AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRTH OF A NATION by AARON SHELEY

An Introduction to THE BIRTH OF A NATION
A Shot-by-Shot Guide to the Film by Aaron Sheley

While there are advantages to a code of ethics, such codes are becoming
meaningless. However, there remains question as to whether censorship exists in
any form when creative machinations come to play. Stories abound in cinema
primarily of initiative responses of creative differences involving lucrative
bankers. In a way Christianity (or its modern incarnations) split upon decisions
that controlled the early days of film. Consider that BIRTH OF A NATION created
contemporary censorship and marketing strategies simultaneously in every sense,
True, there are countless masterpieces early silent era (roughly 1895-1915) or
pre-BIRTH understandings of filmmaking. Yet, D.W. Griffith came into the scene
after the Lumiere’s released the world’s first movies, albeit short-films. Thus
film had been around for exactly twenty years when BIRTH OF A NATION reared its
ugly head. Thus the act of censorship cannot repress the view that when
maximization of creative freedom is extolled, the artistry itself becomes
freedom.
So, how does BIRTH fit into the scheme of censorship? Considering its popular
response, there are thoughts of its extreme example of racism merely reflecting
the attitudes and beliefs at the hour. Still, post-BIRTH censorship became
hellishly nightmarish until the mid to late 1960’s. This time reversed by banks
and churches evolve to evolving pop culture.
In unique ways, Hollywood production, has found ways to counteract censorship by
waving money around to pay off their detractors. In a roundabout logic, this
means detractors have risen in certain underground cases, where they posit
themselves as censors—for the same reason “real” censors—for the same reason
“real” censors are motivated—to work with whomever has the most money.
With the case of Griffith, there is no doubt that several times in his career,
he was wealthy beyond all other media giants. However, as is well known with
Griffith no two stories—like his films—are alike. His penchant for
fictionalizing his accounts of his life-story is quite ridiculous.
For example, Griffith espoused his egalitarian views all around the conceptions
of racially charged works.
While there is confirmation that his father was a legendary soldier in how well
Griffith knew his father was a legendary soldier in the actual Civil
War—fighting for the South—how well Griffith knew his father’s story is sketchy
to say the least.
The point is, Griffith denied on several occasions that he was racist—while by
today’s standards he defines the word. At least, for the most part anyway,
because when the facts all add up, no one can judge whether the man was
intentionally racist or accidentally calamitous concerning culture. The facts
will all to play, but for now note only that there is a large amount of
discrepancy in the matters of BIRTH OF A NATION being pro or anti-racist, though
it no doubt leans to the former, while not completely embracing a totalitarian
stance.
Yet, there is more danger in an outright boycott of a piece of racist history
than the dangers of the existence of such forms of media. So often history has a
way of being forgotten because of censorship. If the ardent attackers of BIRTH
OF A NATION have their way to ban the film for its ideological content there is
a chance that the lesson of racism exuded by the film would be so far out of
memory that the whole event reoccurs with devastating consequences.
Admittedly, there are numbers of strange stories surrounding the audience
reception, which were caustic in and of themselves. As the ‘Klansmen’ were
portrayed as saviors of the South, actual Klansmen in reality had a renaissance
of lynching sprees. Not to downplay the severity of these atrocities, the
argument against copycat crimes having derived causality from a film, is that,
behaviors in films catch on in reality. So, too, does reality influence film, a
delicate symbiosis.
Another important detail about BIRTH OF A NATION, to shift the focus from its
innate controversy, is that the film many contemporary audiences, as per say,
the spectatorial challenge of the sound/color 1939 film THE WIZARD of OZ
is—despite its decreasing popularity—quite frankly, the world’s greatest film of
all time. Of course, that opinion is more subjective than objective. Still
consider that Griffith’s films are all typically masterpieces—JUDITH OF BETHULIA
is the longest existing first masterpiece of Griffith that is not necessarily a
short film and THE STRUGGLE is his final full length masterpiece…a sound film,
no less) his greatest achievement BIRTH OF A NATION, is not the first feature
film by any means. Scores of silent feature masterpieces existed and still do
(check out the recent silent film craze going down on YOUTUBE, for example.) And
the short films were just as good as any others anyway. (Jean Douchet writes of
Griffith in his FRENCH NEW WAVE book, “He had a stupefying ability to create a
canvas out of everything he filmed…to make the frame dynamically responsible for
all the movements in the film (in particular, human emotions) to cut up spatial
unity through editing into multiple fragments and then reunite them again
(Douchet, pg. 58.)
Thus it stands to reason that BIRTH’s attributes of being some kind of first
feature the world has ever seen is provably inaccurate. A nomenclature
adjustment is necessitated. Birth, is an invention of a film style that is still
used. Interestingly, that exists now in cinema comes from BIRTH OF A NATION.
Tracking shots, close-ups, cross-cutting, detailed mise-en-scene and other modes
of representation can already be found in scores of other, earlier shorts and
features. However, if an agreement is possible on the inexact science of what
film first used style as technique as well as, a definitive guide to actual film
language than a few would argue that Griffith’s BIRTH is a the model example…
In any event the theoretical form inhabited in the original genesis of stylistic
modes of representation is all from the breakthrough film by Griffith. In other
words he detested all bounds of his contemporaries (which are now way in the
past) by advancing the medium. However, there are consequences to the decision
to advance style while discovering a wholly problematic paradigm.
Once the facts are in, there is no question that BIRTH is of intent out to
offend. Or is it? The question remains due to Griffith’s lack of admission to
racism, his ultimate viewpoint on the earlier and later films that outright
squelched all notions of racism that something is underneath the motives of
Birth that were impure to audiences of 1915 despite their objections.
At any rate, the central discussion put to task leads to separation of advanced
film language and the intensification of a well known taboo in ideology. As
mentioned, several arguments pile up that the film was only reflective of the
popular voice, yet there are exactly so many voices, it is hard to take care of
all agendas at once. And there is also a chance that the film exacerbated a
number of indescribable acts—which results in a confusion when approaching the
film as a whole.
Set aside for a moment the uproar at the very mention of an older movie with
such power. In actuality, the film itself contains an intertitle which warns
that nothing is representative of a current race. How in actuality does the
intertitle which warns that nothing is representative of a current race. How in
actuality does the intertitle even come about when all throughout the film
racism is obtrusive? Once again, sees ideology infringe on the value of a film.
In effect, there are audiences that seek out ‘shock’ and ‘exploitation.’ Thus,
BIRTH is easily recontextualized as a frightful nightmare to relive an
experience to be never duplicated elsewhere. For the sake of shock value, in a
modern context, none rival Griffith’s intense foray of an almost unconstrained
madness.
Again, what if the morose reality of an uninhibited ruling class dominated all
other classes in discussion?
Governing bodies of interest have no business at censorship levels, necessarily.
But how far can the artist push the boundaries of a medium before he is
blacklisted forever. However, among his final works, he was still apologizing
for his earlier mistakes.
A limited few with properties of hindsight and control over an image will be in
a state of disavowal or in detachment involving oppositional readings.
In comparison critics and audiences alike remain harsh toward problematic
ideology. However, THE BIRTH OF A NATION has many more layers of meaning than
any other film in existence. This explains the laudatory and also angry voices
at a film that almost promotes fascism—albeit as a last resort against chaos.
Perhaps that clause is too tidy for a film that while maintaining all sorts of
stereotypes also presents a liberating view toward the very film it either
intentionally or unintentionally oppresses. It is not accidental that a singular
race of Africans…
webmaster@mentalhealthamerica.net.
…no longer need to focus only on race unless it bothers them in an unsettling
way.



Then again, there are virtually two halves to the film, as already in
constructed here; the first half illustrates the pre-civil war and the war
itself, and the second half is the real racist but about an African takeover of
the South and then their extinguishment by the Klan. The two-halves not only fit
together symbiotically but if the first parts display a day of racism—the second
part is nothing but.
Interestingly, in a recent montage on Turner Classic Movies of the Greatest
American Films as they proceed through history BIRTH OF A NATION is among the
first to be honored. And the scene on display is of a scene on display is of a
civil war battle by which the protagonist crosses enemy lines and shoves a
confederate flag into the cannon. Scenes of the like reveal the David Bordwell
point of view on Birth because the film exploited the new medium’s unique
resources.” (Bordwell, A HISTORY OF FILM STYLE)

Perhaps there is an amount of truth in the film concerning how the Southern
ideals and forces were suppressed by the Northern. What truth remains, in spite
of the point of view on BIRTH the film, the whole thing claims no parallels they
“like” other masterworks triumphed because…to any culture, while with a
double-standard as there are constant “facsimile as supposed. In fact,
biographer Richard Schickel explains in D.W. GRIFFITH: AN AMERICAN LIFE that
concerning the aftermath of the Civil War “Griffith should have known better.”
The basis of the ‘ecstasy induced chemical romance’ of these early book pages
Griffith’s racial issues is so convolutes that it is hard to sort out. For
example, he claimed not to be a racist, which could be a racist lie—however,
when one lie is involved several others could follow suit. However, perhaps this
is just a hypothetical trail of logic intentionally shocking for the sake of
controversy. Of course, the controversy goes on. (When rape and pillaging of
culture is allowed, then the people of a nation turn on each other and point the
blaming fingers on everyone but themselves, or the exact source of year’s worth
of trouble.)
The plot of the film, like the narrative is serpentine, labyrinth and cyclical.
Present is a ‘requiem’ for a lost remnant of culture, CAMELOT—esque in
romanticism, full of an illusory dream transcends an illusory dream transcends
reality by pushing the envelope in style and content.
Without a doubt, its problems are almost superseded by the experimentation.
In fact, all films post-BIRTH have a style, to avoid generality, that is similar
to the signs and signifiers, (for instance in Haxan terminology, even the Baal’s
blood of a Molochian Asura would not allow me to harm any witches---it is a
Seattle thing,) have a style, to avoid generality, that is similar to the signs
and signifiers and mise-en-scene/montage aesthetics of BIRTH.
To marvel at the dark circus of technical achievement alone is to appreciate the
broad canvas and narrow strokes of an artist’s paintbrush, which encapsulates a
character study and a philosophy of war.
On a side note, if BIRTH was an isolated circumnavigation of racial phenoms,
then it would be particularly, difficult to understand how such a film presents
dreadful racism. Yet, of all the films surviving in the silent film canon,
(restored and yet to be restored films being all that counted as evidence, for
the most part) as evidence, for the most part) rarely appear as equality amongst
races. Oscar Micheaux films have survived and his works such as WITHIN OUR GATES
and BODY AND SOUL...


