The Birth of a Nation

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

While discussing D.W. Griffith before we watched The Birth of a Nation, we were told that he grew up in the South. That means that a lot of things that he put into this movie was a everyday thing for him. He did not mean for it to come across as racist, but that is definitely how it was perceived. When watching the movie, I saw the glorification of the Ku Klux Klan. He also depicted every African American male as unintelligent and very aggressive especially towards white women.

2. Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.  

I chose the article, D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation and it talked about he influence of The Birth of a Nation. The article's first line is "D.W. Griffith's 1915 Civil War epic, The Birth of a Nation, with its groundbreaking camerawork -- including close-ups, night photography, and tracking shots -- transforms forever the way films are made and images perceived. " That automatically glories the film. The writer continues on about the controversy that followed. It is said that most of the white audience in that time loved the film. Also, the KKK used the film as a way to get more members to join. After that, "National membership peaks in 1920 at an estimated 4.5 million, and Griffith's heroic portrayal of the Klan allegedly inspires several lynchings." Obviously, the African American community was not pleased. The NAACP had just been formed and they continuously protested against the film. They did not want it to be played anywhere and it caused so much trouble that the Mayor of Chicago refused to issue a permit to anyone wanting to display it. In the end, the writer explained that D.W. Griffith was and still is recognized for his historical accuracy and phenomenal film making.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/birthofanation_a.html

3. Apply the article to the film screened in class. 

After reading this article, I went back to review parts of the film to see how great D.W. Griffith's film work was. In the article, it said that he had "groundbreaking camerawork." As I was reviewing it and understanding the time that this film came out, I realized how absolutely correct the article was. D.W. Griffith had tremendous camera angles. No matter what the controversy is behind the film, he deserves all of the credit for his genius camerawork.

4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Overall, I have decided that The Birth of a Nation has to be one of the greatest films known to man. I've decided this because D.W. Griffith wanted people to think and feel and that's exactly what he got out of this movie. Everything that he put into it from the camerawork to the stereotypes and the storyline, he is still even today being talked about. He made the film not only entertaining, but also accurate. People were only upset because it depicted the truth. Whether white men of that time thought they really did have to put the African Americans back in place or the African Americans felt like they were being stepped on, it was all true. His historical accuracy makes the lives of people today who want to know the truth about that time period a whole lot easier.