The Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time

I just completed reading a book by Melvyn Stokes: D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation: A History of "The Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time."

Front cover of the book.

Below is the publisher's description of the book:

In this deeply researched and vividly written volume, Melvyn Stokes illuminates the origins, production, reception and continuing history of this ground-breaking, aesthetically brilliant, and yet highly controversial movie.

By going back to the original archives, particularly the NAACP and D. W Griffith Papers, Stokes explodes many of the myths surrounding "The Birth of a Nation" (1915). Yet the story that remains is fascinating: the longest American film of its time, Griffith's film incorporated many new features, including the first full musical score compiled for an American film. It was distributed and advertised by pioneering methods that would quickly become standard. Through the high prices charged for admission and the fact that it was shown, at first, only in "live" theaters with orchestral accompaniment, "Birth" played a major role in reconfiguring the American movie audience by attracting more middle-class patrons.

But if the film was a milestone in the history of cinema, it was also undeniably racist. Stokes shows that the darker side of this classic movie has its origins in the racist ideas of Thomas Dixon, Jr. and Griffith's own Kentuckian background and earlier film career.

The book reveals how, as the years went by, the campaign against the film became increasingly successful. In the 1920s, for example, the NAACP exploited the fact that the new Ku Klux Klan, which used Griffith's film as a recruiting and retention tool, was not just anti-black, but also anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish, as a way to mobilize new allies in opposition to the film.

This crisply written book sheds light on both the film's racism and the aesthetic brilliance of Griffith's filmmaking. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the cinema.

Why did I read this book?

In early October 2016, I heard about a new movie that appropriated the title of the silent movie classic, The Birth of a Nation. The new movie was actually about the 1831 Nat Turner slave rebellion and was reputed to encourage contemporary African-Americans to a new revolt.

Since I had never seen the original D.W. Griffith "Birth of A Nation", I thought it would be worthwhile to watch it in order to understand the controversy. Fortunately, the local public library had a DVD copy of the 2011 Kino Video production.

Cover of Kino DVD

The movie is long: 192 minutes. It is divided into two parts: the civil war and post war reconstruction. The DVD set contains two versions: 1993 restoration with a soundtrack adapted from the original score by Joseph Carl Breil and the 2011 restoration with a new score by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. I watched the 2011 restoration over at least two evenings.

The library description: 

Nearly 100 years after its initial release, this film remains one of the most controversial films ever made and a landmark achievement in film history that continues to fascinate and enrage audiences. It is the epic story of two families, one Northern and one Southern, during and after the Civil War. D.W. Griffith's masterful direction combines brilliant battle scenes and tender romance with a vicious portrayal of African-Americans.

In addition to the challenge of watching a long, silent movie, the print quality of this 100 year old movie was disappointing and difficult to watch. Modern eyes likely would reject the movie merely because of its technical obsolescence. The first half was relatively tame while the second part was melodramatic and the center of controversy.

1915 Original movie poster

I was frustrated because there was little supplemental material in the Kino package to put any context or significance to the film. Of course, there were some additional material but no commentary by film historian or similar. Also a short documentary added little information to better appreciate the significance of the film.

In seeking more information, I found several references to the Stokes book and was delighted to find it at my local library.

Table of Contents

Introduction (p.3)
1. Premiere in Los Angeles (p.15)
2. Thomas Dixon, Jr. (p.27)
3. David Wark Griffith (p.55)
4. Making The Birth of a Nation (p.81)
5. Transforming the American Movie Audience (p.111)
6. Fighting a Vicious Film (p.129)
7. Griffith's View of History (p.171)
8. After Birth (p.227)
9. Conclusion (p.277)
Notes (p.287)
Bibliography (p.373)
Index (p.395)
432 pages total

This certainly satisfied my objective of more details about the film, its production, and the controversy. The book has lots of foot notes. At first, I read all of these but after a couple chapters I skipped them unless there was a comment (rather than a reference).

I read the book slowly taking about 12 weeks (renewed 3 times). It was not light reading.

I was surprised at the early opposition by the NAACP and the degree of success. There seemed little regard for free speech. The ACLU took up the cause briefly in the 1940s but apparently abandoned the movie against the onslaught of the charge of racism.

While the book is academic, it does not take an objective approach. The book is not vitriolic but contains a subtle assumption that the movie is inherently racist and therefore evil.

After viewing the original silent movie and reading this book, I have an increased understanding of the issues involved with today's charges of racism and "white privilege."

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Links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/festival-of-the-arts/foa-people-publication/melvyn-stokes

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/dw-griffiths-the-birth-of-a-nation-9780195336795?cc=us&lang=en&#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_People
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._W._Griffith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_a_Nation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dixon_Jr.
http://www.naacp.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan#Second_Klan:_1915.E2.80.931944
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege
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Written Saturday 4 February 2017