The Birth of A Nation

“The Birth of a Nation” is the title of a movie from 1915 that displayed the Ku Klux Klan in a positive tone. It was used as a recruitment tool after its release and showed KKK members as heroes in a way. It also presented black people as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards women. This film is essentially KKK propaganda and it was widely successful after its release. The movie sparked race riots in a few cities with violence aimed at African Americans. The movie was able to convince people both that Black people act a certain way and that the white race is superior.
 
A new movie that is going to be released in 2016 that was introduced at Sundance Movie Festival claims the same name. However, this movie is about Nat Turner and the slave rebellion. We spent a good deal of time discussing Nat Turner in class, so this movie is especially significant.

By taking the title for the famed KKK movie, the Director, Nate Parker, is trying to right the wrongs that the original movie did. The first Birth of a Nation led to people throughout America thinking of Black men as barbaric in a way. The 2016 movie is portraying slaves in a different light. In this movie, Nat Turner is fighting back against oppressive slave owners throughout Virginia. It shows the bravery that many black men and women showed during a time when they were considered property. The slaves are the heroes rebelling against the unjust slave owners. It flips the original movie; Black individuals are now the heroes while the white slave owners are the villains

 That this movie is being released now is also significant. It is no secret that there is substantial racial tension is America right now. The Birth of a Nation will not only be a reminder of what happened in America 200 years ago, but it will also give an image of slaves that rivals the original movie. Unlike the original movie which sparked hatred across the country.

I think that this movie might create unity instead. This movie will allow African Americans to show greater pride in their history because of brave men like Nat Turner. And maybe it will also allow some people to recognize the racist past that the United States has. The 2016 movie stole the name from the 1915 Birth of a Nation because it wants to undue the injustices that were done. Instead of breaking apart the different types of people, maybe this movie will allow greater harmony.