The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Yeah!  The KKK is here to save us!

Hailed as one of the first true masterpieces, The Birth of a Nation combines all of the techniques we have seen in D.W. Griffith's previous work to tell the story of America through the Civil War and subsequent Reconstruction.  The film has an epic scope (187 minutes) that incorporates cross-cutting shots, close-ups, camera tints and dolly shots to tell the tale.  The civil war battle scenes and Lincoln's assassination are particularly remarkable.

I hated this film.

Many praise this film as a masterpiece. In rushing to extol the film's virtues, critics perform an intellectually dishonest trick.  They separate the technical achievement of the film from the story it tells, discounting the point of the film in favor of discussions about camera work.

Think about that for a moment.  How many of us walk out of a theater today thinking, "That was the most offensive film ever screened, but the camera work was amazing!"?  We don't.  Because you cannot separate technique from the story it serves.

What is the film about?  It's a three-hour recruitment video for the Ku Klux Klan.  It's a propaganda film that recasts the North's entry into war to free the slaves as a misguided mistake that can only be rectified by whites forming their own army.  I'll deal with the film as propaganda in a separate article.

The basic story is of a southern man who fights valiantly in the war only to see his town and government overrun by blacks.  He creates his own southern army of whites dressed as ghosts to fight back against the encroachment of the former slaves on his life. The man (and his family and friends) find themselves at the center of a number of historical events throughout the running time of the movie.

There are certainly elements of the film to be admired.  I cannot remember seeing Lincoln's assassination on film, let alone at this level of detail and drama.  The war scenes are remarkable with the camera seeming to film from miles away, capturing the full scope of the battlefields.  Griffith here uses close-ups, iris shots and camera movements in ways that bring the audience into the plight of the characters. 

That makes the crimes of the story here worse. It's really well done, but it's a really well done racist portrayal of blacks.  It's not just propaganda, but very effective propaganda.  Blacks are filled with lust for white women.  They cheat to win elections.  They abuse their power and enter the hallowed halls of the state house barefoot, drinking and eating fried chicken.  Seriously.

Bringing Griffith's talent and vision to this tale is like Michaelangelo focusing his artistry on celebrating Goliath instead of David.  Griffith is the most influential moviemaker of his time with the biggest budget and a great cast and he chooses to share his admiration for the KKK.


I knew about the controversy with this film, but I was not prepared for how over-the-top racist this is.  I was expecting some subtlety.  There is none. This is three hours making an argument for a cause that is morally reprehensible.

Unless you are a film historian, I cannot recommend this.

Watched on Netflix Watch Instantly
Picture from Entertainment Weekly