How far did BIRTH OF A NATION influence and reflect changing perceptions of race, 1850 – 2009?

Question 1

Date

Answer 1

1915

Question 2

Directed by

Answer 2

D W Griffith, a southern white.

(Parallels with ‘Gone with the Wind’.

Question 3

Brief synopsis

Answer 3

Covers Civil War and Reconstructions. Set mainly in South Carolina. Based on ‘The Clansman’ a book by Thomas Dixon, a friend of the director.

Question 4

Context

Answer 4

First full-length Hollywood silent film. 3 hours.`

Question 5

Representations of race and racial issues

Answer 5

Pre-Civil War: shown as servile labour. Negative.
Reconstruction: Radical Republican white characters intent on exploiting the south. Black men interested in white women.
KKK are heroes who serve justice, prevent black Americans from voting.

Question 6

Reactions/Impact

Answer 6

1) Grand Gala opening.
2) President Wilson had a private screening at the White House and liked it. Reportedly remarked; ‘my only regret is that it is all so terribly true’.
3) Some Historians at time, e.g. William Dunning and school of Reconstruction historians at Columbia University supported these views.
4) NAACP called for it to be banned. Black audiences wept at the portrayal of blacks.
5) Northern white audiences cheered.
6) A white man killed a black teenager after seeing the movie.
7) Riots in Boston and other cities. Some areas denied its release, e.g. Chicago, Ohio, Denver, Pittsburgh.

Question 7

Changing perceptions?

Answer 7

One of most racist films ever made in Hollywood.

KKK refounded in 1925. Membership grew from 1915. 100,000 embers by 1921 and 4 million by 1924. Increasing attacks on black Americans.
1919 – summer – Red Summer – increasing attacks (but due to end of WW1)?
= major deterioration in race relations.

Griffith later made ‘Intolerance’ which attacked race prejudice but this had much less impact and success