Released in 1915 Birth of a Nation, produced and directed by D.W.
Griffith, has been considered to be groundbreaking film. It introduced
many new film techniques to cinema such as the “iris” effect, panning
camera tracking shots, cross cutting between scenes to create excitement
and suspense, as well as filming scenes from many different angles.
For this reason, the film critics were shocked at how realistic the
quality was, it even appeared to have a “documentary quality” (Dirks).
It was not however, just the new techniques that caused a buzz about the
film. Birth of a Nation is explicitly racist.
The film is told in two parts. The first part opens with the following words, “The bringing of the African to America planted the first seed of disunion.” These beginning words almost blatantly make the connection between the African slaves coming to America, and them being workers who slave over cotton fields by the use of the words “planted the first seed”. This very first title card only foreshadows the horrible depictions to arise later in the film.
We are then introduced to two families, the Northern Stonemans and the Southern Camerons. As the Civil War is declared, the two families become separated. We see what was supposed to be viewed as a typical Southern slave-owning household for 1860 (the year the first part was supposed to be from). We see the slaves as entertainers to their white masters as they dance and preform for the family.
Battle scenes primarily dominate the first part of the film. Members from both sides of the family die, the North eventually reaches “victory”, and food and clothing become scarce in the South. The first part ends with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The second part of the film, “Reconstruction”. It is in this part that we really see the horrific racism spiral. The Ku Klux Klan is formed, “a veritable empire of the South, to protect the Southern country” (Dirks). By terrorizing the Blacks, the KKK believed they were “saving the South from powerlessness” (Dirks). The film follows the White leaders as the KKK begins to rise. In the ending scene, shots of dead bodies and people suffering stream. Then we see white-robed figures emerging as if representing the peaceful answer to the destruction the war left behind. Any person watching the film would know however that these white-robed angelic figures were no angels at all. They were the Ku Klux Klan, very very opposite of the peace the film had them representing.
Although the film has been highly praised for its artistic style that was different than any film from its time, it is also disgustingly racist. The film caused many riots and protests, specifically organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who pushed for the film to be condemned or at least censored (Sterritt). According to Griffith, his “sole intention was to tell the story of the Civil War and the postwar Reconstruction that really happened, from his own perspective as a Southerner who accepted the outcome of the war.” and that, “offending black Americans was the last thing he wanted to do” (Sterritt). This is highly hard to believe.
Not only were all black characters played by white actors in blackface, but they were also blatantly depicted as, “slow-witted, servile, and sexually rapacious” (Sterritt). This film so degrading with its inaccurate portrayals marks the beginning of the racism within our country, translated into cinema.
The film is told in two parts. The first part opens with the following words, “The bringing of the African to America planted the first seed of disunion.” These beginning words almost blatantly make the connection between the African slaves coming to America, and them being workers who slave over cotton fields by the use of the words “planted the first seed”. This very first title card only foreshadows the horrible depictions to arise later in the film.
We are then introduced to two families, the Northern Stonemans and the Southern Camerons. As the Civil War is declared, the two families become separated. We see what was supposed to be viewed as a typical Southern slave-owning household for 1860 (the year the first part was supposed to be from). We see the slaves as entertainers to their white masters as they dance and preform for the family.
Battle scenes primarily dominate the first part of the film. Members from both sides of the family die, the North eventually reaches “victory”, and food and clothing become scarce in the South. The first part ends with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The second part of the film, “Reconstruction”. It is in this part that we really see the horrific racism spiral. The Ku Klux Klan is formed, “a veritable empire of the South, to protect the Southern country” (Dirks). By terrorizing the Blacks, the KKK believed they were “saving the South from powerlessness” (Dirks). The film follows the White leaders as the KKK begins to rise. In the ending scene, shots of dead bodies and people suffering stream. Then we see white-robed figures emerging as if representing the peaceful answer to the destruction the war left behind. Any person watching the film would know however that these white-robed angelic figures were no angels at all. They were the Ku Klux Klan, very very opposite of the peace the film had them representing.
Although the film has been highly praised for its artistic style that was different than any film from its time, it is also disgustingly racist. The film caused many riots and protests, specifically organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who pushed for the film to be condemned or at least censored (Sterritt). According to Griffith, his “sole intention was to tell the story of the Civil War and the postwar Reconstruction that really happened, from his own perspective as a Southerner who accepted the outcome of the war.” and that, “offending black Americans was the last thing he wanted to do” (Sterritt). This is highly hard to believe.
Not only were all black characters played by white actors in blackface, but they were also blatantly depicted as, “slow-witted, servile, and sexually rapacious” (Sterritt). This film so degrading with its inaccurate portrayals marks the beginning of the racism within our country, translated into cinema.
 |
| The caption that starts off the film, foreshadowing the racism to come. |
 |
| Another caption from the film, justifying the KKK |
The ending scene in which white-robed figures appear.
 |
| D.W. Griffiths opinion on censorship of his film. |
