The Birth Of A Nation

The Birth Of A Nation is a 1915 silent movie which was directed by D.W. Griffith and based on the 1905 novel and play, The Clansman: An Historical Romance Of The Ku Klux Klan by Thomas Dixon Jr, a known supporter of the Republican Party and Ku Klux Klan, two conservative political parties. The film was also known as the first feature film in general to be released.

Despite its success, The Birth Of A Nation caused understandable controversy. It depicted black people as violent savages, prone to committing some of the most hated crimes i.e. murder and rape, which is obviously not true in reality. The film also represented the KKK as the 'heroes' - again absolute nonsense. In one scene, a white woman hysterically quotes "I want to marry a white man". The film was hated by the Democratic Party. Although The Birth Of A Nation may have labelled D.W. Griffith as the 'father of film technique', the film goes by the book, is politically incorrect and is fairly disturbing to watch.

As the result of the controversies, D.W. Griffith released his next film Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout The Ages (1916), which is regarded as more liberal than his previous film.