Sic Semper Tyrannis

So last night I watched The Birth of a Nation, and it was more like the Slow, slow Death of a Nation. I had grossly underestimated the painfulness that is watching a three-hour long silent film. While it may have been extremely boring at most parts to me, I have done some research as to why this film is deemed to be one of the most significant movies ever. Apparently a lot of the camera techniques that I find usual and average by today's standards were pioneered in this movie, these techniques being: facial close-ups and deep focus (using lenses of smaller apertures to focus on one part of the scene). It is fascinating to me, that techniques like these, that are now staples in the motion picture industry were premiered in a movie like this.

What I mean by, 'a movie like this' is: one of the most controversial films of all time and one of the highest gross films for its time. After watching the movie I can see why both of those things are true.

No matter what time period it is, now or a hundred years ago, black-face is offensive. As far as i could tell, at least most of the blacks portrayed in this movie were whites in black-face. In addition to that, the dialogue of the blacks is a bizarre, butchered English. Given, it is a silent-film, none of the dialogue was actually spoken, paragraphs of quotes occasionally are shown on the screen, for example: "Dem free-niggers f'um de N'of am sho' crazy", which is a quote from the Cameron family's house servant when introduced to the Stoneman's. Also, as is made apparent by the quote I just cited, the word 'nigger' is used in this play. I am sure that it will be in a significant amount of the movies I watch over the next three weeks, and I was sure that this movie would be no exception, but I was surprised by the context. The only time i can distinctly remember the word 'nigger' ever being used was in cases like my example, were one black person was talking about the other. Having said that, white people in the movie did still use the dated term 'negro', but I am sure that was not the only this that blacks were refered to by whites a hundred years ago. Maybe D.W. Griffith omitted the word in that context on purpose, in hopes of a positive reception.

In the entire first half of the movie the only way that blacks are portrayed is by either dancing around or working in cotton fields. Literally, only those two things. The blacks in the movie play a much bigger part in the second half which is about the Reconstruction. According to the movie at least, the blacks gained voting power and oppressed the whites by bullying them out of their votes to get a "mullato" representative. There is a scene where congress is shown to be predominately black, and this was possibly the most offensive scene in the movie. Basically, all the black representatives are drinking, eating or dancing during this session of congress. At one point, one of the black representatives takes his boot off to itch his foot, and the speaker of the house rules that shoes must be worn. Not only do I not think that the political oppression of the whites from the blacks shown in this movie is historically accurate, but it is full of offensive stereo-typing. Blacks are also shown terrorizing the town and breaking into the Cameron house, raiding the cabin that Dr. Cameron has found refuge in and chasing after the Cameron daughter in attempts to find a newly legal inter-racial marriage. Just as all these horrible things are about to happen, the Cameron's killed, married off, or worse, the Clan comes riding in on horses to save the day and are shown as the heroes. While Ben Cameron is shown to be a flawed character, he hunts down the black man, Gus, that leads his little sister to kill herself, and presumably lynches him with the rest of his clansmen, he is made out to be a sort of romantic anti-hero. The Cameron family is destroyed by the Civil War and is further ruined and torn apart by the rising power of the blacks during Reconstruction, so Ben Cameron's actions and forming of the KKK is justified apparently and the Clan will go on to rebuild the White Empire of the South.

On the other hand this movie did pioneer many popular film techniques as I already explained. It was also one of the earliest full-length feature films. Despite its content, the film did have a good story. Even though it was mostly Aryan propaganda the story had romance, action and revenge. There was a rising action, falling action and climax. A lot of the writing in the movie was honestly poetic, even if the meaning was not, the words used were poetic. It was a well written movie, and it will continue to be watched because of that and because of its controversial content. While I may not have been the happiest camper watching the movie, I am glad I watched it. Today I will be watching No Way Out.