. Now, that title poises a new movie written, directed, produced, and starring actor Nate Parker that dramatizes the 1831 slave rebellion led by enslaved African-American Nat Turner.

In 1619, early American colonists began bringing in slaves from parts of Africa to aid in the production of tobacco and other crops. Abraham Lincoln became the President of the United States on November 6, 1860 and began to work towards ending slavery. The Birth of a Nation, which hit the big screen in 2016, is a historical film based on an enslaved Baptist preacher named Nat Turner who led the only successful slave rebellion in 1831. The making of this film has sparked a national controversy over its depiction of racism and a fictional rape scene.

The film Birth of a Nation was released. The Ku Klux Klan was reborn. In January 1923, Fannie Taylor accused a black man of coming to her home and viciously beating her. A fugitive was originally accused. Aunt Sarah worked for Fannie & James Taylor. On New Year’s morning Aunt Sarah & her granddaughter witnessed a white man visiting Fannie. He visited a lot while James Taylor worked. People gossiped that they were having an affair. A posse gathered to find the black man who hurt Fannie. Jesse Hunter, a fugitive from another town was under suspicion. Aaron Carrier was arrested. Fannie’s white

In this movie the African Americans were treated nicely but in reality they did not feel this way. The masters mistreated their slaves but in the movie they were actually having conversations. There is a scene in the movie where a group of African Americans were shaking hands with the white Americans. The producer of the movie wanted to inform others that the “birth” of America was founded on the basis of equality rather than discrimination. If the producer of the movie did not show how the slaves were mistreated, the people will just see the world in only that point of view; the slaves’ point of view does not exist. Ruling countries oppressed both the undeveloped, barren places and the African Americans. The Birth of the Nation is a perfect example of a form of travel writing; the Americans wanted to inform others about America but this movie was only produced in their perspective. Rather than recording the reality, the produces or writers record history with the input of their own influences.

The history of African Americans in early Hollywood films originated with blacks representing preconceived stereotypes. D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, Birth of a Nation, stirred many controversial issues within the black community. The fact that Griffith used white actors in blackface to portray black people showed how little he knew about African Americans. Bosley Crowther’s article “The Birth of Birth of a Nation” emphasizes that the film was a “highly pro-South drama of the American Civil War and the Period of Reconstruction, and it glorified the role of the Ku Klux Klan” (76). While viewing this film, one would assert that the Ku Klux Klan members are heroic forces that rescue white women from sexually abusive black men. Griffith

When Birth of a Nation was released, the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) panned the film’s disregard of civil rights. As a result, the organization staged a massive protest at an opening of the film held in New York City. The NAACP urged whites to boycott the film. However, the idea of reserved seating and dressing people up as Klansman to advertise the film drew in millions. Even with daily rallies opposing the movie, Birth of a Nation grew to be the most successful picture in the silent movie era. Thus, the NAACP chose to instead pressure the director, D.W. Griffith, in cutting some of the more offensive scenes. One that included a group of

One idea that the movie fails to address is racism that existed in the north. Not only southerners were racist at this time. Malcolm X pointed out many times that northern, white liberals were also part of the problem. A notable

[1] Before I start this essay, I feel the need to remind the reader that I find slavery in all its forms to be an oppressive and terrible institution, and I firmly believe that for centuries (including this one) bigotry is one of the most terrible stains on our civilization. The views I intend to express in the following essay are in no way meant to condone the practices of slavery or racism; they are meant only to evaluate and interpret the construction of slavery in film.

“D.W. Griffith was the first American director to be as well-known as the films he directed, and he was among the very first to insist that filmmaking was an art form” (Lewis 53). This statement is very true. However, the inherent discriminating content in some of his movies also made him one of the hardest to appreciate. One of the most famous examples was The Birth of a Nation (1915), which was in favor of the Ku Klux Klan. After a few more controversial movies, he finally tried to redeem his reputation with Broken Blossoms (1919). Broken Blossoms is Griffith’s attempt at an apology in the portrayal of minorities and the idea of miscegenation within The Birth of a Nation in the midst of a troubling society heading towards the anti-miscegenation law.

Hollywood and the media continues to promote social stereotypes as the white male is portrayed as upper-middle-class professional who is family-oriented while African Americans are depicted as thugs, funny, maids, best friends, and servants. The media sacrifices objective depiction of races to gain better ratings and earnings. Further, in most movies, blacks are depicted as foolish, lazy, submissive, violent, animal-like, and irresponsible. The 1915 film The Birth of a Nation was one of the first films to feature a strong stereotype by portraying blacks as subhuman.