1. How does Birth of a Nation portray the South before the Civil War? How typical was plantation agriculture? Is the depiction of slavery and slaves accurate? What are the characteristics of the slaves as presented in the movie?

Why might Griffith seek to idealize plantation life in the world of 1915?

2. According to Birth of a Nation, what were the causes of the Civil War? Does the film present the Civil War as inevitable? What are the differences between northerners and southerners?

How do African Americans behave during the Civil War? How does the movie portray black soldiers in the Union army? Can you compare this image to that of black soldiers shown in the film Glory?

How does the movie describe Sherman's invasion of Georgia? Are there alternative ways to describe the behavior of the Union soldiers?

How does the movie present the role of women in wartime? How does the war change the roles of women from the period before the war?

3. According to Birth of a Nation, how would you describe Abraham Lincoln as president? How does Lincoln compare with the character Austin Stoneman (Thaddeus Stevens)? What are the flaws in Austin Stoneman's character?

4. How does the movie portray the assassination of Lincoln? Why, for Griffith, was that event so tragic? If Lincoln had lived, how might Reconstruction been different?

5. How does the image of African Americans in Part I of Birth of a Nation compare to their portrayal in Part II? What changes occur among African Americans?

What distinctions does the film make between "good" blacks and "bad" blacks? (What is a "good" black? What is a "bad" black?)

How does the film depict mulattos? Why are the mulatto characters, such as Silas Lynch, viewed differently than non-racially mixed blacks? What is Griffith telling audiences about that difference? Why is racial mixture an issue for audiences of 1915?

6. How are black women portrayed in the film? How are their roles and images different from those of black men?

How does Birth of a Nation depict the changing roles and images of white women? How do the roles of pre-war women compare to their roles after the war? Is there a difference in the presentation of northern white women and southern white women? Why or why not?

According to this movie, what is a good woman? What is a bad woman?

7. What specific examples illustrate what Griffith meant by the phrase "the agony which the South endured?" Are these examples typical of the historical experience or exaggerations? Who does the movie blame for the troubles brought upon the South?

8. How does the movie present the activities of the Freedmen's Bureau? Is this an accurate portrayal? How does the movie view giving public assistance to the ex-slaves? How does this view compare with the image presented in the film Glory?

9. Which people in the movie are guilty of committing acts of violence? When, according to the film, is violence permissible?

What social role does the KKK play? How does the movie justify the creation of the KKK? Is this portrayal of the vigilante group valid?

10. What did Griffith intend by changing the name of the movie from The Clansman to Birth of a Nation? What nation is born at the end of the film? Why were audiences so enthusiastic or so appalled by that idea?

11. At the very opening of the film, Griffith inserted a preface title card that read:

"A PLEA FOR THE ART OF THE MOTION PICTURE":

We do not fear censorship, for we have no wish to offend with improprieties or obscenities, but we do demand, as a right, the liberty to show the dark side of wrong, that we may illuminate the bright side of virtue--the same liberty that is conceded to the art of the written word--that art to which we owe the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.

Do you think that Griffith thereby makes a valid argument for expressing himself in this film?

Meanwhile, the NAACP challenged Griffith's reasoning with the following statement:

"The film's portrayal of the KKK serves to justify the activities of lawless citizens in their attempts to organize themselves into bands to avenge real or fanciful wrongs with the avowed purpose to override public authority and take into their own hands the punishment of whomever they decide, ignoring courts, public officers, and the government itself. Put simply, this film promotes terror against Negroes. In times like these, when progress in bettering race relations seems so imperiled, showing this film is no different than putting a lighted match to a gasoline pump. It is that incendiary!"

If you were the mayor of a racially divided city and facing a legal challenge to the showing of Birth of a Nation, would you approve the public screening of this film? Why or why not?

12. Given the propaganda value of this film--and its use by the KKK to enroll new members--would you encourage its use to teach the history of the Reconstruction period? Would you support its use to teach the history of race relations in the early 20th century? Why or why not?

http://www.uno.edu/~drcom/Griffith/Birth/CW.html

Back to top   At the Movies   Birth of a Nation