When you post a comment, imagine you are having a conversation with your classmate, not with me.
1) Online research on The Birth of a Nation: copy the URL of a site that deals with the influence of this film on the psyche of the American public. In a couple of lines summarize the argument.
2) Comment: going over the outline of Lecture 1 and your notes: what detail you remember more vividly and what does it say about you.
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When you post a comment, imagine you are having a conversation with your classmate, not with me. 1) Online research on The Birth of a Nati...
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The first effort is to extract the essential terms of the arguments, to establish the boundaries, in order to preserve the abstract and &#...
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Review the anti IT-AM cartoons (video). Recall the first, gut reactions when you first saw it. I insist on ...
1) Both as a result of its technical achievement and its claim to be a historically accurate account of the civil war, The Birth of A Nation was able to have a significant impact on both the political and cultural attitudes towards race for the next 100 years. Therefore, it is impossible to study the film as a technical milestone in cinematic history independently from its racial impact. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/08/383279630/100-years-later-whats-the-legacy-of-birth-of-a-nation
ReplyDelete2) What stood out most to me in our last lecture was our discussion of physiognomy and eugenics. It's interesting to observe how the popular ideas of racial supremacy during that time infected and corrupt the otherwise rapidly improving field of scientific study, resulting in the objectively false theory of eugenics. This likely speaks to my experience as a philosophy student, and my skepticism that anything close to true objectivity is possible. I always wonder how/if our modern sensibilities corrupt our current scientific understandings.
The birth of a nation had a major impact on both race relations and society in the United States at the time. It established techniques and tropes that would be used for years to come. It also helped lead to the resurfacing of the KKK, which had mainly died out at the time. the way that the movie was shot and framed allowed americans at the time to see what people like the KKK saw and thought at the time and help spread there message to other parts of the nation. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31170282
ReplyDelete2) What most stood out to me at the last class was the idea of eugenics and how racists at the time used made up ideas to help explain why they thought the way they did at the time. Anyone could see that skulls are both very much alike and also very different at the time. It also shows that people were willing to belilve anything at the time when there is clear proof that was is being presented to them is not true.
1. This article discusses how offensive the film The Birth of a Nation is. Riots broke out and many cities banned theaters from playing it. Due to it’s extreme racism, American’s were appalled although millions paid to see the film for themselves. As far as filming techniques, the cinematic style and camera shots used were ahead of the time. The idea that multiple things were occurring at the same time due to parallel editing was a marvel. This film is an extremely good example of propaganda.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/this-day-in-history/birth-of-a-nation-opens
2. What stood out to me from last weeks discussion was the silent film we saw about the train and how people in the audience actually ran out of the theater terrified because they thought it was coming towards them. People tend to believe what they see without giving things thought at first. For that time period it must have been amazing, if not frightening to see things on screen seem so realistic. It's interesting how our perceptions change over time.
1. This article talks about D.W Griffith's 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and how it brought popularity to the KKK, a white supremacist hate group, during the release of the film. The film has brought stereotypes about colored people and the people who saw the film during this time believed the stereotypes. The KKK has struck fear into the hearts of colored people in the United States of America, it is still ongoing to this day, both the KKK and stereotypes of colored people. https://variety.com/2018/vintage/features/griffith-birth-of-a-nation-1202891805/
ReplyDelete2. What stood out to me from our last class discussion is stereotypes being depicted in films. The silent films about Italians brought out a bunch of stereotypes towards them and the people who viewed those films during their release has caused the viewers to believe them. Stereotypes aimed towards different groups have caused people who are not apart of these targeted group have a different view of them. It hurts those people that are apart of the group that is the target of the stereotype. It's a shame how stereotypes from back then can still exist to this very day.
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ReplyDeletehttps://rrchnm.org/episodes/the-birth-of-a-nation-and-black-protest/
“The Birth of a Nation” was a silent film directed by D.W. Griffith where the plot was told from a Southern supremacist's perspective. This film talks about the creation of the Ku Klux Klan and how it affected America nationwide. Black Americans were portrayed as vicious, lewd, and animalistic and northern allies were described as liars, and deceitful. Southern whites were described as victims at the hands of white Northerners and Black Americans. It further divided America into two fighting parts. There were protests against the film by the NAACP and white alliances to have the film banned. The film got so much attention, that it was screened in the White House. Half of America was against the film overall when the other half supported the film about Reconstruction and saw the klansmen as heroes when indeed that was not the case at all.
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Last week, during lecture one, a lot of information was revealed about American treatments towards Italian immigrants. This was during the same time that silent films were new and had the most advanced technology. There were films that portrayed Italians the same way Americans portrayed black Americans; violent, liars, and foolish. Media platforms have a heavy influence over the public and their opinions. The media is manipulative in order to make a narrative that America wants.
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ReplyDeletehttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-worst-thing-about-birth-of-a-nation-is-how-good-it-is
The film "Birth of a Nation" was made into this sensation by the Americans who viewed it at that time and it even was shown in the gala screenings with high prices on tickets. The movie displayed many racist descriptions and made it easy for the viewers of that time to agree into something they already believed in. The hate grew in the American eyes and so much that it sparked many violence against African Americans in multiple cities. The African Americans were shown as neanderthals and savages and it only made it something the viewers can grab on to regardless on how false and absurd they made it.