..Clearly emphasize thematic that exonerate African-Americans as humanistic,
equal to other races and deriving to be set free from oppression and
victimization. Yet this, is a marginal voice (albeit, currently building
momentum in film history) even if other lost silent films are racially charged
for better or for worse. Ultimately, the sound era even to present times is
littered with overbearing racism—often hidden as a joke or an accepted
stereotype in the guise of an archetype. From GONE WITH THE WIND to the
GODFATHER racism loosely defeats its uglier form, over the obvious racial hatred
of BIRTH OF A NATION, which is to say that now in film, racism exists and no one
ever admits it is racism due to the catch for a “political correct” argument
that parades hate as an act of freedom. While disconnecting from a fear if
collectivism, the individual is still responsible ethically for inflicting harm
from one person to another, in humanistic terms. BIRTH is a horrific analogy of
harm inflicted, but as written here, the film embodies a last ditch effort to
defend an utopia of Southern ideals militantly influencing violence as both an
evil destruction of the South, then evolving the same violence into the last
ditch effort of protection discussed earlier.
However, it is purely on the anti-censorship that the film deserves a place in
history, because any form of censorship no matter how small, leads directly to
other forms of censorship.
In fact, when groups like the NAACP promoted a ban on BIRTH (justifiably so),
the situation marked a turning point in film censorship where no longer could a
race be depicted as evil based on race alone, which interestingly lead to hidden
racism—while also taking on a double-standard by, for instance, the board of
pearly Hollywood film censors boycotting films—even in the script phase---that
portrayed the uprising, Nazi party as evil. Ironic considering that Nazis
promote racism, yet it was hypocritically justified to allow them to, based on
BIRTH’s repugnant images of racial hand-me-down codes. Yet the essential
difference is that the Germans should never be lumped into an ‘all in it in
together’ of the same category, it is hardly profiling to depict a Nazi (which
is a political party, not a race) as anti-Semitic. Wither the whole plot to keep
Nazi evil out of films did come from BIRTH, or there may have been a financial
excuse to remain true to white people, as the rule obviously never applied to
African-Americans, yet. This implies that it now does.
Of course, the impetus for film appreciation rests on the shoulders of aesthetic
considerations long before the politics of ideology enter the picture. Is it a
crime to celebrate a film like BIRTH OF A NATION? Why must a spectator feel
guilty for their choice of what they consider to be a well made movie? On top of
the pressure to do away with Griffith and his oeuvre (although hardly any of his
other films have racist problems—as hinted at, the others are quite progressive,
some apologetical, some with a brilliant prescience due to his out of control
nature the world’s most heinous hate crime—there is also the problem with silent
films losing more and more popularity in the age of digital reproduction (save
for the safety of Internet Archives, and digital shopping, which makes
acquisitions of silent features a simple transaction.)

Consider the lost films of Griffith alone that have disintegrated into a
vinegary powder of production stills and notes that can be accessed only by the
most ardent research to piece together the trail of the world’s most important
artifacts—would otherwise---if still extant—illuminate film history. Many have
stated how much further advancements could have been had the ancient Library of
Alexandria never burned. Yet, as there, were business considerations impeding
the crucial time of necessitation of restoration of early film there were very
few (supposedly) that understood the importance of sustaining the early silent
films at all. And is this loss as great (if not greater) as (or than) the loss
of an ancient library?
In conjunction with an interest in preserving history what if, for instance, all
of the films we cherish and respect in contemporary films being from the last
ten years started disappearing. The medium has changed to a durable form but
independent films could be completely forgotten; by the sheer fact that film’s
have no audience. Connected to this line of reasoning is Griffith’s
independently thinking mind (while collaborating with hundreds of people in his
process) is prevalent in his move to form the studio United Artists with
Chaplin, Fairbanks and Pickford.
The under-researched “gospel” so to speak, of Young Griffith’s life from a
farmhound to a stage actor and then, a career in film that was full of new ideas
for modern technique. There are agreeing reports that document Griffith’s
experimental experience as a stage actor is what enlivened his idea to get into
film. Just by repeatedly using his stock company of film actors in his
films—particularly Lillian Gish—he also managed to shape everything acting-wise
in the entire following cinema.
Thus, Griffith is not only the best director but also the most important
developer of film grammar. If he knew BIRTH was racist, he may have made it
anyway to prove he could do anything he wanted. His attitude to do exactly what
was in his artistic mind without compromises is what supposedly burned his name
into the “blacklist,” in his later career.
As the general education of teachers that use films in lectures, there should be
a consensus on the old wide-spread fact that D.W. Griffith conquered the film
medium beyond the level of any other artist.
Typically, almost all schools of have abandoned Griffith temporarily—because as
found on the flipside of political correctness—there are very few that believe
artistic merit can also carry with it malicious intent of racism.
Whatever arguments pile up against Griffith, the only way into his cinema
secrets is to deconstruct him entirely—a structuralist/post-structuralist
agenda, to say the least.
To take apart the “assassination of Lincoln” sequence alone delves into a shot
by shot analysis, which is of extreme value. At some point, an entire shot by
shot guide to BIRTH should be considered as an exercise not to be avoided. The
entire Soviet Montage formalist camp of the 1920’s spent quite a bit of time
reediting prints of BIRTH and INTOLERANCE when there was no money to do anything
else.
The first title card seen in BIRTH explains that Griffith is producer of the
film—the second tithe virtually establishes the letters “D.G.” as an explicit
trademark to remind the audience that Griffith is in control.

