D. W. Griffith and Film Technique
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D. W. Griffith's 1915 silent film "The Birth of a Nation" is one of the most influential films ever made, and one of the most controversial. The movie was the first important innovative motion picture utilizing creative technical skills that were unmatched in its day, and that influenced filmmakers of later generations. The story, based on Thomas Dixon's novel The Clansman, is told in a melodramatic style. The basic plot centers on the friendship of the Camerons, a Southern family, with the Stonemans, a Northern family, and it is a friendship that is both threatened and tested by the Civil War and the Reconstruction period. The Southern family is ruined by the War, the Negroes (the word used at the time) gain some power in the South, and the Ku Klux Klan is formed in "self-defense" of white families and homes. The theme or spirit of the film can be viewed as a rationale and homage to the birth of the KKK. It is the storyline, viewpoint, and characterizations of Negroes that set off a nationwide controversy, one that exists to this day.This paper will deal with Griffith's revolutionary techniques and artistry as well as the cultural significance and impact of the film. Response to the film was overwhelming. The visual and emotional impact of the film was spellbinding for audiences of the time who had never seen a long feature film or Griffith's kind of storytelling and images before. In 1948, one of America's most respected film critics, writer James Agee, called "Bi
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all of which were negative. "The brutes, the bucks, and the tragic mulatto all wore the guide of villains" (Bogle 14). Griffith was also the first important director "to divide his black women into categories based on their individual colors" (Bogle 14).
"The Birth of a Nation" has often been called a masterpiece, an incredible accomplishment whose impact has lasted to this day. The film is the paradigm for the successful "big" Hollywood movie through "Gone with the Wind" (1939) to Ridley Scott's "1492: Conquest of Paradise" (1992) and beyond. It also established the technique and style of film making that has come to be called classic (Ellis 28).
Given that the film is a significant milestone in the development of cinema, and was incredibly popular and financially successful, why has it also been vilified. Quite simply, the content is racist and many characterizations and situations are offensive as well as inaccurate. The movie is divided into two parts. The first is just prior to the Civil War and the War itself, and the second part, "Reconstruction," centers on the aftermath in South Carolina from a white Southerner's point of view. The white supremacist, violently racist Ku Klux Klan is portrayed as saviors. The Car
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2573
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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