Stereotypes In D. W. Griffith's Birth Of A Nation

Hollywood’s great influence enables films to cause positive or negative impacts on society. An example of this is D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation. Upon its release in 1915, the film created disputes due the way that it portrayed African Americans. The film caused race riots and uproars from African American communities who were enraged by their community’s portrayal. For the first time in film history, a motion picture was screened at the White House, where President Woodrow Wilson said, “It is like writing history with lightning.” (Everett Carter, Three) President Wilson believed that because it was controversial, Birth of a Nation helped to shed a light on American racism that is still present today. Though many believed it was a racial

However, the most potent of these stereotypes are the mulatto, the coon and the black buck. The mulatto character of Birth of a Nation tried to downplay his “animalistic” tendencies but failed. The coon is an African American man who is the butt of jokes, lazy and does not want to do anything other than lay around. The black buck is the most dangerous of all the five main stereotypes shown throughout the film. The buck is considered to be the biggest threat to white womanhood. This character was known for lusting after white women, and was the “ main antagonist in Birth of a Nation.” (Lecture Notes February 5,

Birth of a Nation was a major setback to racial relations in the United States because the ways African Americans were depicted in the film. After the film, the Klan ran terror for years and even until today they still have a strong hatred towards African Americans. It was not until the 1960s when Martin Luther King Jr took a stand towards equality that relationships began to be mended. This progress towards harmony was the first time in almost 40 years that African Americans and whites started to get along and color barriers were abolished. While Griffith did not directly say in an interview or in his film Intolerance that Birth of a Nation was intended to dehumanize African Americans, he portrayed African Americans and used stereotypes throughout the film to idolize the KKK and cause negative sentiment towards African Americans to