The strange opening titles begin to denote that there is a program that goes
along with the film and then story written by Griffith and Frank E. Woods
appears above the “photography” credit which goes to the equally accountable
G.W. Bitzer (a Griffith favorite)—
The film immediately confronts the issue of censorship that concludes (still in
the midst of the opening intertitles) “—the same liberty that is conceded to the
art of the written word—it is given to artists of any medium. Interestingly, the
art of the motion picture is akin to another art form—in this akin to another
art form—in this case literature (ironic as the play the movie is based on “The
Clansman” is reported to be a medium-well written play) is used to justify the
nearly twenty year old medium of film. Anyway, after the anti-censorship message
is literally the first time that the film’s title is unveiled—THE BIRTH OF A
NATION, which is titled in a shapely font and underlined, baring little
resemblance in title to “The Clansman” but the book is credited as well on the
title page.
Once the titles continue with yet another disclaimer which illustrates that
another disclaimer which illustrates that the film put an end to war, already
the over-ambitious Griffith is revealed... The final opening title card claims
disunion in America (as strange as this may seem for an opening line) was when
Africans were brought into the country. Finally, the first images or the actual
footage display the pathways of Slavery of the African, ambiguity enters the
film almost as soon as the film begins, in depiction of the Northern states
corruption as in control of the evil side of slavery. Although the next couple
of shots are of the
“abolitionists” arguing to free the slaves—it is quite possibly due to the slave
liberation that they tend to seize control of the states—a message conveyed all
throughout the film in subtext. Although, in a roundabout way, toward the film’s
ending, the North and South unite due to the KKK, a nasty thought in today’s
progressive views.
After a few more shots of a court appeal for black people’s freedom, one of the
many protagonists of the film, Austin Stoneman is introduced along with daughter
Elsie (Lillian Gish in the greatest of the all time ‘true’ screen performances.)
They are upper class Northern aristocrats’ upper echelons of political power and
are responsible later for the entire downfall of the South by promoting the
freeing of the slaves. They learn the error of their ways as crazy as that
sounds.
Elsie wipes the sweat from her father’s head, and the whole scene is quite
bourgeoisie. As the film has a tendency to do, it cuts in closer to a medium
close-up (already used in a previous shot to highlight a young and innocent
slave) establishing the precious relationship that becomes a catalyst to the
film.
The Northern life pre-war is an utopian ideal. Two Elsie’s brothers hang out
leisurely reading in the foreground right of the frame, which the estate they
live at is to the left in an angle not commonly used in film to establish
magnificence, although the angle definitively gets the point across.
Cutaway to the letter; the brother’s read to explain an upcoming visit with
Southern friends (later revealed as the Cameron’s—who are in many ways modeled
after the characters in Griffith’s ancestry.)
In a slight pan to the right, to simply reveal the large hedge that frames the
familial brothers, a moment of interesting Griffithian power is at hand. Someone
is behind a blanket that drapes over the outside door to the porch; only if it
is not certain, yet, that a female is veiled in the gap underneath the blanket.
The Cameron brothers continue to gaze at a letter. And under the blanket are the
lady’s occupied, oddly shifting to different spots under the curtain—after the
brother notices her, he calls out and cut to her opening the curtain. It is a
nice looking Gish who emerges, holding the cat. Supposedly, the entire script
existed in Griffith’s mind. This scene directly gives evidence to that and after
a few more cuts, of Gish viewed from different angles, she approaches in the
character of Elsie conversing with her brothers. Something occurs (most likely
the understanding of the future visitors that propels all three on-screen
characters into the background and back into the house.
The title announces next, “In the Southland.” This statement is revealing
Piedmont (or will be revealing) (the city mentioned in the letter the brother’s
read) as the locale—The Cameron's homestead is also, in the Introduction shot, a
bourgeoisie setting. However, it has more of a rural touch, whereas the Stoneman
family were like urban—these stereotypes are often linked to big budget features
that often feature pre-war North and South, which in a way subconsciously takes
account that there were already divisions between the two—At any rate men and
women are boarding and unloading a horse pulled buggy and there is much to be
examined when it comes to the sheer number of horses in the film, particularly
during the final Klan ride (later discussed), which propagandizes the number of
actual men from the South that became Klansmen (post-civil war). There is a
legend floating around that John Ford was shrouded in Klan gear for that shot in
particular.
Next in order of this exposition sequence, is shot from behind a fence, spliced
with the carriage taking off from behind, a shot that will be remodeled much
later in the film. A slave spanks his boy, which in a strategic way humanizes
the Africans of the Southern hierarchy although were slaves. In the film, there
are several instances in which the slaves that are devoted to their masters play
a crucial role in the lives of white people they serve. In a way, this brings
the issue of racism to a stand-off between what Spike Lee and Malcolm X have
espoused to be the difference between ‘house slaves’ and rebellious ‘field
slaves’ who wreaks havoc in the white people upon their emancipation (in the
film, anyway.)
More than once are the Africans of the South, shown to be the good side of the
blacks. Whether or not any non-racist ideas can be derived from the fair
treatment of Southern African-American is still up for grabs. From the front of
the wagon a slave drives a coach and another is parked coach is coach and
another parked coach is moved in on closely in a cut and the intertitle reveals
the name of the other female protagonist—Margaret Cameron (Griffith’s titles
describe her as from “the old school,”) She is inside a large parlor room in
which the interior shot of the studio set is a mise-en-scene that creates an
illusion of off-screen space. The shot itself in the interior of the Cameron’s
house is used often enough throughout
Whereas I have not done enough research on the original music score of Birth,
the David Shephard restored image Entertainment paper-back cover DVD is the
preferable version, at least within this reader’s context, and the music fits it
loosely…as though amidst a near orchestral score. Whatever orchestral score was
actually used for the opening night of the film, the Cameron’s stairwell main
foyer or entrance hall most likely had its own leit-motif, s the characters
shared them as well.
In an outside scene at the Cameron’s in an outside scene at the Cameron’s the
mother of the family and her young daughter sits across from the father of the
family and as matched on action from a previous shot, the man of the family
enters, kisses his mother on the cheek (as his little sister runs around
reacting to Cameron’s father is moved in on as he speaks to his son. So far in
the case of the Northern and Southern families introduced they are quite
functional domestication among families. Everything happens logically.
The camera tracks down to the eldest Cameron’s feet to see puppies playing
together. Next the young girl hugs her older brother as the house slave watches
from behind. The puppies are seen again in close-up, quickly intercut is the
inner sanctum, which draws attention at most times to the stairwell. Almost as
though she can sense it, the older daughter of the Cameron’s reacts to thin air,
a trait common among Griffith actors that are, as always, fraught with emotion.
From off-screen the eldest Cameron’s hand enters frame and places a kitten onto
the puppies—and during this crosscut action a title simply reads: Hostilities.
Meanwhile, the cat claws at t the puppies. There is no giant leap in logic to
arrive at the conclusion that this is a heavy gesture to allude to the necessary
segregation of black and white in Griffith’s view.
In the next shot all of the children of the Cameron’s gather at the doorway
around a letter, which also turns out to read earlier concerning the visitation
of Northern and Southern friends—separated by a small space of geography.
And so the Stoneman brother arrive to visit the Cameron’s as it turns out they
stated and Ben Cameron in their letter—They arrive, in fact, in a horse drawn
carriage riding to mid-ground outside the walkway and gate to the Cameron
plantation. The Cameron’s wait patiently on their porch, and the Stoneman
brothers approach the family hands outreaching to shake The Northerners are
introduced to the southerners as friends, all behaving jovially in each other’s
presence. The friends and family enter the estate passing behind the large white
palatial columns on the porch back in the main interior—tinted with just the
right color to illustrate the lighting. Take note that color tinting throughout
is, in fact, all motivated by what would be thought as the color most picked up
by natural light—all to instigate a totality of realism.
Still outside are Cameron’s older daughter and the Stoneman’s older son, taking
interest in each other as friends. In the same shot, the lady’s brother emerges
from the background to interrupt the appearance of affection between the couple.
They all turn and head inside, smoothly matched on action in the next shot of
the interior main area of the Cameron’s house, which from here on will be
referred to as a ‘Stairwell Room.’ As the Cameron parents smile and greet those
that enter the room, outside, the two youngest brothers of each family are shown
as the intertitle reads, as “Chums.” They exchange in a friendly game that leads
to a mock chase. Crosscut this with the Stairwell Room with the various people
in different planes of the background. And then back to the youngest brothers
playfully dodging each other’s chase, eventually getting chastised for their
mock battling. Several cuts go by in the next thirty seconds (a little over ten
minutes into the film) that establish the inside of the Southern estate as a
peaceful, happy existence in a veritable calm before the storm.
As the introduction fuses into further plot development—an intertitle sets up
the dynamic group of protagonists in factually designed scenarios, uncanny in
resemblance to civil war folk-lore. The young Cameron’s sojourn through the
cotton fields for a moment—then a line of sight match pictures a love interest
(completely in beginning stages, but with assured follow through, developing
between the oldest Cameron girl and oldest Stoneman boy. Fade in on another
picturesque locale, the seaside, of ellipsis, here Griffith dispatches the use
of ellipsis or ‘folded edges’ to make a frame within a frame. The use of
ellipsis is so common with Griffith and interestingly hardly ever used
anymore—though it would be a clever device even now. Silent imagery, quite often
in a painterly fashion, which is why they are so stylish and advanced.

Again, there is a debate about a primitive mode of representation (Noel Burch’s
PMR), and while Giusseppe de Liguero’s L’INFERNO, in 1911, a full length feature
recently rediscovered, premastered and re-released on digital video appears
immaculate in aesthetics—yet a true example of primitivism—Griffith’s BIRTH
merges the modern and classical styles; which turns the whole film into a
textbook of film form, an institutional mode of representation—
Also, the actual distinction between silent and sound film is the absence of
audible dialog in a silent feature and the absence of intertitles in a sound
film—naturally. However, telling a story in pure visuals purifies the media to
an enhanced image. This is to say that at the point of the first seaside shot in
BIRTH the ellipsis frame features the shot with a faded circle around the edges.

A few seconds later two female slaves and pick cotton in a large surreal cotton
field. Among the oddest of the problems with Birth is that hardly any
African-Americans were used in the actual shoot—or at, at least, the story goes
that many of the actors were white people in black-face playing the role of
African people. The sheer images of the scene, in which the cotton is picked,
reflects back to the ironic coldness, in which the heightened reality of slavery
is glamorized to the point of redundancy.
The falsities of this “true” story (later in way claiming to be truth) abound,
although the fermentation of “poetic truth” in an Aristotelian sense is
beginning to take hold. The Cameron’s enter the frame—right after a shot of a
close-up of a slave’s hand picking cotton—a shot to rival all others—in front of
the slaves, taking advantage of their privileged space in the field—an
establishmentarianistic capitalistic leisurely class emerges. Inserts in the
“cotton field” sequence culminate to the insert (a rather Feuillade-esque
device) of a picture Elsie Stoneman Griffith intercuts Gish’s character in photo
freeze frames the action at once and all together. The Cameron boy keeps the
picture of Elsie for himself and all the white people exit the frame,
repositioning the slaves in another pleasing shot. G.W. Bitzer must have taken
approach, because the shot is in the slave quarters of the plantation and slaves
couldn’t be happier at this stage. Notice that the Cameron boy shakes hands with
an African slave, whereas later he refuses to shake hands with a mulatto with
political status. The mystery behind the sinister Northern plot will be revealed
as a matter based in simple economic dominance of the United States. For now,
the slaves are shown to be enjoying white masters. In a longer take, the slaves
dance to entertain themselves and others.



Emerging is a pattern of shots that mimic each other--an establishing shot, which eventually includes characters, an intercut, which highlights characters
and then back to the establishing shot. Alfred Hitchcock used this technique as well, objective in establishment and subjective in a close-up point of view shot.

