It’s 2016 correct ? That’s what it says when I check the calendar, and yet the world is abuzz with talk of the new film Birth of a Nation that premiered at this year’s Sundance festival. It won both the audience award and the grand jury prize, as well as selling for a record $17.5 million to Fox Searchlight.
The film is titled the same as the 1915 tale of white supremacy by infamous filmmaker D.W. Griffith. The original film is legendary, and my NYU film professor Ed Guerrero in his book Framing Blackness says ” because of it’s antiblack depictions and systematic, overt racism, it remains the most controversial film ever made in America.” The film studio’s mission as reported on in the New York Times is for “Birth of a Nation (2016) to inspire but not incite.” Is such a thing even possible ? I suppose we shall see.
Birth of a Nation (2016) has an official release date of this Friday October 7th. This film tells the story of Nat Turner. For those who are unfamiliar with this piece of history, Nat Turner was a slave, and a preacher who orchestrated a rebellion. In my post Guy Fawkes and Nat Turner I ask the questions “Is Turner then a hero or a bad man ? Is he responsible for the deaths of 55 white people and many more African-American ones, who were punished whether they were involved or not ? Or was he the last hope of a desperate and enslaved people?” I’m not sure we will ever have those answers, and I’m certainly not sure what the controversy over this latest film will bring.
Even the posters for this film feature the original DW Griffith epic with graffiti painted over. I even found some Nat Turner graffiti well in advance of the film so some people are getting that message. Great efforts have been made in
advance of the films release with information going out to over 80,000 churches, and study materials provided to thousands of schools as well. The attempt it seems is to educate, but with what consequences. I remember a few years ago my best friend, also a woman of color, was teaching in the NYC public school system, she was told by her superiors not to mention slavery in America because it would cause the children to commit crimes and start fights. This was sad but true. As for Birth of a Nation 2016, the hashtag for the film is #standwithus and the message has been rise up. Some hoped to interpret this as meaning rise up constructively, and without altercation, but in all likelihood we are beyond that strategy. Most recently the film’s producers have released trailers that show film footage mixed with images from #blacklivesmatter protests, this also seems to pose more questions than solutions. And is anyone else thinking all this advance information under the guise of education also serves as a great marketing strategy ? For those who have seen the film, and those who haven’t I would love to hear your thoughts and views in the comments section below. Because there is one thing I am sure of, continuing to be silent about race is not doing anyone any good. Blessings and Peace !
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