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D. W. Griffith's Film The Birth Of A Nation

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Originally titled The Clansman, the film The Birth of a Nation premiered on the 8th of February 1915. To this day it is considered the most racist film ever. Film Director D.W. Griffith intended to demonstrate how the Civil War and Reconstruction would lead to the United States becoming a unified nation. Silent films did not interest many people, nor could they understand the purpose of having the lives of two families collide during the Civil War. By only showing actions, facial expressions, and gestures, viewers had the power to interpret the meaning of certain scenes in their own way, which left plenty of room for criticism on the overall message of the story.
The portrayal of this film of African Americans was simply racist. In the few …show more content…

The depiction of African-Americans in Griffith's film was not seen as wrong according to the law since he had the right to express himself in whatever way he wanted. People would debate on whether this was morally correct and if this film should be considered a form of freedom of speech/expression. In the process of attempting to ban his film, people realized that a limitation needed to be set for freedom of expression. Griffith knew that most viewers would be against his film, but he saw the premiere of The Birth of a Nation as an influential message to millions. Overall Griffith’s message to the public was that Whites were still superior and that if anyone should be hated, it should be African …show more content…

blacks in many cities rebelled in a violent manner which did not resolve anything. The existence of racism had already been demonstrated hundreds of times in public before this film was released. Looking back at Griffith’s purpose, it seems that he wanted to see a reaction from Africans in order to prove himself right about what they really were. The injustice and inequality African Americans faced was a constant weight that was put on their shoulders. A reaction was expected from them because sooner or later they would have had enough of being treated with no

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W. Griffith 's film "Birth of A Nation" with its derogatory portrayals of African Americans and celebratory depiction of Ku Klux Klan violence. If there was an injustice being done in America; it was being spoken against in the paper. The paper spoke out against the injustice in the military and during both wars; World War I and World War II. After the wars, The California Eagle focused on the injustices of California.

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While watching this movie it does not take long to realize that most of the characters are black men. Also the communication style between the characters is very different from an average American that may be watching the movie. Through viewing the culture and communication styles of the characters it is very easy to tell that the director of the film has some experience in this type of life style. A good example of this is when Tre tells the story about hooking up with a girl. He tells a story about sneaking into a girl’s house then the grandma coming in and almost catching him (Singleton, 1991).

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For example, sanitation workers had to carry bags of garbage that had holes in them and since they were paid low wages, they ended up poor on welfare. Not only was this film was a way of seeing another turning point during the civil rights movement but also, African Americans fighting for justice. Even though I was not born during that time, I can understand how they felt because it wasn’t that easy. In today’s society racism isn’t as bad as what it was during that time. Besides we still have times were we face racism in our lives so I would say in some areas racism is still a

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Even though they protested peacefully, the government and police officers still abused them. It was heartbreaking to know they were severely injured and the president did nothing to stop the feud. For example, I was shocked when one of the characters, Jimmie Lee Jackson was murdered by James Bonard Fowler who was one of the Alabama State Troopers. African Americans are equivalent to other human beings in the world, all in all, they should be treated

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Although the movie does seem to want to get a point across about racism being relevant even in mainly black neighborhoods, it mostly furthers society’s institutionalized racist thoughts towards the black

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Towards the beginning of this movie, many blacks were looking at the white men with hatred for raping and nearly killing a ten year old black girl. The men transformed the innocent little girl’s life forever. The men were instantly

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What I mean is a African American may view this film as a means to diminish their culture, a white person may believe this film makes them look evil and a police officer may believe this film makes officers look like they are above the law or feel like they should be above the law. These differences can cause conflict when

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The African Americans were targeted and vulnerable due to the color of their skin. This is unfairness. In the movie, not only were the men treated unequally but also Nurse Evers was. She was used by the government to help conduct the experiment due to the color of her skin. They knew that she would be able to easily mislead these men into believing they were going to receive good health although the complete opposite occurred.

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When the film, The Birth of a Nation came out in 1915, it revived the Klu Klux Klan (KKK). This film reinforced the idea of white supremacy and attracted huge audiences. The number of lynchings also increased noticeably. The NAACP campaigned against the film and asked people to boycott it. In 1930, Walter White became the new leader of the NAACP.

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