In other words, the index of reference to a shot within a shot is completely ascertained by Griffith. Another fact that resonates strongly with Griffith is how huge of an inspiration his films were
on other filmmakers, from Charlie Chaplin and Erich von Stroheim to Robert Bresson and Robert Altman--undoubtedly an aesthetic all its own, rife with a personal touch. Yet, BIRTH is atypically recognized, as here
as Griffith's most important work. Because BROKEN BLOSSOMS, INTOLERANCE and WAY DOWN EAST are all almost equally as good and as are in constant flux of critical reorganization by critics.
To name the key works thus far restored, look no further than JUDITH OF BETHULIA, HEARTS OF THE WORLD, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST and TRUE HEART SUSIE. To round off the top ten AVENGING CONSCIENCE and AMERICA are the two most unforgettable
that always need inclusion. As for the short films, well, he never made a bad short--the earliest short is THE ADVENTURES OF DOLLIE an animal movie, picturing a dog. Again, JUSDITH OF BETHULIA (based on an apocryphal text of Biblical lore) marks the
turning point from short too long. Even the two part ENOCH ARDEN does not stretch as long, but endures, like most of his shorts, as masterpieces.
BIRTH shows a clash of racism in the early days of a forming civil war, all coming to a close with the end of the frontier in 1895, transfiguring itself onto cinema--BIRTH is not too far from similar parameters.
As the slaves dance, the white folk enjoy the company of their slaves for a short while.
Soon after, it is noteworthy to bring up the new headline Griffith plays on, "If the North carries the election, the south will secede the Cameron senior points out the article, which is as controversial as anything now as when the film was
released, back unto the 1865 scenario, when the war was on a somewhat decrescendo of technique. Remember the film delves far into the aftermath of the war.
Next, Father Austin Stoneman is viewed in his 'secret' library. The library shot is rarely examined, but it is worth note that again, the composition is a major breakthrough in the structure of time and apace---Rich Northern men discuss rich northern theories,
which then cuts to one of the most interesting scenes of the film entire. Lydia Brown is a housekeeper (and later hinted at as a lover) of Austin Stoneman. All entirely in silent film fashion, she gives a Brecthian pantomime, in a long take she is intercut with Austin
in the library. Actually, by the time the film cuts back to her--the second time--she tries to a make a move on a politician---who condescends to her. She then acts out even more pantomime to illustrate her disgust of white people. As she practically goes into convulsions--tearing her
clothes and falling to the ground in agony.
Switch back to the library--Austin gathers material--rapid cross cut to the housekeeper making motions in dementedly lurid ways.
One of the most unconvincing title cards of the movie appears soon after, reading, "The great leader's weakness that is to blight a nation." Here Griffith takes the moral high-ground of right and left wingers alike, that pointed out the out-of-date memories
of the evils of miscegenation is somehow still evil. Austin walks in on his maid and as she cries to him, he consoles her.
In the next scene--the two brothers, identified as chums, agree to meet each other again, which will, as seen, be entirely different circumstances then what they would expect. The oldest Stoneman vows to stay true to the older Cameron girl forever.
Then, they all part ways and go back about business, which relates to the later film by Renoir (GRAND ILLUSION,) in its distinct intentional contradictions. A horse buggy takes the Stonemans home and among the last to leave the reverse Point of View shot the Cameron
Lady, transfixed on her lover to be--foreshadowing to the maximum. (Note by Joel Newton: Abraham Lincoln is ready to sign a proclamation, and Lincoln's gesture is true to form, known to act like this throughout history. As the politicians leave the room, Abe Lincoln reflects on
the actions he has just taken.) The scene with Lincoln calling for troops or volunteers is another "facsimile" with cited source on the intertitle. (Griffith cites Nicolay and Hay in "Lincoln a History," as Lincoln's actions come to fruition.)
And so, the Stoneman brothers are off to fight the war for the North. Gish's Elsie pretends to be excited and hopeful for her brothers. She looks at them dressed in their uniforms and sends them out with affection and physical touch--In the well structured scene,
the older brother leaves the frame to appear in the next cut, (match on movement) and he bounds over a hedge and then looks back and in the next cut his POV reveals Elsie and her younger brother. Then the cuts gently transition between Elsie and her younger brother. Then the cuts gently
transition between Elsie and her departing brothers by way of more POVs and matching on action. Gish's Elsie continues to play along with her brother, pretending to be proud of his war efforts. But a moment after her brothers leave, the reality sinks in and she panics and bursts into
tears, falling down in fear. As the fade out eclipses the scene, classical Hollywood editing is from this point on, completely established. The film, so far, is linear, seamless montage, lavish mise-en-scene and experimental style that lays the ground rules for the cinema entire.
In effect, another debate the film brings up is whether the content is separate from the form. Are the style and from independent of content? The answer is, yes, in some cases, no in others. The overwhelming camera angles during the KKK ride at the end, propagandize
the Klan as an important entity--valorizing content, informed by the style and form, or technique. However, in certain scenes, as the departing of the brothers illustrates, the classical form erases its own creation to draw attention to characters and plot. So the form actually does
involve the content, yet it makes itself invisible to boost the content as priority.
The next sequence is out of control, the first instance of war spectacle, at the same time improving on Edwin Porter's discovery of the 'crosscut.' Note that all the linguistic syntagms existed in a primitive form. His revolution, as every auteur since the Lumiere's is improving
what already exists. The reason so much technique is attributed to D.W. Griffith, is because, like Orson Welles after him, he perfected the craft. Bazin writes of Griffith, montage is "derived initially...from the masterpieces of Griffith..."
The intertitle displays the fact that Piedmont is holding a dance after the battle of bull run and the dancing is, of course, elegantly choreographed.
Red color tinting (in the crosscut scenes of night time celebrations in the street,) denote bonfires that place the visuals in a thesis (dance hall), antithesis (street bonfire) dialectic--and although both shots spliced together are, in fact, celebratory--here are the roots of "intellectual" or
"collision montage." And, as written, Eisenstein practiced his early editing skills by recutting BIRTH and INTOLERANCE, and in fact, in the case of INTOLERANCE, the Soviets had no other footage to cut, so they ordered the film in its chronological order and the like. BIRTH is attributable to the beginnings of
Soviet Montage, as well as, German Expressionism, let alone the Hollywood Industry. In their profound books of film theory, Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen praise Griffith for creating, "the most systematic meaning and the most effective rhythmic pattern," through editing. The montage, as it is during the bonfire
and dance, is so peculiar, because the film cuts from a different angle of the fire to a shot inside the house. Needless to say, the precedent for the cleverly divine GONE WITH THE WIND was laid upon the groundwork in BIRTH. Two Camerons--the old wise sage and the little girl sleep--and the Cameron's son covers his sister
in a confederate flag as a blanket, an icon that is given considerable metaphor for the 'Children of the South.' In a way, Griffith speaks to audiences of 1915 by placing the flag as a symbol of freedom. In a strange way, Griffith himself was seceding from the very way motion pictures were made and then his style became
mainstream, ironically.
Much affection is spread between the Cameron family--Then, the film shows the dance hall erupting in joy upon the news that the confederacy took the lead at the wars first battle, Bull Run.
The red tinted bonfire goes into the night--And at "daybreak" the troops must go into battle, which is illustrated by the Piedmont plantations swarmed by the people and soon after, a bugler in an establishing shot--then medium close-up plays a tune that is, no doubt, the music that calls men to arms.
A brilliant intercut of the dance hall displays the dancers reaction to the bugler--so far, the preparations for battle hardly that the world was at war around the time of the film's release and brink of battle, goes to show that pro-war propaganda can be found in the anti-war details. However, as is later viewed, if
one stance negates the other, then the negation over rules, for the most part.
Anyway, the Cameron's prepare for battle, as well--spending family time together in the final hours before the war. As the Cameron, read a flag saying, "Conquer we must/For our Cause is just," on a circle and the middle of the circle reads, "Victory or Death." There is a bit of contradiction to these historical
words. To "Conquer" does not mean to kill, yet the people will die for the cause. Loaded statements appear elsewhere in the film, particularly in the intertitles.
As the Cameron's pay their last farewell to send their two children off to war.
Fanfare continues in a regiment march down the street, as the South readies for war. And, in terms of the allegory present concerning war in the world, the implications wrought in the metaphor of the civil war of Americans, must have been a socio-political choice. Griffith's colonial impetus thematically centralizes
world crisis around a familiar American war, which serves to bolster the appeal of the U.S.--as nostalgic as Griffith is, his longings for an older world exacerbate his use of all American iconography.
In the 'Southern Departure' scene in the movie, pride is a factor that overcomes the men headed for war. The oldest Cameron son, gets on a horse and joins, in a match on action, the army parade. The crowd waves handkerchiefs in the air in perfect continuity. And, of course, the intellectual montage that is displayed
of troops marching off to meet the other troops, must be seen to be ascertained because the footage is so realistic, the black and white when the shot of the Cameron's at home watching the soldiers, it is hard not to feel a sense of emotion due to three Aristotelian traits: mimesis, kinesis and catharsis.
Finally, the Camerons, in a touch of poetic brilliance, return to their daily business, all in different depths of field--the little girl takes another look at the flag, while father smokes and converses etc. The use of an ordinary moment amidst the psychological tension, relieves the audience and provokes them to identification
with the humanism.
A moment later, past the 30 minute mark of the movie, the Northern character of Elsie Stoneman visits her father and relates to him of her brothers leaving for war. All the opening details of story and characters are in place, when the entire film, by the words, "Two and a half years later," transitions to Ben Cameron reading a letter
from home. (Notice the constant use in the intertitles of the paragraph symbol at the beginning of every thought, denoting grammar.)

