The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith - Movie Review Example

The birth of a Nation is a silent film that is directed by D. W. Griffith in the year 1915, which is based on when America went through a civil war, as well as the aftermath that occurred thereafter. It was inspired by The Clansman, which is also a novel and play. This film is quite well known for its awesome effects, camera tricks, and its lighting, and it also caused a great deal of controversy in that it positively portrays the Ku Klux Klan (American Movie Classics Company LLC). Griffith is quite creative in how he transforms the military opposition between the North and South to the opposition between Blacks and Whites. The film begins during the prewar times. The American civil war has not yet begun. The film turns its focus on two families, the Stonemans and the Camerons. The Stonemans are from the north. Their family consists of Congressman Austin Stoneman, who is an Abolitionist, his two sons, and Elsie, his only daughter. The Camerons are a family from the South. This family consists of three boys, of which Ben is the most important one, as he plays a very important part in the film, and there are two girls, Margaret and flora (Griffith). One day, both Stoneman boys go down to visit the Cameron’s at their home in South Carolina. Quite a bit happens during this visit. The older Stoneman son and Margaret Cameron fall in love. Following this, Ben Cameron begins to practically worship a picture of Elsie Stoneman. Everyone has a good time until the civil war begins. Everyone then has to part ways, and the men must join the armies in which they belong (Griffith). Our attention turns to a Black militia that is led by a White man who raids and destroys the Cameron house. Confederate soldiers rescue Margaret and Flora, and they are then taken to safety. Unfortunately the younger Stoneman son and two of the Cameron sons are killed in the war. Ben Cameron is badly wounded in battle (It is in this particular battle that he is considered a hero and earns the title, Little Colonel.) and then has to be taken to a hospital in the north for treatment and recovery. To his surprise, Elsie is working as a nurse there. Soon after, the civil war ends with President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, which takes place at the Ford’s Theater. This event enables Congressman Austin Stoneman and other radicals to punish the South for Secession. Griffith portrays these radical measures as being quite typical of the Reconstruction Era (Griffith). After the civil war, reconstruction begins. Congressman Stoneman, along with a mix raced friend, Cilas Lynch, goes to the South to observe the scene. Black soldiers parade through the streets, seeing to it that only the Blacks can vote in the election. Legislation is then passed that gives the Blacks new freedoms, such as allowing interracial marriages and Blacks to hold positions as high officials, which require White people to salute them (Griffith). While all of this is going on, Ben Cameron is inspired by White children who pretend to be ghost to scare off the Black children. The inspiration that he gains from this particular event gives him the ammunition to devise a plan to give White people more power. He forms the Ku Klux Klan. Elsie is upset that he is involved in such a project (Griffith). Meanwhile, Gus, who is a formal slave who educated himself and gained notoriety in the army, proposes marriage to Flora. Flora is terrified of his advancements and flees into the forest. Gus chases her down and traps her on a cliff, so she is unable to escape from him. She jumps to her death, as that is her only way to get away from him (Griffith). Upon finding out about this, the KKK becomes angry. They hunt Gus down, subject him to a trial where he is found guilty, and he is then sentenced to death. The KKK then puts the body of Gus on the porch of Mr. Cilas lynch, who becomes angry and responds by cracking down on the KKK. The Black Militia then leaps into action, retaliating in the worse way. This causes the Cameron brothers to flee and hide out in the home of two formal Union soldiers who aid them in fighting for “their Arian birthright,” as the caption calls it (Griffith). Because Congressman Stoneman is not present, Cilas seizes this opportunity to force Elsie to marry him. The KKK hears about this and disguises themselves in order to come in and rescue her without being noticed by the authorities. They have fortified themselves and are no longer as weak as they have been previously. They are now rising to power (Griffith). After the Klan rescues Elsie, a Militia led by Lynch attacks the hiding place where the Cameron brothers are hiding. The Klan wins this victory, and then is all powerful now (Griffith). The film then jumps to the scene when there is another election. The blacks are disarmed, and the Whites rise to power again. The film ends with a double honeymoon (Griffith). In the beginning of the film, we see a great deal of military opposition between the north and the south, and Griffith uses some symbolism to portray this. For instance, the scene in which The Stoneman boys visit the Cameron family home is when we first see some symbolism, as this home is one of the most important symbols in the film. This home, as well as its location, is supposed to represent the South before the civil war begins, such as what it stands for, as well as its political position. And the Northern family visiting this home represents the foreshadowing of the changes that are about to take place in the old South. Furthermore, the fact that this house and the visit by the family is filmed with such a deep focus, close up, and in practically the clearest lighting really allows this image to be imprinted into our minds. We are allowed to relish on what the old South is like before the war begins (Griffith). The war begins, and at first, we do not see a Black militia. We see two armies that consist of all White men fighting one another; however, Griffith adds the Black Militia that is led by a White leader into the mix, as part of the fighting in the war, and this enables the military opposition between the North and the south to smoothly transform into the opposition between Whites and Blacks. The opposition between the Whites and Blacks is the prime focus of the entire second part of this film (Griffith). To really enable us to see the opposition between the Blacks and the Whites, we see a jump-cut to a scene, when Congressman Stoneman and Lynch go to South Carolina. We see the close-up of how Lynch is biracial, which is a real turnoff to those in the South at that time, and we see how the election, when the Blacks and the Whites are fighting in the streets. Deep focus is also used on this scene, which really drives home the fact that the opposition is serious, as our focus, as the viewers, is gravitated towards these events. The focus is especially on the rioting in the streets that occurs when the Whites are turned away from the voting boxes, so that the Blacks can stuff their votes in (Griffith). As far as the lighting is concerned for this particular seen, it is done in such a way that everything is accented that needs to be and all of the fine details can be seen. It is impossible for any viewer to miss a beat, as far as this scene is concerned. The lighting is not too bright, and it is not too dim. It is just right for the comfort of the viewers (Griffith). The Black Militia surfaces numerous times in this film. Of course, they first surface when the opposition is transformed from the military opposition between the North and the South to the opposition between the Blacks and Whites, which is not restricted to the South, but it is all over the country. Then, we see the Militia again when Lynch cracks down furiously on the KKK. In this scene, the Black Militia goes after members of the KKK, and the Cameron brothers hide out in a hut. There is quite a bit of jump-cutting in this scene, as well, so we are able to see the intensity of the action. And finally, the Militia appears one last time, when Lynch forces himself on Elsie. At this time, of course, the Blacks are overthrown, and the KKK gains its power (Griffith). While “The Birth of a Nation” is a film that has a lot of controversy surrounding it, as it is of an explicitly racist nature due to how it depicts Black people as being worthless and the White people as being triumphant winners of victory, it is remembered as one of the greatest film works in history, due to its lighting, special effects, camera tricks, and the lighting work. This film is actually voted as being one of the top one hundred films in America, taking its place at number forty-four, in 1998. Film scholars agree that this film is one of the greatest pieces of artwork in filming history because of its innovative technical advancements, its artistic appearance, and the color scheme that was chosen for the film’s ending (American Movie Classics LLC). Despite its severely controversial message, this film is truly a masterpiece at best. Work Cited American Movie Classics LLC. "The Birth of a Nation." Film Site. N.p., 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. . Film: The Birth of a Nation. Dir/Pro. W D Griffith. 1915. Read More