Читать книгу Freedom Facts and Firsts - Jessie Carney Smith - Страница 22

The Birth of a Nation was first released on February 8, 1915. The film’s depiction of African Americans as idle and brutish sparked a massive wave of protests from thousands of blacks. It was based on Thomas Dixon’s 1905 melodramatic staged play, The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan, the second volume in a trilogy that includes The Leopard’s Spots: A Romance of the White Man’s Burden, 1865–1900 and The Traitor. Directed by D.W. Griffith, the film set off an explosive controversy that revealed Hollywood’s power to reflect and shape public attitudes about race. It set the stage for a decades-long struggle to improve the portrayal of blacks on film and served as a stimulus for the birth of the black film movement. The subject matter of the film elicited immediate criticism from the NAACP for its racist portrayal of American blacks, its miscegenation, its pro-Ku Klux Klan stance, and its endorsement of slavery.

Riots broke out in major cities. Subsequent lawsuits and picketing tailed the film for years when it was re-released in 1924, 1931, and 1938. The resulting controversy only helped to fuel the film’s box-office appeal, and it became a major hit. Even President Woodrow Wilson, during a private screening at the White House, was reported to have enthusiastically endorsed Birth of a Nation. Film scholars agree, however, that it is a key film in American movie history. It contains many new cinematic innovations and refinements, technical effects, and artistic advancements, including a color sequence at the end. It had a formative influence on future films and has had a recognized impact on the development of film as an art form. In addition, at almost three hours in length it was one of the longest film to date. Nevertheless, it still provokes conflicting views about the representation of African Americans during the Reconstruction era.

Linda T. Wynn