Ben reads a sentimental letter shown in an insert, written by his sister--connecting the war front with home and advancing the plot of the film. Immediately, in Piedmont at the Camerons, a response shot of Ben's younger sister, framed by the doorway reading Ben's letter, is not shown in insert, like her letter was earlier.
After cutting back and forth from the doorway and 'Stairwell Room' Griffith arrives at a point of nostalgia, showing the Cameron Sisters looking elegant and leaving their house. The action picks up, as the ladies are startled by people running scared through the streets, to avoid the onslaught of oncoming militia raiders.
Old man Cameron grabs his pistol and the two girls rush back into the house, telling their father about the oncoming militia that bum rushes the town. All this while gun battles erupt in the street outside the plantations. The Cameron family retreats into a side room, as mayhem ensues right outside their house. The theme of a retreat
into a room to temporarily escape disaster is a theme Griffith used quite a bit in many of his films. Gish's character in BROKEN BLOSSOMS, to name a famous example, retreats to avoid being beaten up. (Later, her father nearly mercifully kills her in retreat to avoid any further molestation., in BIRTH...) Here, as per usual, technique creates suspense in the
action, intensifying the atmospheric anxiety.
It is relevant to note that mainly black people attack Piedmont, ravaging the town organized by a 'white captain' and soon they enter the Cameron's uninvited. As they ransack the place, the Camerons (except the old father, who is knocked down in the 'Stairwell Room,') retreat further back into the house, which is cut together by match on action--room to
room to escape the invaders.
Yet again, a complete penchant for grandiose spectacle is authorized by Griffith's command. The flaw of this otherwise perfect movie, is evidenced in the fact that most of the Africans are like savage automatons, capable of many potentially deadly acts, even when subjugated to brawling, as in a strange scene later involving an all out brawl between races.
Thus, the scene of the ransacking of Piedmont at this juncture, like so many other scenes, sets a precedent for how race should be handled in film--that is, incorrectly.
The strengths of the film is alongside its weakness because the fear of the hiding Cameron family elicits an empathetic response. Down into the cellar goes the women of the Cameron family. The youngest sister and older sister respectively, are lit by the key light in a medium close-up, two shot with no back or background lighting to create the illusion of being
consumed by the darkness of the cellar. At the same time the youngest sister is practically giddy either from fear or adrenaline or both. The older sister appears in this ghostly shot, in the cellar, as wild eyed as well. The shootings continue on the street, the lootings continue in the 'Stairwell Room.' Anarchy abounds and the singularly lit sisters pray for resolution to the
deadly situation. They know that their hopes and dreams are diminishing, that at any minute now they could be physically injured by the rioting militia.
Like most of Griffith's 'retreat' shots, the antagonist (or antagonists,) break into the first room the family hid, immediately the enemy head toward the next room of hiding in the series of rooms. Griffith splices in the 'last-minute rescue' he is well known for, cross-cutting a Southern soldier discovering the news of the plantation under siege. As the valuables of the Cameron house are plundered
and destroyed, the women wait underground, still reacting in their own cold way to the pandemonium.
Crosscut rescue suspense make erupts as the Confederate troops their way to the Cameron household and others' houses that have been set ablaze. The 'white' captain takes note of the gunfire in the street, places the order to burn the house down and the montage continues between interior and exterior shots of warfare in the streets. The Cameron family are freed to return from hiding and
they re-enter the blazing, red color tinted (for the fire effect), 'Stairwell Room.' In what seems like a jump cut, without a transition excepting an intertitle, the aftermath of the last minute rescue is played out like the denouement of a short film of Griffith's earlier film days. The relief of being saved by the Confederates leads to thanks to the soldiers and more familial bonding.
In the midst of war, Ben Cameron finds Elsie's picture that he has apparently kept since the cotton field scene. He delicately opens the picture and her graceful glory is Close-Up in insert, still frozen in time. Seated in his tent, Ben Cameron has never been as happy, viewing a picture of a girl he has never met.
The next shot and scene (thirty-nine minutes into the film) are the first of the battle-field where Cameron meets Stoneman, fighting for opposite sides of the war and slaying each other. They are the pair seen earlier referred to by an intertitle as chums that get along with each other in the introduction at Piedmont.
At any rate, the young men that were friends, kill each other. The transitioning from style and genre to a war film is smooth from an historical domestic melodrama and the up close and personal battlefield illustrates in detail the friends from earlier, running head-long into unwanted destruction. The friends are gunned down, one intentionally, one accidentally (due to checking out his dying friend that he
takes notice of.) The first death is accidental as well, to be honest, because the young men were merely fighting their personal battles upon being responsible for the others death. In fact, in a moment of eloquence the young men see each other eye to eye and stop fighting--only for death to follow. The scene concludes with the two young opposing soldiers dying on the ground somewhat close to each other and
slowly they die in dignity, as though they were brothers--friends to the end--
The past is confirmed to father Cameron at his house, reading the bad news of a death in the family--in sweeping emotions, each Cameron in a different way mourns the loss of a loved one. The Stonemans in the North discover they have lost a family member as well, and begin mourning for him.
To donate to the cause, at an unspecified later time in the episodical, elliptical narrative and plot, the Camerons are at their plantation, donating all of their nicest clothes to the war effort. It is difficult to imagine whether D.W. Griffith intended any of his film to be pro-war or pro-racism,
for that matter. If the scenario was a different war--as he captured many recreated wars on film--then the patriotism could be mistaken as pro-war sentiment. In BIRTH, war is disastrous in its effect, but in the depiction of the characters, they are genuinely loaded with preserving emotion.

