Birth of a Nation
Birth of a Nation is a film directed by D. W. Griffith. It is said as a masterpiece of a well researched work of art. Many reviewers assert that the film has contributed a lot to native beauty and narrative form. It attracted an equal number of critics because it was viewed as bias and having great elements of racism. The movie stars before the onset of the civil war. It brings to the viewer’s attention the beginning of slavery. The events in the movie take a form of a story where two families are brought in light. These families are from different races and thus the film as said by Skyanna08, mchaplan and others “is told through these two families and a servant, epitomizing the worst racial stereotypes” (1). Racism in this film increases as the events in the movie develop. This paper while looking at the movie review attempts to address the specific event of reconstructing America over History as well as the portrayal of African Americans by the popular media.
The process of reconstruction is evident in the second part of the film. It is shown when Silas Lynch and Stoneman go to South Carolina mainly seeking to empower the blacks in those areas. This is carried out to get support for the elections. Ben Cameron had an hidden agenda to retaliate against the Southern whites. He does this by establishing the Ku Klux Klan. He is so much into this group that he loses touch with his girlfriend Elsie. The director of this film brings out this reconstruction in such a way that a careful viewer will say that it is discriminating. Gus who was a former slave cannot even marry his choice of wife Flora who opts to commits suicide rather than being married by such a man. This reconstruction is aimed at maintaining the status quo. It is like those behind it are doing it in such a way that the Africans should remain playing subordinate to the whites.
The representation of African-American History in this film is one which is marred by slavery. It is very clear that they were being enslaved and in the process many lost their lives. History has it that this many of them even after abolition of slave trade were still being treated as slaves in all manner of areas. They did not get fair and equal playing ground to their white counterparts. Historically this movie clearly shows how African Americans were sidelined. The civil war paints a somehow different picture as shown by the two friends who are of different entities yet they are true friends and the end of their lives though in the opposite ends they die side by side and this shows that it is possible for people to coexist regardless of their races. Surrender of Robert E. Lee and showing the assassination Lincoln brings out the historical context of the film.
Culturally, Griffith makes the history of the Black American culture with a lot of realism. He uses an interesting technique known as off-center framing on the characters. This brings out the characters quite incorporated in their natural environment. The film brings out the kind of American cultural misunderstandings and their effects in the society especially during the emergence of the new century where racial hatred dominated between the whites and the blacks. African –Americans in this movie are seen as the factor behind the misfortunes facing the country. This are problems related to politics, social not forgetting economic hardships during the period of time covered in the film. Many whites viewed this movie as depicting the reality on the ground especially where politics are concerned. It was seen as the true picture of racial politics. Critics blamed Griffith’s film as the main contributing factor to all the menace.
The movie was described by the then newly-formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as too bias in the way it brought out the African-Americans verses the Whites. This was seen in the film’s “portrayal of blacks, its proclamation of miscegenation, its pro-Klan stance and its endorsement of slavery” (American Movie 1). The biases are seen when some characters ascribe to that the African-Americans can be enslaved but the same is unheard of to the whites. The blacks are also denied voting rights when they are not allowed to do so. It discriminated even on social matters such marriage where cross-sex marriages were opposed. Real blacks in the film also performed insignificant roles while their white counterparts play the significant roles. The film brings out the dangers of war and its effects to the people.
In terms of ideology, the movie comes out advocating for socialism and the Marxism ideology. This is because the African-Americans are not appreciated and are seen as intruders and thus cause for conflict. Africans were captured from their native homes and auctioned in America as goods. The slaves are overworked and only given short breaks for their meals. It appears in the movie that the white Americans had an economic advantage over the African-Americans and that the Africans were seen as remarked earlier as the cause of any economic hardship. Every bad happening was associated with them.
In conclusion, I can strongly say that although Griffith encountered a lot of criticism this masterpiece just portrayed the realities which were evident on the ground. He clearly showed that misunderstandings never vanish when war ends but people have to act to restore broken relationships where we view one another as equal. This movie was an historical reminder and also a tool calling Americans to co-exist.
Filmsite Movie Review: The Birth of a Nation. Last modified in 2012. Accessed July 19, 2012. http://www.filmsite.org/birt.html
Skyanna08, mchaplsan et al. Synopsis for The Birth of a Nation.Last modified 2012. Accessed July 19, 2012. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004972/synopsis
