
D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation
A History of 'The Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time'
Melvyn Stokes(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 31. January 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-0-19-533679-5 (ISBN)
Description
In this deeply researched and vividly written volume, Melvyn Stokes illuminates the origins, production, reception and continuing history of this ground-breaking, aesthetically brilliant, and yet highly controversial movie.
By going back to the original archives, particularly the NAACP and D. W. Griffith Papers, Stokes explodes many of the myths surrounding The Birth of a Nation (1915). Yet the story that remains is fascinating: the longest American film of its time, Griffith's film incorporated many new features, including the first full musical score compiled for an American film. It was distributed and advertised by pioneering methods that would quickly become standard. Through the high prices charged for admission and the fact that it was shown, at first, only in "live" theaters with orchestral accompaniment, Birth played a major role in reconfiguring the American movie audience by attracting more middle-class patrons. But if the film was a milestone in the history of cinema, it was also undeniably racist. Stokes shows that the darker side of this classic movie has its origins in the racist ideas of Thomas Dixon, Jr. and Griffith's own Kentuckian background and earlier film career. The book reveals how, as the years went by, the campaign against the film became increasingly successful. In the 1920s, for example, the NAACP exploited the fact that the new Ku Klux Klan, which used Griffith's film as a recruiting and retention tool, was not just anti-black, but also anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish, as a way to mobilize new allies in opposition to the film.
This crisply written book sheds light on both the film's racism and the aesthetic brilliance of Griffith's filmmaking. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the cinema.
By going back to the original archives, particularly the NAACP and D. W. Griffith Papers, Stokes explodes many of the myths surrounding The Birth of a Nation (1915). Yet the story that remains is fascinating: the longest American film of its time, Griffith's film incorporated many new features, including the first full musical score compiled for an American film. It was distributed and advertised by pioneering methods that would quickly become standard. Through the high prices charged for admission and the fact that it was shown, at first, only in "live" theaters with orchestral accompaniment, Birth played a major role in reconfiguring the American movie audience by attracting more middle-class patrons. But if the film was a milestone in the history of cinema, it was also undeniably racist. Stokes shows that the darker side of this classic movie has its origins in the racist ideas of Thomas Dixon, Jr. and Griffith's own Kentuckian background and earlier film career. The book reveals how, as the years went by, the campaign against the film became increasingly successful. In the 1920s, for example, the NAACP exploited the fact that the new Ku Klux Klan, which used Griffith's film as a recruiting and retention tool, was not just anti-black, but also anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish, as a way to mobilize new allies in opposition to the film.
This crisply written book sheds light on both the film's racism and the aesthetic brilliance of Griffith's filmmaking. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the cinema.
Reviews / Votes
[an] informative book...Stokes has done an invaluable job researching The Birth of a Nation's back story and reception. * J. Hoberman, London Review of Books * ...a fine book...Stokes book is well and clearly written. * Stephen Bottomore, Early Popular Visual Culture *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Illustrations
numerous halftones
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
641 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-533679-5 (9780195336795)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Melvyn Stokes
D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation
A History of 'The Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time'
Book
02/2008
Oxford University Press Inc
€120.80
Shipment within 15-20 days

Melvyn Stokes
D.W. Griffith's the Birth of a Nation
A History of the Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time
E-Book
01/2008
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€18.99
Available for download

Melvyn Stokes
D.W. Griffith's the Birth of a Nation
A History of the Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time
E-Book
01/2008
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€24.99
Available for download
Person
Melvyn Stokes teaches American history and American film history at University College London. He has also been a visiting fellow at Princeton, a visiting Fulbright Professor at Mount Holyoke College and a visiting professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris. He has edited or co-edited nine books, including four for the British Film Institute.
Content
INTRODUCTION ; 1. Premiere in Los Angeles ; 2. Thomas Dixon, Jr ; 3. David Wark Griffith ; 4. Making The Birth of a Nation ; 5. Transforming the American Movie Audience ; 6. Fighting a Vicious Film ; 7. Griffiths View of History ; 8. After Birth ; 9. Conclusion ; BIBLIOGRAPHY