Speaking of perseverance, Elsie Stoneman donates her time, as a nurse for wounded soldiers. Yet, even though the intertitle gives away her intent, all that is seen in the shot is father and daughter Stoneman leaving their living chambers.
The next shot is such a total 'doozy' that an entire book could be written about the one shot and nothing else. Long story short, collision montage occurs within the frame--as the camera pans right, it dramatically captures a horde of armies riding off to battle.
The shots are broken up into the mother and children and the armies marching. Overall, the effect of powerlessness versus powerful force becomes an open dichotomy of discussion, to say the very least.
The imagery of the helpless woman on the hillside stands to reveal through metaphor, the unseen vulnerability of the Southern force--which works well in the film to set up the burning of Atlanta--GONE WITH THE WIND later capitalized on this idea, and it is not a coincidence that the scene in WIND
is now far more recognized. In BIRTH the scene is granted far more poetry in the visuals--red color tinting to denote fire and flames--and the chaotic madness in the INFERNO of Atlanta becomes so hard to make out that a visual reference Northern Warfare in the film delves into the secrets of Griffith's
artistry. And to drive home the metaphor, the hillside shot from before is crosscut with the downfall of Atlanta, which proceeds with an interesting special effect of fire, somehow projected in the background and hordes of people running away--from the blaze. The full fledged Atlanta sequence is in appearance,
surreal and dream-like utilizing formal structure to aestheticize destruction of a city. For lack of a better phrase--the whole scene is a beautiful apocalypse, sublime in its spectacle. The madness of a fire in the streets (replete with irony or, as critics have termed ironia, a reflection of ironic paranoia,)
of Atlanta is meticulously detailed and impressionistic--veiled by clouds of smoke. Most of these "night" shots were a trick of silhouetted subject matter. The scene (intentionally, looking like the Fiery Gates to Hell) is mainly of silhouettes of escaping people--some of them on horseback. The realism that continues,
even upon special effect/sound stage usage, throughout the 'Atlanta Fire' is plausible despite the experimental nature of the montage, which shifts point of views and features many victims fleeing to survive. While all are in confusion, the fire becomes all the more raging. Seen from the exit of the city, the whole place
is up in flames, and Griffith mobilizes crowds at a time in the scenes that are of Biblical proportions. In another cut-in, smoke all but consumes the action.
Ultimately, the burning of Atlanta widens the palate in terms of style (pacing, framing etc.) and in the content creating a scenario during the war, in which, the central protagonists are not in the dynamic scene at all. Thus, the story progresses, based on an important historical calamity, without any key players present.
Of course, this example is not the first time there are no main characters--it is probably one of the most expensive scenes that they are absent from.
All through the film is the central idea of a crowd becoming a character of its own. Often the crowds here are involved in melodramatic spectacle-- a throwback to 'actualities,' and/or theater of attractions. The docudramatic feel of the film accentuates and hyper-intensification of the war's attractions.
In a sense, there lies an early Hollywood realist/formalist dichotomy taking root in BIRTH, as the dualism is played out during the destruction of Atlanta--
Without question, the special effect of double exposure is brought out often to delineate the loss of a city and with all the chaos and all the madness of an act of extreme vandalism, the effects shine through--integrated into the mainframe of filmed creativity. Up to this point in the film, the action was
rarely at such a hyperkinetic frenzy as the fire.
Shifting gears, the intertitle announces (46 minutes into the movie) that the Confederacy is headed for doom and to illustrate this, the harsh reality of food rations diminished to parched corn--even at the "battle lines," is the next frame of reference that draws upon the Southern woes, as their army approaches defeat,
which really is not foreshadowed by the written letters of distanced communication, placed strategically throughout.
Soldiers in a trench, await rations--hands in close-up urge for more corn and the soldiers deal with the hardships of poverty stricken troops. The representation of the Southern troops is now disenchanting--demystifying the nostalgia established prior, as the battle has clearly taken a toll physically and economically.
Struggles intensify when a "food train" headed for the Southern troops is hijacked by the Union. This detail is actually shown in pictures, a tangent that evidently interested Griffith enough to film. As the wagon train of food is stopped by horsemen, the food itself is illustrated in abstract, close-up cut-ins--
In the next intertitle, General Lee is mentioned, which brings up an interest in the historic mixture of fact and fiction. More and more examples of a sophisticated narrative fall into place, as the film progresses. Earlier in the movie, during the letter reading scenes, the 'sense of' mentioned 'distanced communication'
is interpreted by the viewer, in contrast, with the intimacy that Griffith has with his massive cast of extras that portray history. While quite a bit of screen time is devoted to other facets of war history (again, as the United States was in a formed contemporary war-zone in 1915.)
So, General Lee orders a backlash against the stolen food train and Southern and Northern troops, soon after, hit the battle-field against each other, in the first of a series of war scenes. Tinted red and in the darkened frame, explosions and gun-fire explode all over the screen, but the mise-en-scene is placed far enough away
to complete a sense of realism of warfare in the 1800's. The war scene leads up to Ben Cameron, now known as, "the little Colonel," explained in the text of intertitle--organizing with Confederate soldiers to make plans to attack, while explosions and smoke denote the chaos of battle. The warfare becomes a subjective experience for the audience--
creating a sense that the footage is cathartic upon screening and war-time is depicted as a destroyer of common ethics.
Ben, in full on uniform, orders his troops, to ready for the attack, authoritatively waves his saber in the air and charges forth--all for the effect of heroics, independent of 'a priori' knowledge of the lost cause of the South.
Among the most impressive shots of the entire film are during the same battle, when the camera is stationed at an extreme wide-shot, taking in a line of effectively placed troops, all but engulfed in smoke from gun-fire (coming from, both sides of the screen.)
The Northern front line is also in a trench, barricaded and lined with bayonet rifles that fire and reload like clockwork. The battle scene is a strategic production of massive extras, in staged warfare with rampant gunfire and shrouded in the chaos of the explosive field
of the conflict.
Backdrop--massive warfare in the distance, for a duration shown in totality--a well-edited spectacle for all times of the battalion structure--organized Northern troops firing from the right frame to the left, and a decimated Southern troop disorganized, while centralized in the frame--
Griffith focuses in on closer to the Southern Garrison, waving the flag at the Confederates--firing at the North--(note: from right frame, firing to the left)--calculating a rhythmized, heavily patterned flow of shots that symbolize a gun battle across a battlefield--troops on either side of the
warfare firing at the other. As the battle rages on-- a feeling of anti-war, pro-war dialectics enter into the picture. Due to the nature of cinematic frenzies of war--the repercussions all but equal the heroism--which portrays both a negative connotation of the murderous sacrifice of war and
positive, which simply boasts the very greatest side of humanity--to stand up as a military man, dying for a cause--strange in and of itself, considering America did not have a common enemy in the Civil War, rather, had an enemy among its own people.
Surely, BIRTH privileges the South as the hero--however, there are as well, protagonists on the Northern side--perhaps when "the chums" killed each other, the tides turned for the film in entirety--illustrating a veritable volume on the rights and wrongs of war--
whether or not derivations of which side holds a moral compass is read plainly or not--war exists here as nowhere else, equally justified on both sides. Of course, the South is given weighty precedence (as it will later in GONE WITH THE WIND) in terms of the more heroic--an idea that will gain
retread throughout.
The battle is as well choreographed as the dancing--music and violence combinations that Stanley Kubrick and Sam Peckinpah have deliberately used ideas from to drive home a detachment in aestheticized violence--a beautiful apocalypse that recurs as a cathartic, kinetic and mimetic reply
from art to society. In other words--the reflection of violence turned into art maintains hereditary values for two reasons, violence in war is realistic--the world will go to war again--repeatedly into oblivion--Peckinpah dealt with Vietnam as a realist in THE WILD BUNCH, while Kubrick's cold war to
Vietnam series (including DR. STRANGELOVE, BARRY LYNDON and FULL METAL JACKET) all incorporate Griffith's use of war as a grand spectacle--
A circulating documentary on BIRTH exists--created by David Shephard--which, actually reveals old Civil War films, circulating around the time of BIRTH. Not only were most of them short films (not by any means devaluing the film) but as grandiose as all the spectacles were, none can outgun
THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Compare INTOLERANCE to BIRTH, because to be honest, in terms of film spectacle, Griffith himself composed his own competition--the only true way to challenge technique is by out-doing technique on your authorship terms. In fact, BIRTH and INTOLERANCE travel together
in many respects, because INTOLERANCE is the continuation of the theme, done without the racism--clearly INTOLERANCE illustrates by converting stereotypes to archetypes (case in point--the Babylonians in the Babylon sequence)--which JUDITH OF BETHULIA did for the Israelites years earlier, which really
goes to show that D.W. Griffith's downfall of befriending Germans around the time of the Nazis rise to power as less anti-Semitic than other reports have proclamated--Yet, his racism seems to have gone in waves--not necessarily by the way his overall world-view dictated--
Let us wax analytical--why would a man go through various phases of differences as to how race, class and gender is depicted on film in a polysemical way to verify its multiple point of view?--Later, in film history various critics have hailed Jen-Luc Godard for his variety of changing Ideology--
If evolution were not random, it would be the perfect 'term' for Griffith's changes and corrections.
Anyway, Griffith's INTOLERANCE is yet another towering manifesto to the ideals that combat hatred of all forms and if it is an answer to BIRTH in terms of beliefs, then even the racism in BIRTH is somehow kept in check--in a Homeric ILIAD to ODYSSEY connection.
So, some 50 minutes into the movie and the civil war is already going strong, flamed into a tracking shot that from far away looks well staged, full of horses and riders, travelling to aid the troops that are almost from a bird's-eye view--a strategy found in videogames upon their sacred
advent--show the war from a distance and control the whole battle--in the same respect, Griffith is a dictator of images, never allowing his team of Joseph Henabery, James Smith, Rose Smith and Raoul Walsh to interrupt his own schemata of editing prowess--legend has it that he cut the whole film in
his head long before he shot it--manipulating all to his whim.
To say the least--his war footage has to be seen to be believed because all the arrangements of cutting include war footage so chaotic and almost surreal, surpassing the likes of even SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in how immersed the battlefield is in a meticulously constructed monstrosity of
confusion (although--the soldiers never mistake their enemy.)
On the Northern lines, in the mid to foreground, stand fortified behind a gate, dodging the oncoming rush of explosions cast upon their refuge. Their guns, cannons and turrets are all displayed like in a picture that is in a civil war museum--much like all of this footage of war.
Many times, in the film, the frame is entirely obscured, here again by smoke, billowing from incessant gun-fire and the like, which devours the picture until literally only a shred of battleground is all that is viewable. At this stage, in the next few cuts, the battlefield itself
becomes encapsulated by full on explosions, blasting the smoke screen into a match on action structuring metaphor of 'fire' enveloping the scenario--only this time, the smoke is in neutral mode--denoting violence inflicted by two just factions. The military men of the NORTH clamber to illustrate
a defeat of the South troops--and several moving shots evidence the clearance of a much larger field of battle over that, which Griffith reveals earlier in the fight.
The large battles are clearly an influence that came from the Italian "sword and sandal: epics, particularly CABIRIA (a continuation of Italy's legacy of features dating back to their first--also an epic--L'INFERNO directed by Giusseppe de Liguero and others to show Dante's vision in an extremely
primitive mode of representation in an unforgettable masterpiece of symbolic constructions,) Italy, all but mastered the early feature, although in the uncertainty of which country boasts the world's first feature--Australia's STORY OF THE KELLY GANG, a film that may no longer exist--but Wikipedia (as of June 2009)
states its claim--accurate or not. As for surviving features, who but the archivists really know?
The first three American features that coexist as the first are MANGER TO THE CROSS, (a Christ Passion Play), OLIVER TWIST (Dickens) and another period Shakespeare piece, but even MANGER TO THE CROSS in all of its influence over early Griffith features, taking control in INTOLERANCE particularly, according to Griffith CABIRIA
was a greater influence. The really crazy part is, no matter how many films influenced BIRTH there are thousands more influenced by BIRTH. Early origins depicting Griffith as a theatrical savant, acting while dreaming of Edison--only to actually break off from Edison's label and form a label all his own. By 1919, Griffith together
with his underlings Charlie Chaplin (debuting in a feature in 1914, TILLIE'S PUNCTURED ROMANCE), Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks who were all lucrative in feature film markets in film's like GOLD RUSH, SPARROWS, MARK OF ZORRO and THIEF OF BAGHDAD. which were all in direct and indirect ways Griffithian to the core--The four of them
got together and worked out UNITED ARTISTS, an entity that like Griffith rose and fell and rose again throughout rose and fell and rose again throughout its many years as a studio, yielding films that are modeled after the years of film evolution and progress. UA is a logo that did come back with a vengeance, marking the high point
in the commodity cultures of the 1980's and 1990's.
The war blazes from left to right, right to left, cutting, which instigates an entire affront to Hollywood editing, while creating the language of a war. Consider the beast of film as it is, as a symbol of things to come. If 1939's masterwork by Jean Renoir RULES OF THE GAME was as much about cinema's origins, which creates
a dead on accuracy.
In terms of existence, in every other war besides the civil war--America was not fighting America--but someone other--from another country, usually from another race. Take the Iraq war today under leadership that has led us into it in America. It is 2009 and people die every day in Iraq--yet the war in our own country,
is all cultural battles, like what came from the birth of post-modernity in France. Today, a cultural battle would go so far, as to eliminate even in BIRTH OF A NATION from the socio-intellectual culture of film's frames of remembered canonical works.
However, very many people have actually praised the work long after its thematics dated into the real controversy that exists now, which is almost all more relevant to the second half, which in terms of deconstruction is nearer, but to interpret the actual war footage is to behold either a dream or a nightmare of what it is like to fight a war
upon which there is not a side to partake of.
Now at last as fifty three minutes elapsed and what will be described here as Ben Cameron's final bum rush comes alive in the medium, as an instance of Griffith that will forever live on throughout the history of film as THE moment he will always be most remembered for--the last Southern stand against Northern troops watches closely, as the South
led by Ben Cameron, charges to the Northern lines, far less in numbers than them--an event not unlike a reenactment of what happened at the Alamo--a sacrificial idol everyone can appreciate.
Ben Cameron, front and center, huge in a theater, lunges forward with his Southern troops in a shot--followed by the North, blasting them down--Another shot of the guns dropping, firing etc. The battlefield is aglow in the next cut with mayhem and the Southern troops continue to charge in the midst of it all from different angles.
The battleground is still alight with smoke everywhere. Smoke enters everywhere--And as surreal as the film becomes--even with smoke in the air--the avant-garde movement of the French 20's yielded a number of cinematic movements that were entirely reactionary to the Griffith mode of thought. Or so it seems, because if Orson Welles and
Sergei Eisenstein unleashed early short films--then maybe the world's greatest shorts like MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY or CORNER IN WHEAT measure up as greater than even today's greatest masterpieces like TITANIC, or perhaps shoe short films have paved the ground for lengthier films that do concertingly exist.
But with as much regards to how BIRTH is a direct descendant if Hollywood film, up to and until GODFATHER, which is a style all its own and complete unto creation of a New Standard of cinematic undertaking that models itself on the predilection of Coppola--which is, all incorporative of stylistics post-D.W. Griffith, but at least until Alfred
Hitchcock presented his highly experimental PSYCHO to the world and New American Cinema was hatched then and only then was the style of BIRTH taken out of absolute control. To be honest, if a contemporary film like COLD MOUNTAIN were taken into play, there is very little difference from the first half of BIRTH, which again, like the later Kubrick,
plays all but differently from the second half--encompassing a spectrum all different from one part to the next.
The point that must evidently be constructed as a point of departure from the totalistic totality of what is considered purity of image--the silent avant garde 1920's in France summed up the inevitable decay of future images and posed that their unsociable wagers purified the very notions of art's drive for singularity.
Pure cinema exists in BIRTH as clearly as purer forms, but to take socio-political iconography--alas the Southern troops charging forward at the Northern victors--who have all but claimed victory--deceive the entire audience into editing history. And in a transitional memory that defeats the purpose along the line from silent
to sound film.--the image reaches the level of purity in spite of its content due to the nature of its silence. While BIRTH in 1915 release was accompanied by an orchestra it still served to accomplish the purpose of serving the screen it issued to in terms of production.
As a denominator, take the 20's avant-garde as the only anomaly that does not exist directly--while still due in part to Griffith fever--spreading from shots like the one ordained--Ben Cameron charging at the assortment of troops. And all shown in various multiplicities of shots.
Introducing popular footage as such on display--is a disparate match as well of popular criticism--which as always mentions Griffith from text to text altering context only by switching from imagery to sacred imagery, he settles the score as to follow a bum rush with the rush of war the war itself,
which continues to blossom with effectiveness each turn of the editorial card--belonging in point of argument--almost entirely to the whims of Griffith. Take apart any editor--or even Raoul Walsh--for the most part and a cross section of the Griffithian idyllic exist for a time--soaking up the cause
and effect rhythmic flow that makes everything flow within a particular realm of the cosmos and tears everything else apart from deeply within and disgraces a generation from their false agendas seeking out what is not there beyond.
If there were a battle among the greatest of films BIRTH would win even among PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC and JEANNE DIELMAN... and the like, belonging to a non-existent class of silent film to the unit of film where the bigger is the better--to copy that which is at stake--a gigantic intermix in international
sensationalism that would grow to beyond a monolithic control to a major sensation of killer philosophical incantations that can beseech a thousand viewers at once to control them beyond spectacle.
Griffith shares with everyone else because he supposedly has the means to which at any right is the way to Griffith's ultimate message of BIRTH, which is to take place at a time when cinema needed a kick start or a final form of art that considers film among the immaculate arts, the forms of consciousness that motivate
the Soul or the likes thereof, which hereticize the very nature of God's appearances, which as of now belongs to BIRTH OF A NATION in the needs of spectacular choreography. Ben Cameron runs forward to either victory or defeat, whichever seems real--Griffith defeats image makers around the world at the early day of 1915 rifting consciousness for eternity. As for the encompassing
methodology of BIRTH, it is no question that the war sequence plays all encompassing catharsis.
But to maintain the whole epicurean awareness of the shot, the shot itself is to be examined in a wholly original stance nightmarishly proper--even so the Cameron family prey upon their Bible--to the tune of every kind of twisted plot there exists in the film--a prayer of survival for their son, which proves true but only in a few unexpected frames of footage. When in
the cahiers du cinema notable frames of found art is proselytized and pontificated upon, let it be known that here lies the watershed upon that which filmed art is founded around, the centralized objective of film is the essence of time and space hybridized for unity in conjunction with reality and metaphor drawn upon heavily--here for the smoky, decimated battlefield and a closer-up look
juxtapositioned with a family full of prayers seeking the Lord to intervene on the plains of the war, as if he would not otherwise.
Avant Garde films that came in the next decade were full of ideas that BIRTH had only up until recently gained access to, which lead again, to the purity of imagery--an effect the battle scenes of BIRTH have on the viewer--almost as though no other war imagery is manifest earlier or later than BIRTH, which posits itself as a manufacturer of all film in dealership with war propaganda
mode- a sense yearned for only in ages far earlier than BIRTH.
So in CABIRIA, a totality of imagery placement is sufficient unto the calibration that a more recent epic--THE BIRTH OF A NATION finally imparts upon itself the ultimate scrutiny--deconstruction, a failure of a term to plainly meet the film in scrutiny--but when war is a constructed object of fear, desire and an age old heart of subjection to violent despair, war is only as modern as
represented. Film itself contains the modernity required in philosophical construction; Age old commodifiers only please that aforementioned, hereditary response. When a troop runs through the front lines of their enemy, as Southern does to Northern here and nothing else subliminal besides south centricity, is subject to manufacturization of imagery, let alone sound--
In fact, so many different sounds have accompanied BIRTH from orchestra to organ that there need be an extensive deal more of research on how sound exploded across BIRTH's solemn screen. The soundtrack given to the film is in need of fine tuning, gesturing FLIGHT OF THE VALKYRIES to the final ride of the KKK as some kind of peaceful tome to beget endless stories--here
there are endless Civil War spin-offs that endure GONE WITH THE WIND at the early stage, COLD MOUNTAIN and others since--an amalgam of Civil War fame and striking chords in the distant countries like the Soviet Union, which consequently faced disaster by not applying to an older philosophy and thus ending in disenfranchisement as warned later would happen (or 'is happening') in 'agit-prop-train' films.
In an unusual way, the rushing forth of the Southern lines in The Civil War issues no less a confinement to a safer series of monetary recompense--a way to safeguard the flow of economical recourse proving in 1915 to be a boon of financial highlights, marking a watershed in finance history, to date. How did Griffith know siding with the South would be so lucrative?

