D. W. Griffith's classic film Birth of a Nation

Such films went a long way toward fostering the mindset of segregation that would remain entrench in American indian lodge until Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

If we read one scene of the film, we can promptly see that African Americans viewing the film would not only be anger but realize that whitens' tending of skin color contributed to the detriment and racism so prevalent in American society during this era. Flora is one of the youngest characters in the film. A white girl, the dramatic scene of her being pursued through the woods by a down(p) man, as her older brother, Ben, tries to save her. face with the prospect of lo infernal regiong her "honor" to a black man, Flora rather chooses to leap to her death from a cliff. The message is clear: it is cleanse to die with honor than give in to the desires of a black man. At this period of time, the Ku Klux Klan becomes more active in protecting whites by attacking blacks.

As an African American viewing the film, it is readily apparent that racism and prejudice become "institutionalized" in American society. This occurs because government policy reinforces segregation and paints a fork over of Afr

ican Americans as inferior and hazardous to whites. This is clearly expressed in one scene where pertly elected Southern Congressmen enter their chambers, as Griffith uses a lap-dissolve and angular shots to show the Ku Klux Klan riding to the rescue of the white woman, Elsie.

Scenes like this and that of Flora's fear of blacks that are unfounded in the case of Gus, show that white fear of blacks adds to the prejudice, racism, and hostility subjected upon blacks without valid cause or reason.

In his review of the film, critic Roger Ebert (4/2003) maintained, "As slavery is the great sin of America, so The Birth of a Nation is Griffith's sin, for which he tested to atone all the rest of his life" (p. 4). Griffith was shocked that the great unwashed felt he was a racist upon the film's release, even to the point of editing out some of the scenes people found nearly racist. However, Griffith allegedly based the film and its stories on actual historical accounts of the era. As such, while the film may paint a negative picture of African Americans, it is more than likely honest that such events as the film depicts did regularly occur in this era. This is something any African American viewing
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