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

1426 Words6 Pages

Silent film was always a big part of American culture, but as the roaring 1920's began to approach, with the introduction of movies that championed progressive ideals, movies exponentially grew in popularity. Big corporations such as Warner Bros., Paramount, Fox Film Corporation, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, were all looking to be the first to get their feet in the door of the motion picture era and with those feet came some of the first popular movies and actors. Even in the early introduction of films to American society, the power of these pictures was undeniable in engendering social change in America. The U.S. government in World War I utilized the silent film industry, promoting “The Birth of a Nation”, a silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. …show more content…

An issue of the Idaho Statesman in 1916 captures the appreciatication shown by veterans from the 1860s, describing the movie as a “peerless photo production”. With great anticipation for the movie, many reserved seats for the movie and even announced that they would watch it three times. Furthermore, despite the initial calling for censorship, “The Birth of a Nation” gradually gained traction within the colored community as well. “We wish to say to our readers that we have experienced a change in opposing so many silly matters that rise concerning the interests of the colored people of this country” the Kansas newspaper Plaindealer writes. “If the white people of Kansas can stand birth of a Nation to be displayed on the canvas, the colored people can stand it.” Despite preconceived indignancy of its misportrayal, the colored community slowly accepted the cultural value of the film. “While the basic theme is historic in its foundation, its intent is the fundamental one of true drama” the Fort Worth Star Telegram writes in 1919. America’s attitude towards the movie industry was slowly changing. People discussed and bonded over the success and the popularity of the movie and in doing so, “The Birth of the Nation” united various demographics initially thought to be permanently

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