Ultimately, the editing in BIRTH uses an interesting intellectualism found later in the Soviet Montage school-particularly here in the civil war battle-- a scene of the Cameron's still praying that their son won't die, or the like, and meanwhile the following cut is the Northern battle and troops from the South meet their doom at the Northern front line during a bum rush. In fact,
the documentary effect of the battle makes for a Bazinian sense of preserved history--as text or image provides. Hard as it is to piece together the 1915 American President Woodrow Wilson's actual stance on the film's historicity, it is not too surprising that the movie is not only a historical landmark about history--it is clear history is carefully constructed--at least during the battle,
which displays unparalleled action, so jam packed, with extras playing soldiers that Griffith must have literally commanded quite the regiment--a task not easily reproduced but always attempted on film ever since. Of course, as impressive as the scale of the work remains, the orchestration of the events is equally fantastic.
The final stand of the South depicted here is cinematic nomenclature precisely due to its understanding of shot placement and troop organization. In the former sense, the battle is coherently drawn out for the spectator, which feeds into the latter sentiment of well-placed troops in the shot--Of course, in the narrative, the Southern apocalypse is at hand and they truly do not go
down without a fight; Bayonets clash, soldiers are gunned down and troops are depleted to the point, according to the intertitle that only a 'remnant of the regiment remains to continue the advance.' The intertitles are a constant reminder of Griffith's lucid, loaded, literacy.
However, battle scenes are produced in cinema, Griffith's civil war is indeed not a clear cut, easily solvable structure, nor is it a political move. In fact, there exist an intensity of violence and confusion throughout in a cinematic project that began with the short film, A GIRL AND HER TRUST (a slavery film, in which a loyal slave rescues his white counterpart in order to cast
sympathy upon the African-American effort)--ranging to the fall of Babylon in INTOLERANCE. Perhaps, the way that Griffith's confusion of battle lines (though the South in BIRTH is, at this point still in flux and the determinism that rules this episode presents a Southern defeat and an explicated victory)--is Griffith's goal of eliminating future civil war with film, and whether he botched it
(not realizing the scariest axiom that life often imitates art, even when art is meant to imitate life.)
At any rate, the rapid intercuts of midshots of battle lines, focuses back and forth on soldier's keeling over in Close-Up. As the excitement of this entertainment builds, the intensity of the battleground is harsh as hell, therefore producing the intentional double-standard that Griffith is so fond of.
The point of interest comes when Southerner Cameron provides a drink of water from a canteen, although the soldier is near death. Emblematic of the structural metaphor of water as a lost provision, is something that will save the Cameron from dying later, in the movie (several times, including a time that is not far off from the 55 minute mark is the Cameron boy's first saving grace.
The Northern lines, ruled by the Stoneman's son, cheer on the good deed of the Southerner, who is Ben Cameron and as he dodges a bullet, he smiles while recoiling. Meanwhile, as film archivist David Shephard explains in essential documentary that Griffith literally used the same battle lines for the North and the South, only rearranged them to face one direction or another. Another
trick used here is an early silent film trick of exploding smoke from the rifle blasts that engulf the battlefield in smoke nonetheless.
Southern soldiers are gunned down by the Northern lines as the final approach becomes completely doomed. Ben continues to survive the attack and travels with a battered Confederate flag. As much gunfire obscures the lines (remember both sides are just and flawed.)
Now through few cuts we have what several critics agree to be the ultimate point of expertise in this important piece of film history. Ben Cameron, amidst the random chaos, takes his flag and shoves it into a cannon in Close Up. However, while this may be the moment of "Zen" (a phrase coined by talk show host Jon Stewart on the Daily Show on Comedy Central) there isn't really much to the
post-structural approach other than the pure icons of a flag being shoved into a cannon. If Sigmund Freud himself read into the message of the scene, there would be still, in this author's opinion, no actual meaning behind the perfect shot. Even so, there are many ways to read the emblematic shot, however, many of them lead to dead ends, which is theoretically Griffith's intentions.
The series of shots that follow are replete with emotion, considering, that the Cameron's and Stoneman's are once again, face to face, only unlike the chums that meet their doom, the elder brother of the Stoneman family bounds out of his protective Northern line to rescue the Cameron's eldest. Although, uncertainty of his old friends identity makes sense because of the Cameron's eldest
growing a moustache.
The Northerner risks life and limb to save the Southerner from death.
Next, a jump cut offers a red tinted vision of nightfall with multiple explosives erupting all around. The oxymoron display of a title card, which reads "War's peace," still framed by the ominous name of Griffith on both sides of the title card (at the top of the frame) and his first and last initials centered at the bottom. Also the paragraph symbol is still usually in display on the cards.
For those looking for a single phrase to guard in their hearts, the shortest title card ("War's peace,") is the definitive clue to deciphering Griffith's double standard of pro-war/anti-war dialectics.
Following the intertitle is a shot that could very well be a painting, framed on both sides by parallel black lines and a dark arch elliptically creating a door that reveals corpses strewn about--corpses of soldiers that have found peace in death, though the title card prior to the shot reveals the flaw of war, that death in the battle (stark as it may seem) is the only freedom that the soldiers are able to achieve.
(The shot seems to be of dead Northerners, as the battle is on the left of the frame and a cannon points left. It is not accidental that left wing politics were typically, a Northern fight to free the slaves and this makes it all the more trippy that the North is on the right, facing left. Geography in this movie, begins to reveal the confusion of civil warfare architecture in general.)
Admittedly, the corpse closest to the foreground does look slightly happy. Griffith fades out and reiterates that the battle continues to engulf the imaginary field in spite of the fallen soldiers. The pyrotechnical explosions are here integrated into a context that is at once sensational and also chaotic. The whole scene is like a fireworks display. And then Griffith fades back into an even closer look at the
fatal damages of annihilation of human life, again hearkening back to the previous intertitle of "war's peace," although the revelation of the erupting battlefield remains in mind and creates an objective distance to critique the war through a discomforting thought that war itself is a fucking disaster no matter how it is seen.
G.W. Bitzer's camera work is revolutionary in every sense of the word. Bitzer must have tapped into Griffith's mind. A clever approach taken to connect cinematographer with director, requires a mind, body, soul connection where for a moment the actors are obeying every whim of the director's enlightenment. The surrender at nightfall is the final short sequence that delineates the drawn out battle footage,
discussed here in length. Returning to daylight through a yellow-hued tint under an arch framed by either a lens filter, or a film stock alteration. The Northern troops are seen from afar, and in the next cut, the army men run toward on the background, which, in this film looks like a street paved with Gold. Is this sentiment of a victorious North antiwar? That is like asking, does Griffith expose the Klan in order to
have them brought out into tired discussion?
The next intertitle reveals that the news of the deceased and near deceased travels. The youngest Cameron girl reads to her family the news of the departed, and the family have a strange look of happy denial that the whole thing happened. After a few moments the youngest Cameron girl is seen to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The Cameron sisters embrace each other in delirium and outrage over the loss of familial structure, which began as an act of wholeness that war decimated. Cut back to the hospital in the North, where the Cameron soldier lies on his near death bed and none other than Lillian Gish, in Stoneman character approaches coincidentally and she is
playing a banjo, moving toward the foreground, where she has a seat next to the shell shocked war veteran nick-named "The little Colonel" and she appears not to recognize the fallen soldier as she strums out a few notes on her instrument. In an elliptically framed close-up, Gish's character appears happy, looking out of the corner of her eye at the
Southerner, while signing something that only a sound film could pick up. And although Alice Guy had already invented sound for the French Studios, Griffith's approach to music was all orchestral (although, operas and musicals are an extension of the orchestral and, in fact, there are post-cinematic --or audience fancult representatives--that could
put sound to silent images--but hardcore silent buffs, particularly those in Rudolf Arnheim's camp, prefer when image alone is purified, practically to the point that even the score disappears.) The next immediate Close-Up is of Colonel Cameron feeling the soothing presence of the love of the unknown banjo music.
The close-up shifts over to Ms. Stoneman who is now facing the Colonel. And in this odd shot-reverse-shot, which does not follow the rule established in classicism, in which the 180 degree line is never crossed (here it is not crossed either) but later the Classicists in American Cinema would angle the camera within a 70 degree half-radius
in order to improve upon the relaxation of the gaze. Yet, Griffith makes no mistake in a full frontal isolation of the characters in Close-up, as it is his way of attracting the very characters in Close-Up in this series of moving photos is of the colonel recognizing his surroundings (in spite of his physical misery that leaves him in a near coma.)
So in a medium close-up Gish's character (Elsie Stoneman) reads a letter (less grim than the letter received by the Cameron's but still part of the letter chain that Griffith is so fond of--using actual hand-written documents that confirm that every ability that is within the noble characters reverts to the nostalgic standard that creates an ethos
of friendship. In connection with the materialism of a hand-written diegetic note in place of an intertitle, is a technique that is useful for modern filmmakers in order to recenter the script into a tight space, revealing that the characters can communicate and in the midst of war, it is surprising how cordially the notes appear to fill the gap of confusion
that a nobleman creates with charity--before war became an act of annihilation--
Eye contact between the actors increases awareness that in the 10's, human relationships were not built on sexuality, although sex appeal was important, the men and women were not as objectified as the ballooning film market has commoditized sexuality.
Ben Cameron looks at the photograph of his would-be future girlfriend, that he toted with him through thick and thin. Although Ben appears to be in a haze, due to a wrapped head wound, but Gish sees her own picture (revealed in a cutaway.)

