Griffith’s movie, The Birth of a Nation (1915), is a film that speaks volumes about American society during her civil war as well as the reconstruction era. The silent film is an adaptation of Thomas Dixon’s novel, The Clansman and the Leopard’s Spots ( Lehr, 2015) . The movie was released during the silent years in the production industry since technology did not allow for films with voice. The film traces the effects of the civil war on two families: the Camerons from the South and the Stonemans from the North. The film can be split into two parts: from the civil war to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the reconstruction period ( Lehr, 2015) . The choice for the film is informed by its resourcefulness with regard to American literature and history representation because it reflects much of the American society in the 19 th century.
The Birth of a Nation movie was the longest film that was produced in its time with a duration of three hours ( Cinema Hitory, 2014) . With the first part about the civil war, the Camerons and Stonemans families are shown as friends and their children intermarry. Later, they join in their respective armies for the civil war. However, during the war, Cameron’s two sons and one Stoneman’s son die. One of Cameron’s sons, Ben, escapes death after being rescued by Confederate soldiers. He later gets married to Elsie, another daughter of Stoneman. Ben Cameron was faced with charges whose sentence was to be hanged. However, Elsie his wife sought to seek President Lincoln’s pardon which he did not get because the president was assassinated. Later in the movie, we see Ben Cameron forming and leading a group of militia, the Ku Klux Klan which was later banned ( Cinema Hitory, 2014) . The film also highlights democracy matters where in the South the blacks are allowed to vote widely while the whites are denied to vote. The elected politicians are later shown displaying unbecoming behavior instead of performing in their duties. After production, the film attracted a lot of criticism and public outcry from the black Americans because it depicted them as sexually aggressive towards white women and also as unintelligent. The film ends with two couples intermarrying from the two families ( Cinema Hitory, 2014) .
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The film, when put in its context, represents accurate information about the country. The assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth is dramatized in the movie ( Cinema Hitory, 2014) . From history, the president was assassinated in 1865 at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. Again, racism in the USA has long been there from the colonial era ( Lehr, 2015) . The colonialists practiced segregation with regard to privileges they accorded to each race. For instance, there were schools for native Americans. Racism was a common phenomenon in the 19th century and was banned in the 20th century although it is still a major problem today ( Lehr, 2015) . From the film, racial discrimination episodes are evident. For instance, the white are barred from practicing their democratic voting right while the blacks are stuffing ballot papers in the ballot boxes. Again, Gus, a black man is seen pursuing Flora, a white woman, in a forest in a bid to forcefully marry her ( Cinema Hitory, 2014) . This depicted black people as sexually aggressive towards white women.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) tried to control the spread of the film due to the high racism issues claims leveled against it especially by the African American but the movie could not be withheld ( Lehr, 2015) . President Woodrow Wilson was the president at the time of the movie production and he actually gave room for some screenings to be shot at the White House. The president was later quoted saying that the movie was a true representation of American society ( Lehr, 2015) .
The Ku Klux Klan was white supremacy advocating American group that was rooted within the protestant regions and objected Jews and Catholics and other factions (Stokes, 2008). The group used terrorism in its operations. It was anti-immigration and supported white nationalism while taking extremist reactions. Griffith mythologized its origin in his film whereby it was formed by Ben Cameron for the purpose of guarding the interests of the whites. The group’s violent actions were justified in establishing an honest government. In the film, the group suggests restoring order in the Southern states (Stokes, 2008). This is what occurred in the Southern America confederate states because through the group’s extremism they managed to have full control over them. However, various accounts show that the film is not extreme to the actual extent because the reconstruction period which saw the formations of groups like the Ku Klux Klan was more ruthless. The blacks could not associate with the whites ( Lehr, 2015) .
In conclusion, Griffith’s film, The Birth of a Nation is a film that truly represents the true image of the US in its “dark era.” The film found its place in the government registry due to its historical wealth with regard to the 19 th century American society (Stokes, 2008). However, showing the Ku Klux Klan as a victorious group was inappropriate since it cemented the white supremacist ideas which are somewhat hard for the people to overcome. The film is a reliable source for literary representation.
References
Cinema Hitory. (2014, July 10). The Birth of a Nation (1915 film by D.W Griffith) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/I3kmVgQHIEY
Lehr, D. (2015). The Birth of a Nation. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Birth-of-a-Nation
Stokes, M. (2008). D.W. Griffith's the Birth of a Nation: A History of the Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
