Some films get on my list, not out of any pretense that I expect to enjoy it, but out of a desire to understand a more complete snapshot of film and human history. To not watch the awful stuff is to deny that we've been awful...
Presented in two parts during the American Civil War and Reconstruction eras, part one of “The Birth of a Nation” introduces two families: The Northern Stonemans and the Southern Camerons. Though patriarch Austin Stoneman is a staunch abolitionist and the Camerons own enslaved people, the two families are friendly. When the Civil War breaks out, the families’ adult children enlist in their respective armies. The war is brutal and many die while southerner Ben Cameron is captured and sentenced to hang. Mrs. Cameron appeals directly to President Lincoln, who pardons Ben and shows a willingness to be forgiving with the South. The film suggests that when Lincoln is assassinated, his compassionate policies die with him.
Part 2 is where the film pivots, depicting a harsh Reconstruction era South. Life has become hard for the Camerons, who have lost much of their wealth and who have been disenfranchised by cartoonishly villainous black people, formerly enslaved and now manipulated by Radical Republicans. To fight back, Ben Cameron forms the Ku Klux Klan (yup, that's where this film is going!). When a black Union captain tries to kidnap/rape young Flora Cameron, and Flora dies in the chase, the Klan lynch the captain. The occupying Union army then aims to punish the Klan and mistakenly captures Dr. Cameron (Ben’s father), accusing him of leading the hooded criminals. Meanwhile, the half-black Lieutenant Governor Silas Lynch pushes himself on northerner Elsie Stoneman. The Ku Klux Klan rides to rescue Elsie and Dr. Cameron, fulfilling the resolution stated in an earlier intertitle: “The former enemies of North and South are united again in common defense of their Aryan birthright.” Jesus.
“The Birth of a Nation” holds a super complicated place in film history. Cinematically, the film made tremendous technical leaps. It was sort of the “Avatar” of its time, in the sense that it made oodles of money and showed audiences something film hasn't done before. It was the longest and highest grossing film when it was released. It was the first film to feature intricate battle scenes, suspense-building editing, and a synchronized film score (not recorded for playback, but to be performed by an orchestra in tandem with the film). Famously, it was even the first film to ever be screened in the White House. Audiences were enthralled.
It’s also racist—the most racist single piece of media I’ve ever watched. We’re talking ‘ignorant, aggressive, easily bribed black villains terrorize poor, unsuspecting white people and illegally commandeer the North Carolina legislature where they drink alcohol and eat fried chicken, and pass radical legislature like legalizing interracial marriage, which emboldens horny black men to force themselves on unsuspecting white women and children’ racist. It’s a disgustingly distorted view of the Reconstruction Era South, reframing the ills of the War on the very existence of black people. The film treated the Ku Klux Klan as knights in hooded armor and glorified them in such a way that the Klan, dormant since 1872, was literally refounded in the wake of the film. That's right, the Klan of the early 20th century was styled in the film’s image. Holy shit.
So this film has had a very positive influence on the development of film, while it’s had an incredibly negative effect on the course of American history. It makes it hard to review this piece as its own thing, but here's my silly attempt: There was some really fantastic acting, action sequences, and moments of untainted character drama. But these were little bright spots in a film that was generally too long and hateful. When Part 1 ended, I couldn’t help but feel like “well I certainly must have put a huge dent in the film”. Realizing I had 90 minutes to go was a bit deflating. I ended up saving the end for another day and watched it in parts. It wasn’t just about the racism—it was boring, melodramatic racism. I just couldn’t get into it.