Intolerance And The Birth Of The Epic
How DW Griffith sought to make amends for The Birth Of A Nation.
Having shot 500 shorts between 1908 and 1913, David Wark Griffith was better prepared than most when Hollywood eventually realised that movies were a viable narrative medium capable of running for more than a few minutes. But no one was prepared for what Griffith would do with his opportunity. A century later, filmmakers - and that’s all filmmakers - are still using the cinematic language he devised.
Today, of course, Griffith’s impact on modern culture is overshadowed by 1915’s The Birth Of A Nation, his charming celebration of those loveable rogues, the Ku Kluk Klan. Although spectacular, Birth Of A Nation is a sordid piece of cinema depicting the Klansmen as crusaders protecting Southern whites from their slaves, whom he depicts as malevolent savages. The fact that Griffith’s father was a Confederate soldier makes his take understandable if not palatable. But while Birth was a box-office smash - it sold over three million theater tickets - embraced by all manner of folk, including President Woodrow Wilson, an awful lot of people had worries about the film’s depiction of racial violence.
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