Film History with D W Griffith

D W GRIFFITH

D W Griffith is often seen as the father of filming grammar (even though most of the techniques he 'invented' were already invented). He did however create a speed and pace in the films like never seen before. In the time period of 1908-1913, he made about 450 short films. He used lots of different techniques like close-ups, cross-cutting for suspense, fade-outs to show the passing of time. These techniques gave his films a unique style to them. He often had rehearsals before filming and making the actors reactions more believable instead of random. Although he had many good genres like Gangster, Western, Comedy and Romance films. He was also racist towards black people.

Questions

What is the name of the book that the film 'Birth of a Nation' is based on?

The book that the film is based on is called The Clansmen (1905) by Thomas Dixon. (1)

Who does the film portray as the hero's?

It would be the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). (1)

Who used the film as a recruiting tool?

The KKK did. Since they are seen as the hero's, they got a lot of new members from the good point of view of them in the film. (1)

How are the African American men portrayed?

They are portrayed as the villains. This film has a raciest points of view. Using the stereotypes of black men of the time. (1)

Oscar Micheaux made a film called 'Within our Gates(1919)' as a response to 'Birth of a Nation' - Why?

He made this film in the genre of race films. He wanted to show the other side of the KKK and what life can be like as a black man or woman in the time of the earliest twentieth century. (2)

What was the name of Griffiths follow up film?

The film is called 'Intolerance(1916)'. (3)

References

1) https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Birth-of-a-Nation 

2) http://publicdomainmovie.net/movie/within-our-gates 

3) http://www.filmsite.org/birt.html