A Student's Thoughts on the Importance of "The Birth of a Nation"

Below is the astute and very well-written perspective on a film called, "The Birth of  Nation" which debuted in 1915. Here is the trailer:

What this trailer does not do well is express the racially loaded tones and scenes of the film. For more on that, see the clip to the left.

One student wanted to content with this film, discussing the ways it acts as an important primary source document -- not of the Reconstruction Era, but of the time in which it was produced and became wildly popular. Here is their work: 

              Film has become an essential component in the understanding of history.  As opposed to other artifacts, films have the ability to visually preserve live action events.  Visual evidence has proven to be important in history since it can be more explicit than other forms of evidence; visual evidence is hard to ignore.  Films have the ability to make a record that better captures the values of a society than any other media.

 “The Birth of a Nation” has forever encapsulated the shameful racist history of the United States of America. “The Birth of a Nation” is one of the best examples of how a film provides additional understanding to historical events.  “The Birth of a Nation” was originally used as a recruiting tool for the Ku Klux Klan but now serves as an educational tool that gives deep insight to the racist ideologies of early 1900s America.  If there was ever any doubt of racism being a major part of the history of the United States of America, “The Birth of a Nation” demolishes those doubts. 

“The Birth of a Nation” is truly a charcoal smudge on the American flag, as it encouraged racism.  Racially prejudicial scenes were explicit and plentiful.  One memorable scene features a Southern white family being saved by the Ku Klux Klan in a heroic fashion from predacious “blacks.”  Scenes from the film reveal how a good portion of the population of the United States felt towards “black” equality.  This film was designed to make the “white” American viewers in 1915 more inclined to hate “blacks” who are becoming freer through political provisions.

“The Birth of a Nation” captures the feelings of an attempt of revisionist history.  Director, D. W. Griffith wanted to revise certain aspects of political happenings during the early 1900s.  In an attempt to thwart “black” progress, Griffith produced animosity towards “blacks” through pure revisionist attempts at history.  For example, “The Birth of a Nation” showed “blacks” as the aggressors in the American Civil War and showed the Southern plantation owners as purely defending themselves.  Like many racist Caucasians, it seems that Griffith was scared of losing political and social supremacy over “blacks.”  The early 1900s saw a dramatic change in the political standing of “blacks.”  Books such as The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois, landmarked the fact that “blacks” wanted to be treated more fairly and were not going to take “no” for an answer. 

The reason that such an immoral film is considered one of the “greatest” American films ever made is for its ultimate failure in its attempt at revising history.  Instead of making all Americans believe racist ideologies, “The Birth of a Nation” made future citizens question the motives behind certain political writings, music, and/or films.  The film reminds society of the racist environment and ideologies that once ruled America.

 “The Birth of a Nation” has proven that cultural values and opinions change overtime.  A good example is the opinion Americans held during World War II and the opinion Americans hold now regarding World War II.  During World War II the majority of the American people felt it was a necessary war in which America was the “hero” but after almost seventy years many American’s acknowledge the strategic path America took during the war that ensured economic prosperity after it.  “The Birth of a Nation” gives perspective on how historical events are viewed differently when taken out of context, or viewed from various vantage points.

“The Birth of a Nation” ironically teaches a viewer the unintended lesson to be aware of historical reversions made by special interest groups though it originally tried to accomplish the opposite.  Will Americans have a totally different view on what America’s objectives were with its “War on Terror?”