Silent Film Birth Of A Nation example essay topic

314 words
In the past semester we have covered many topics. From John D. Rockefeller and Industrialization, to World War I. The thing that sticks in my mind is the first movie we watched in class, Birth of a Nation. The silent film Birth of a Nation was produced in 1915. The director was a man named D.W. Griffin. The film is based on Thomas Dixon's The Clansman. In this short film D.W. Griffin depicts a time period after the Civil War known as Reconstruction, through his own eyes.

Through this film, Griffith addresses the devastation wrought by the Civil War, especially in the South and the social disruptions caused by Reconstruction. This film reflects resentment by depicting radical Republicans and "uppity" African-Americans as the cause of all social, political, and economic problems since the Civil War. When Griffith released the film in 1915, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (or NAACP) and other groups protested. However, President and former history professor Woodrow Wilson viewed the film at the White House and proclaimed it not only historically accurate, but like "history writ with lightning". Like Woodrow Wilson, many whites felt it a truthful and accurate portrayal of racial politics, so much so that they flocked to join the rejuvenated Ku Klux Klan. In its presentation of the as heroes and Southern blacks as villains, it appealed to white Americans due to its mythic view of the Old South, and its thematic exploration of two great American issues: inter-racial sex and the empowerment of blacks.

Ironically, the film's major black roles (stereotypically played) were filled with white actors - in blackface. [The real blacks in the film only played in minor roles.] Its climactic finale helped to assuage America's sexual fears about the rise of defiant, strong (and sexual) black men.