Birth of a Nation film critique - 1685 Words

D. W. Griffith was raised on a Kentucky farm in Crestwood, with his father, his mother, and sister. His father was a colonel in the Confederate Army, and served Kentucky as a state legislator. His family raised him Methodist, and his sister did his schooling in a one-room schoolhouse. At the age of 10, his father died and his mother left the farm to move to Louisville, Kentucky. They struggled with poverty after that, and he eventually got into acting and filmmaking. He started off as an actor when his first screenplay was rejected. However, he started working with a production company called Biograph, and soon became the main director. However, his intentions and budget did not match up with Biograph’s ideas and motives, so he left†¦show more content†¦When he tries to express his sexuality towards her, she brushes him off, which further enforces the idea that the free blacks are over sexualized. The biggest sense of loyalty from Mammy we see is when she tries to pr otect her master from union soldiers arresting him for being in the Ku Klux Klan. Gus, the Union Solider, seems to be best associated with brute and coon tendencies, which is characterized by his sexuality towards Flora. The union soldiers in general represent the brutal buck character type because they are seen as violent, uncontrollable and sexualized in the film. Gus, also has coon tendencies, however, in the way his character expresses himself. His eyes are very big and full of expression, and seem to be laughed at a lot. He is used as comic relief in addition to his role as an instigator to the Ku Klux Klan. When he comes onto Flora, he is overly sexual and aggressive towards her. He seems to be out of control as soon as the interaction starts, and ends with a chasing scene through the forest. This goes along with the Moonlight and Magnolia theme that white women are the epitome of beauty, and how frail and delicate they seem. Silas Lynch is also depicted as overly aggressive in his pursuit and proposal to Elsie Stoneman. This represents the fear of miscegenation, as well as rape. The skewed view promotes the domination of women through portrayals of white women and black soldiers. The Stoneman housekeeper, Lydia, is portrayed as aShow MoreRelatedThe Documentary Of Ava Duvernay Essay1615 Words   |  7 Pages The documentary 13th by Ava DuVernay was a visual masterpiece. The documentary provided its viewers with an array of information that spanned throughout centuries and was eloquently executed in less than 2 hours. The central focus of the film was about how the 13th amendment shaped this country and its prison system. The 13th amendment was the building block for mass incarceration and as time has gone on, new laws and amendments strengthened the process for more people to get incarcerated. SlaveryRead MoreHistorical Representation: An Undervalued Paradox Essay1274 Words   |  6 PagesHistorical media, most specifically film, has existed since his tory began. The recounting of prior events to a new audience to portray the feelings and the emotions of the time typically is transferred through conversation, but modern technology allows for the mass-production of not only the recounting of historical events on large screens, but also the possible re-creation of those events. When something is re-created, the new product simply, by definition, could not put into perspective the overallRead MoreTaking a Closer Look at Race Films Essay1241 Words   |  5 Pagesportrayed in scenes as the antagonist committing crimes, as in the case of D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation. Soon after Griffith released the film, filmmaker Oscar Micheaux forever changed American Independent Cinema with his â€Å"response† film Within Our Gates, which helped start the advent of race films (NAACP 1). Some of the most notable race films were: The Homesteader, Body and Soul, and The Blood of Jesus. Such films were produced for all-black audien ces that featured black casts. But that did not necessarilyRead MoreA Trip At The Moon And Lang s M1691 Words   |  7 PagesFilms, much like novels and poems as well any other form of art are created with a purpose in mind. To entertain, educate, alert, convict, satirise. To stimulate the human senses and evoke feelings and emotions. Many a time, a film strives to do more than one of these at once. Depending on the individual who is watching the movie and the time period in which he/she watches it, different intended messages might lead to different interpretations. It is always important to take into account the widerRead MoreNon Fictional Characters From The Movie The Great Debaters 1316 Words   |  6 Pagesa young black males not being recognize as a human. â€Å"The Great Debaters,† describe a variety of circumstance that everyone can relate or experience; but not all society have been involved or affected to a carried curse over many generations. The critique struct ure between several incidents, and developments would be question throughout this essay. I would give an example on how the overall context of the movies explains the magnitude on America. Every society has different views of what it holdsRead MoreThe Long Term Effects Of British Colonization On The Feminist Movements1869 Words   |  8 PagesThe long term effects of British colonization on the feminist movements in India and Nigeria can be seen through Katherine Mayo’s Mother India, the film, â€Å"Mother India†, Misty Bastian’s Vultures of the Market Place, and Falola and Paddock’s The Women’s War of 1929. In India, imperialism delayed the advancement of the feminist movement due to the priority of the nationalist movement. In Nigeria, imperialism spurred the feminist movement due to the autonomy of the women. Throughout this essay I willRead MoreAnalysis Of The Film Bashu : A Little Stranger1881 Words   |  8 Pageswidely accepted Iranian id entity through stars Susan Taslimi as Naii, Bashu’s adopted mother and Adnan Afravian as Bashu. The film boasts a simple plot, yet the societal critiques are strong and apparent. It takes place during the Iraq-Iran war, a war brought forth from long standing border conflicts and fears of revolution. Many critics agree that Bashu is a timeless film. Although produced in 1989, this situation could happen at any point in time. The lead character, a ten-year-old boy named BashuRead MoreAnalysis Of The Prologue Of The Book By John Hinckley Jr.1411 Words   |  6 Pagesbecame a Hollywood actor (Dugard and O’Reilly 19). His acting career is a success because he is a handsome young man and very talented. By the end of his career, he had acted in 53 films. Through his acting career he meets Jane Wyman and marries her. The hardest part of their relationship was when his wife gave birth to their child too early and the baby did not make it (Dugard and O’Reilly 27). They had two other children together but they sent them away to a boarding school. This causes their relationshipRead MoreAmerican Horror Films Have Often Played On Our Societal Fears1856 Words   |  8 Pages American horror films have often played on our societal fears, and in Candyman (Bernard Rose, 1992), the film directly deals with race, reminding us that it is still very much a problem in society today, and that ‘our traumatic racial past still haunts us’ (Vern, 2015). The film ‘marks the introduction of an African-American monster to the horror mainstream’ (Donaldson, 2011) and it ‘succeeds in asking some very pointed questions about race and class’ (Elizabeth, 1992). Ultimately this is done byRead MoreStreet Angel analysis2605 Words   |  11 Pagesï ¿ ½PAGE ï ¿ ½ What sort of social critique does this Street Angel (1937) present? What does it say about issues involved in modernization? What symbols are portrayed in Street Angel (1937) Introduction Every country has specific famous era in which their cinema portrays the reality of their society, the 1930 s was the era in which China s cinema bent itself towards portraying society and modernization. A lot of distinctive features developed by Chinese film over the last hundred years are the