D. W. Griffith's Impact On Film

Edwin S Porter was an expert builder of photographic equipment and a film projectionist, he worked for Thomas Edison. In 1901, Porter began operating the camera, and was responsible for directing film, from there, Porter was credited with almost all of the innovations of the pre-1908 period by making first story film titled Life of an American Fireman. Porter was also the one who is credited with editing, he also successful in creating models. Porter’s biggest contribution to cinema, is concentration on fiction filmmaking.

It started out with GW Griffith. He was the director of many movies and short films. His early work in short films “were the first to combine all the new narrative devices, including cross-cutting, multiple camera positions, inter-titles, and close-ups.” (Matthew Hunt) GW Griffith is considered the first modern director. A household comedian name Charlie Chaplin was a very early actor in the history of cinema. Originally Charlie Kaplan was in London but around 1910 he immigrated to America. In America Charlie Chaplin starred in many silent movies. One of the movies he is most well-known for is “the tramp” this movie gained him worldwide popularity and became the world’s most recognizable actor. Soon GW Griffith noticed and began to work with Charlie Chaplin. After creating some more films “Chaplin founded the independent studio United Artists in 1919.” (Matthew Hunt) between 1908 in 1911 there was a very short period called the Brazilian cinema. During the short time some very popular productions were

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.

While the 1970’s and 80’s marked a decline in movies featuring black actors and a lack of black directors, the mid 1980’s through the 1990’s invited a new generation of filmmakers and rappers, engaging with the “New Jack” image, transforming the Ghettos of yesteryears into the hood of today. A major director that emerged during this time was Spike Lee. According to Paula Massood’s book titled, Black City Cinema, African American Urban Experiences in Film, “…Lee not only transformed African American city spaces and black filmmaking practices, he also changed American filmmaking as a whole.” Lee is perhaps one of the most influential film makers of the time, likely of all time. He thrusted black Brooklyn into light, shifting away from the popularity of Harlem. By putting complex characters into an urban space that is not only defined by poverty, drugs, and crime, it suggests the community is more than the black city it once was, it is instead a complex cityscape. Despite them being addressed to an African American audience, Lee’s film attract a mixed audience. Spike lee’s Do the Right Thing painted a different image of the African American community, “The construction of the African American city as community differs from more mainstream examples of the represents black city spaces from the rime period, such as Colors…, which presented its African American and Mexican American communities through the eyes of white LAPD officers.”

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.

The United States has long been a country that has accepted that change is a necessity for prosperity and growth. However, each change within the nation's history was hard fought against those who resisted such change either through racism, bigotry, and blatant discrimination. African American cinema is enshrouded in history that depicts these themes of racism, struggle, and deprivation. Yet, this same cinema also shows scenes of hope, artistic spirit, intellectual greatness, and joy. Black actresses, actors, directors, producers, and writers have been fighting for recognition and respect since the great Paul Robeson. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's was fueled by black cinema through films like A Raisin in the Sun.

Micheaux’s purpose behind his film blacks about the issues of racism and stereotypes. The film opens with a young educated African American woman, Sylvia, who travels to the North to raise $5,000 to save a local school for black children. During her visit, Sylvia meets a handsome white man, Dr. Vivian. Along the way, she also encounters a wealthy philanthropist, Elena. After Elena learns about Sylvia’s work, she decides to give her the money that she needs. However, Elena’s southern friend discourages her from giving the donation and says that “blacks cannot get an education.” (Please Cite this source). Conversely, Elena decides to give $50,000 which will be more than enough the save the school. According to Bogle, Within Our Gates sparked a controversy with a lynching scene. The lynching scene shows a white mob lynching Sylvia’s adopted parents and almost killing their son, and also the mob lynched the white man’s servant, Efrem. In addition, one particular scene shows Sylvia being chased by a white man who almost raped her but notices that Sylvia is his daughter. In the end, Dr. Vivian confesses his love for Sylvia and the film ends with their marriage.

Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were

He joined the Mutual film corporation taking his stock of company actors with him. He formed a studio with the studio manager of Majestic Studios and it became known as Reliance-Majestic Studios, later to renamed Fine Arts Studio. Through the corporation, he directed a produced “Birth of a Nation.” The Birth of a Nation is a film that’s a classic in African American history dealing with the civil war and reconstruction era. He had a successful career and produced 51 movies before he passed away, five which were deemed as historic in the America. On July 23, 1928, David Wark Griffith was discovered unconscious in the lobby of a Los Angeles hotel. He died of cerebral hemorrhage, which is a type of skull bleeding that occurs within the brain tissues or veins, while on his way to a hospital in Hollywood. He was buried in his hometown Kentucky, but had a public service at the Hollywood Masonic Temple to honor him. As a legacy to him he has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, so he can be remembered in history as the amazing film director, writer, and producer he

[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.

D.W. Griffith was a filmmaker that came into the spotlight in the early 20th century. He is known for his expressive style and controversial topics, but his moralist Christian Values and Victorian view of women made its way into the subtext of his films. Touching on themes like innocence and the matronly roles of women, he developed an archetype for the women in his movies, and Lillian Gish fit it.

Born in 1875 in Kentucky, D.W. Griffith was raised in poverty after his former Confederate officer father died at ten, Because of the limited education he got, D.W. spent most of his pastime in the library. He found his dream to be a playwright and left his small town to gain acting skills. He would later drift around the country starring in non-major productions. Eventually he had a change of heart and decided to work behind the camera. He spent five years at Biograph Company. His first round of films, A Corner in Wheat (1909), Fighting Blood (19110 & Under Burning Skies (1912) displayed his style of using crosscut editing to build tension, acute details to heighten reality, and the the use of the camera as a vehicle for expounding his views

In this essay I will be looking at the representation of interracial relationships and how these relationships have been portrayed in cinema from 1903 up until present. I will be discussing the how miscegenation has been represented to audiences over the years as a problem, and something that is unnatural. This essay will be anasyling scenes from movies such as Birth of a Nation, and What

Every day millions of Americans go to theaters with their families to enjoy movies. Watching films has become one of the most popular activities to do. Although plenty of people know of Charlie Chaplin, most do not know any real information about him. Charlie Chaplin has been a major contributor to America’s advancement in the film industry from his innovative beginnings, and perseverance to improve and succeed, to his overall achievements in history.