Lawrence Hill AMH 2010 11:47 a.m.
D. W. Griffith's "Birth of a nation" is regarded as one of the most influential films of all cinema. Films in American culture directly influence American culture's thoughts, feelings and future actions. Entire generations in American can be described by the films of their time. However, the other name for "Birth of a Nation" is "The Clansman" it is a piece of extraordinarily racist entertainment. As a people we have come together against slavery and the horrible things that happened during that time in our nation. Should we still exalt one of cultures most beloved films even though it supports highly racist ideas?
I believe that the film does show distinct moments of pure racism and bigotry. The film portrays blacks as sub human monkeys incapable of the most basic tasks. It even makes the clansmen in the story to be the heros of America. The film should be remembered for its significance to our culture in film but should be recognized as a perpetrator of violence and evil. Our culture should know our culture.
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Evan Squires, AMH2010, Monday-Friday 10:30 am
It is truly difficult to reconcile the fact that "The Birth of a Nation" has been so highly regarded with the fact that it is so racist. For blacks to be so portrayed nowadays would be absolutely unacceptable. I think this movie has to be just taken for what it is: a look at a culture which is hopefully nearly extinct.
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