2. What was most vivid to me was how racism developed for Italians through negative physiognomy which is something many people do to other races like African Americans. They're greatly categorized to certain features and it being used in a racist way just like the Italians were back then. It just relates to me because I see people joke about it as if it isn't wrong to do so.
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ReplyDeleteQ1.) The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 film directed by D.W. Griffith which depicts the issues that took place during the civil war and speaks about the bravery of the Ku Klux Klan. On the other side of the story the freed blacks are depicted as the ones of conflict. The argument that this film posed was to show the freed blacks as immoral and in turn made for a call to action for the Ku Klux Klan. When the people saw this film at a time were enraged by how the whites were treated as this film showcased the false narrative of the true nature of the suppressed blacks. The blacks were conceived to be “predators of white woman” as well as intellectually inferior. People saw this film as a true depiction of how black people actually were and accepted it to display the history. However it was a false depiction as history books and years of documented evidence show otherwise. Reconstruction was shown to be terrible and the KKK were romanticized. There was definitely a huge effect on the public as there were screening of the film taking place in quite a few cities. There was also a splurge of other items handed out as amenities to the film goers such as KKK literature and white sheets. Inequality and racism was on a rise due to the surfacing of this film.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.history.com/news/kkk-birth-of-a-nation-film
Q2.) After going over the first lecture and my notes one detail that was really vivid to me was the topic of eugenics, phrenology as well as the theories of Cesare Lombroso. It astonishes me how racism can be so prevalent and challenged as an alien thing in our society and history. To see that we have come such a long way however we still question if racism exists. I was also very intrigued by the perception of the mentally ill and how it was viewed from a scientific standpoint for criminals. The depiction of Italians and the increasing discrimination towards them is something that was new to me as we spoke in lecture about how Italians have also been a marginalized group in the past. These discussions have aided me to understand that we as humans are always willing to accept the version of culture that has assimilated into ours however neglect the culture and people belonging to a culture that is even remotely different from ours.
1) The article goes on to talk about how disgusted and racial the film Birth of Nation was, but yet praised on how goof it was made. One may argue with this. I don't think anything good came of this. It laid the platform for racism and no matter how "good" it may have seem. Nothing good came out of it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-worst-thing-about-birth-of-a-nation-is-how-good-it-is
2) After going over my notes for lecture 1 what was vivid to me was how Lombroso science got turn into something negative. He was trying to find a cure for mental illness, but his theory got turn into something racial. How is it that someone who was trying to do good, by try time help people with mental illness use his research and turn it into something completely negative. It crazy how even science can be turn into racism.
1.The article has said that The Birth of a Nation was great for its era as it was " It was the longest and most-profitable film then produced and the most artistically advanced film of its day. It secured both the future of feature-length films and the reception of film as a serious medium." even with its achievement it was terrible because of its positive portrayal of the KKK. I agree with that as although this film was big in its time its a very racist and very KKK loving film that would have been condoned today but back in those days it was considered a masterpiece by the white supremist there.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Birth-of-a-Nation
2. In the 4 minute video that we have seen we can see clearly how the positive portrayal is with the KKK members riding to stop stop the North black men from attacking a small group of white people with a black maid. If you can look closely those black men were actually white men with black coloring on their face. This film is the very essence of white supremacy back in the silent era.
1) https://youtu.be/aWroitR49Uc
ReplyDeletethis is a youtube link to someone who disagrees with the film yet wants people to know the dirty truth of earlier film making.
2) from the beginning the movie was played, it was very clear on who were good and who were bad. whites were proceed as heroic and establish, with blacks (played by white people as black face) were portrayed as “dumb,” slaves being sold of to white families. what really got me fired up about this film it that maid (played by a white woman) tries to seduce white man as she is the villain, but in reality, 9 times out of 10 she was forced to sleep with her masters.
3) what sickness me, about this film is in the film industry this was “admired” for it’s editing techniques. as a women of color, I will pretend that this don’t happen, however it is really disgusting how this is the dirty truth of this nation.
1) The argument being made is that no matter the negative meaning behind the film, it managed to become the standard of film and Cinema forever. This is not a result of the negative meaning but more due to the innovations and new techniques used to make the film. Birth of a Nation not only a huge success, it also was a huge mess. This 'propaganda' wide spread caused many riots and protest having it banned in several states, even having parts of the film cut for a more comfortable viewing.
ReplyDeleteLink:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/this-day-in-history/birth-of-a-nation-opens
2) One thing that stood out to me is the use of racism in areas of research. Something that I am also being lectured on in my anthropology class. It made me think of the idea of culture and race and what we classify as culture and race. The fact that we have so called "races" is racist because there isn't any proof to suggest that we are different minus physical appearance (which is due to evolutions relationship with location). I hope for a better future but it seems like human nature to categorize everything.