Please watch the opening few minutes of Birth of a Nation and then skip to the 3:05:00 mark and watching the last seven minutes of the film.
Add a comment here noting your reaction to the film.
Friday, May 22, 2026
Birth of a Nation
Please watch the opening few minutes of Birth of a Nation and then skip to the 3:05:00 mark and watching the last seven minutes of the film.
Add a comment here noting your reaction to the film.
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The Birth of a Nation movie definitely is indicative of how far Hollywood has come in production, quality, and telling a story. The first thing that caught my attention was the credits appearing at the beginning that acknowledged the actors and actresses up front. While today's movies give you a glimpse at the characters (mostly the famous ones), all the others are at the end of the movie.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the movie itself goes, I found it to start with love, fun, and peace. Then by the end, it was discriminatory when it came to blacks (sign of the times). Black people were portrayed in a negative light, while the KKK was portrayed as heroes by eliminating the threat of the blacks to the white people. The KKK was held in a high regard and paraded through the town. Rather disturbing from my point of view. I'm thankful I only watched a portion of the movie.
The Birth of a Nation is impressive from a filmmaking standpoint because of its scale, length, and use of cinematic techniques that were innovative for its time. The large battle scenes, editing, and storytelling help explain why it was such a popular and influential film. However, the film's portrayal of African Americans and its glorification of the Ku Klux Klan are deeply disturbing. The ending presents the Klan as heroic saviors, which promotes racist stereotypes and a false version of history. Knowing that the film contributed to the revival of the KKK makes its impact even more troubling. My reaction is that while the movie is important to film history, it also serves as an example of how powerful media can spread harmful ideas and shape public attitudes. I was surprised by how openly racist some parts of the film were. It is hard to believe that so many people accepted those messages when the movie was released. Watching it helped me understand why historians say it is both an important film and a very controversial one.
ReplyDeleteThe Birth of a Nation is definitely different than what we are used to watching today. My reaction to the movie was that it seemed calm, somewhat happy, and peaceful in the first few minutes. Then, skipping to the end of the movie, we can conclude the chaos and despair from the actors' faces, given all that is going on in the movie. This is kind of like what we have been learning over the course of the content. At the end of the Civil War, we as a country were happy it was over and ready to continue with our nation. But as time went on, more problems started to occur until it seemed that there was chaos everywhere and the people of our country were desperate for our government to do something about it.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was cool to see an older movie and how it was made. The credits beginning at the start of the movie made the movie have an old vibe to it. Towards the end of the movie, I thought it was crazy how they pictured the KKK as a heroic group, freeing the white people from the dread of the black people. I couldn't believe that people thought like this and were able to get away with these ideas being that we are the nation of freedom and democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of the Birth of a Nation showed an average American society in both the North and South during the late 19th century. Nothing about the beginning made me feel uneasy. If anything it made me feel happy. In several clips it showed what would lead to the freeing of the slaves. As well as blacks and whites living in unison without their being conflict. Overall, it was quite peaceful and I enjoyed the soundtrack. The end of the movie showed the complete opposite. I skipped straight to 3:05:00 and was unpleasantly surprised with a group of Klansman raiding a cabin. Although, they appeared to have saved the father and daughter from an angry group of african american soldiers. I interpreted it as the bad guys doing something good by helping other bad guys. Someone watching this in 1915 would not have looked at it that same way. It is unfortunate how much a movie can persuade and change the minds of its viewers.
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