Birth of a Nation 1915 notes:
- praised for its “technical virtuosity” moving, tracking, panning shots, crosscutting editing, cameo profiles and close ups
- often panned for its demeaning and racist interpretation of African- Americans
- characters played by Anglo-Americans
- film portrays pre-civil war south in “moonlight and magnolias” fashion
- opposing views: Dixon and Griffith (the travesty of Reconstruction); NAACP (historically inaccurate and inflammatory)
REACTION TO FILM
- how film is being made
- lighting, music, “sound”
- how things are set up
- slate (stop for words to pop up)
- Griffith not sophisticated at story telling, straight forward
- two sons of Cameron family going to visit South and meet a family
- north is idealic, childlike, pleasant music
- Camerons have two homes- in town and plantation
- shows gentle life but no system of labor or how the whites/rich labor to live this life- clear not to show this part
- Griffith has a purpose with his storyboard in how and when characters are see by audience
- scene: 50 years after civil war, still have veterans alive
- movie happening without authoritarian structure
- to own a slave was EXPENSIVE- dollar amounts on people- wrong!
- when going out to plantation- film lens is green to symbolize money, nature, green softens image because didn’t want to show labor in film
- no colored film but could still use light
- green color of Spring season, spring is associated with love
- “if the north carries the election, the south will sucide”
- any race that comes after whites, are interlopers/ guests and are problems/ weird
- Hoffman says with two races mating- you get anger, violence, diff sexuality- Griffith is taking preexistin ideas
- old white man sick, diff boots, wig- multiliteracies says hes weak and frail– Hoffman talks about born a particular weak not only weak and frail physically but mentally and thats because of breeding
- able to be seduced by woman because he is weak and frail- but also he is a senator for the north- this is Griffith saying the gov is corrupt and weak at this time
- Griffith is layering this discourse idea in the film because it already exists, he just has to hint and show specifics and the audience will understand
- woman breaks the fourth wall- audience a few times which is diff
- Griffith says multi race women are crazy and try to seduce white men
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