Michael1958 Review of The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

It is an unpleasant story, but cinema wise for it's time-it's great!

[10/10 · 9 November 2002]

A lot of people who view this film, do so with contemporary viewpoints on the story. To be sure, they are not so nice to see. The film was made by D.W. Griffith, who did not make this movie for just any audience. He obviously made it for white people. It tells a story that people of southern U.S. white heritage still felt strongly about in 1915 and possibly even today. The Civil War and Reconstruction, the latter being very reviled. It is not taught much today, but it was facts that some Reconstruction policies helped lead to a rise of groups in the south like the Klan. These policies did help to elevate the former slaves to higher status, but as in any culture. Once the U.S. Army pulled out of southern areas, where they had been the enforcers of Reconstruction-all heck broke loose. Sadly, terrible acts of supposed revenge were carried out by whites upon blacks. From the viewpoint of a man who was born in that time, we get Birth of a Nation. It was how he saw it and how many southern whites saw it-possibly to justify racist Jim Crow laws. The film, despite the story is not just well done for cinema of 1915, it is very well done. Forget the whining about black faced white actors playing the films black characters. I got news for you politically correct folks-black face was in 1915 and had been for almost a 100 years a very common entertainment practice. By 1915 standards, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it or out of place. The fact is this, Birth of a Nation proved that feature length motion pictures were viable and profitable. It paved the way for better films that would come. Yes, the story could have been something different. Filmmakers like Griffith, Spielberg, Selznick and Coen brothers are all driven to make movies about subjects they feel strong about, dreams they had must come to the screen. This was Griffiths, for other's it reflects a nightmare of what was. If I were a black person viewing this film, I would not like it. As a white person I like it for what it helped to bring about for film future. Griffith took a chance, just as a black Spike Lee took on several of his films. Lastly, Birth of a Nation takes the beating by modern day viewers that Gone With The Wind should be getting. That film made almost 25 years later didn't help the plight of black folks either. I personally think that film is wretched in it's depiction of black people. The only difference is that black people appear in some of the same subservient roles that were in Birth. Enough said, see it for yourself, hate it then-but before just passing it by-see it!