Birth of a Nation is one of the top films that we have watched in class this semester. Birth of a Nation was directed in 1915 by D.W. Griffith. This film includes several ideas about our history, such as lifestyles and racism. The principles and customs of the society during that time period were portrayed in the film. I enjoyed Birth of a Nation a lot because I really like American history and seeing other individual’s ideas and customs in which they write about when it relates to history. For example, this movie included several ideas from the Ku Klux Klan.
In the early 1900’s slavery was a huge part of American life. The ideas of slavery still exist today and have always been an interesting topic to me. I also found the Ku Klux Klan interesting during the movie. Several of the characters in the film were white individuals who painted their faces a dark brown color with paint. I thought this was interesting and added character to the film. This film modifies the behavior of some individuals today. Racism is a wide topic that will always be complex in the United States because racism had existed throughout time.
Another reason I found Birth of a Nation interesting is that it touched on several topics and aspects in which we do not think about everyday but experience. I am a firm believer in understanding and being knowledgeable about our countries past in order to learn about our future. Birth of a Nation was interesting and gave an insight to students as to what lifestyles were like during this time period.
This film also based much of its ideas around women and what they were looked at as during this time period. For example, women were seen as individuals who sat at home and sewed and followed the man’s orders. I found this film very interesting and would recommend it to all students, whether they are interested in history, racism, gender roles, etc. Birth of a Nation was a film that was easy to follow and kept my attention throughout.