Birth of a Nation 1915

The director D.W. Griffith,or Griffin, crafted a film, by all technical accounts, ahead of its time. The Birth Of A Nation was recognized for that aspect. When the President Of The United States saw he agreed with the film maker's vision. It was originally titled The Klansman. It was not the only film to shed a negative light on a minority. D.W. made a film depicting Chinese as villainous(this spawn a genre called The yellow menace). D.W. thought he was trying to save White America with these films. Actress Lillian Gish was interviewed about her role and experience in the film. I don't think she was apologetic about it because she had to work and I don't think she saw what this film meant in terms of race relations between blacks and whites. I had seen parts of the film.

 

The title G was The Clansman written by Thomas Dixon from his stage play. Had you seen the flick? I did and I noticed that the word 'Aryan' was used to mention the friendship of the Southerners and the Northern Union veterans who hid them. When Lincoln opened a month back it was the first time since Birth of a Nation that it mentioned the relationship of Thaddius Stevens and his Black lover.

 

I had not seen The Birth of A Nation. I want to see Lincoln.

 

I do agree with you. This film needs to be seen. I have watched in college and disgusted by it. It is a classic, the content is gross and has a lot of misinformation.

 

I saw this in film class. Hard to watch, but should be seen by all. People need to be reminded of how media can shape the public's perception of just about anything.

Everyone should see this film and study it's affects on the society of the day. Then, contrast it with the facts as we know them from an academic point of view.