A little morethan a month ago, I viewed Rebirth of a Nation at the Kennedy Center. I haven’t watched the original Birth of Nation since college and I honestly thought that I would never watch it again. As a film student, D.W. Griffith’s saga about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction which pioneered technological advances and cinematic conventions that are used in contemporary cinema was and is required viewing.
Without fail before screening or start of the discussion on The Birth of a Nation, the teacher would frame the lesson around the genius and foresight of D.W. Griffith’s technical choices and ask the students to look pass the explosive racism and incendiary rhetoric of the movie. A movie which positioned the KKK as heroes of the American South, saving Whites from savage Blacks freed from slavery. I watched the filmed and subsequently sat in class feeling silenced and like I had no right to my offense.
The professors missed a valuable teaching opportunity to assess how propaganda in the media can invade public thought and become practiced standards and beliefs because not only did D.W. Griffith establish the narrative structure used in cinema today, he also solidified many racial stereotypes and public perception that even 100 years after the film’s release is still impacting the institutions and people of this nation. DJ Spooky seized upon this opportunity and executed it well with his remix of The Birth of a Nation.
When asked what he wanted the takeaway of his multi-media screening to be, DJ Spooky responded “that history is not dead, it’s living.” Often times, we’re taught, through school or otherwise, that history is a thing of the past which is partially true. However, it’s rarely discussed how history exists in every facet of our lives from government institutions to societal norms. It’s so ingrained in our psyche and passed along generationally that we often don’t question the choices that we make. In the current media landscape, sensationalism rules because ratings and ultimately money is everything and the current President of the United States has coined the term “fake news” this discussion is long overdue.