We watched excerpts of D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation in class, a movie that was first screened 100 years ago. As noted in class, the racist content of the film invoked protests across the nation, led primarily by the newly formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The combination of Griffith’s remarkable artistry, distorted historical account, and overt racism produced sickening propaganda for the Ku Klux Klan. Listen to a short NPR report on the legacy of The Birth of a Nation. For an example of the impact of Griffith’s film on a recent movie, see Henry Louis Gates’ interview of Quentin Tarantino on Django Unchained (2012).
Share with your classmates other examples of controversial films that have evoked protests. Do you know of movies that have caused similar demonstrations or complaints about content?
To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #3, Clubs and Hearts will submit a Post and Diamonds and Spades will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).
Homework #3 is DUE by Thursday February 26th. Clubs and Hearts Post, Diamonds and Spades Comment, note your blog group! Email me if you forget.
The recently released movie “Fifty Shades of grey” has gained a lot of controversy. It’s front page on newspapers, all over commercials on tv and on almost every single social media site. There have also been many protests occurring because of the movie. Theres protests all around the United States, United kingdom and even Norway. People who are protesting are feminist, leftists, dominatrices, anti-pornography and family-values religious traditionalists. Aside from the protests, there also have been crimes occurring because of the movie. A man in Chicago sexually assaulted a girl and claimed he did it to reenact Fifty Shades of grey.