The event confuses and bewilders her and she wonders how the total stranger, although remains a look of premonition, as though there is a way to admonish a respective educated guess as to who the man might be, though clearly she cannot tell.
As the Mother of the Cameron family busts in to find her wounded kin, she alerts attention to the guards, who have not the same groundwork of a war system today, as the rules had not been laid down by the Geneva convention or had there
been a total world war nor had the League of Nations or the United Nations stepped into the picture. The mother is determined to get past the guard, so much so that she puts her life on the line, claiming from the intertitle induced screenplay/script,
"I am going into that room to my boy. You may shoot if you want to." The guard appears to respect this behavior, as other guards in the background don't even notice what is going on, engaged at a table meeting that appears also to be a bureaucratic registry for censure purpose, all that is known, the meeting is post-militaristic decision making.
At any rate, Elsie Stoneman leans over her patient, drawn to him with a reserved but passionate tonality. As she is charmed by the wounded soldier, the mother that exited stage right in the previous linked shot matches on action and direction, as the Mother slowly enters the next shot walking from left to right along the wall, facial expressions relaying shock and bewilderment, as she slowly feels drawn to her son by an unseen force of her own intuition. In awe and displacement, the Mother of Ben Cameron lights up in a good way to receive her son with open arms, this relationship dawns on Elsie, as also a good thing. It is interesting, also to note that Ben Cameron is in hysteria, not due to the women’s reactions, but due to his war wounds, creating onscreen chemistry that Griffith must have clearly smiled upon.
However close Griffith was to his family of stock actors, it is clear that he was always out to reinforce French Liberal archetypes by elevating the death of the chums, for example, as a reservation against pitiable war-time struggle. However, the dynamic evidenced in this later scene a complex picture of war, yet, the unreasonable body count creates a miracle of wonders in Ben Cameron’s heroic survival. As the two women, watch Ben, quickly learn to recognize what is going on, their glances fade into happiness rectifying the entire purpose of the shot, which is recognition of a legendary moment in time, both painful and precious.
An intertitle explains that conspiratorial means of putting Colonel Cameron to death are at play. The army Surgeon that relates the news is unaffected to the situation, preparing for no pleas or bribes. As the mother cries helplessly on her bed-ridden son, Elsie is surprisingly happy, informing Ben’s mother of an option to seek out President Abraham Lincoln, or, as she terms, “The Great Heart,” the women leave to seek their appeal to this higher power.
Before delving into the Lincoln sequence following, clearly his a fissure or breaking point of the cosmos of Griffith. The 1920’s ultimately proves to have far more abundant and greater titles than any other decade in film history. From Griffith’s own WAY DOWN EAST until Vertov’s MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA, the titles in between that are lesser known—ARSENAL by Dovshenko and FACES OF CHILDREN by Feyder—cult status films like Kinugasa’s PAGE OF MADNESS and the Great Canonical Masterworks. Like THE GOLD RUSH by Chaplin, and Ozu’s I WAS BORN BUT…, BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, METROPOLIS, GREED and PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, do not all necessarily mimic Griffithian codes, but rather span from the idea, that director as auteur reaches a high point in critical desire—explicating and extrapolating first American flawless Master Griffith, truly enslaving only himself and in regards to film history is quite frankly more important than any other event in artistic historical, teleologically driven evolution.
If Griffith must be credited for another landmark in creation, then it is his evolution of depth of field, which is never rivaled again. Think of watching the film on a small television and the various planes of horizontal axis is adjusted by Griffith and Bitzer’s camera angles, which shoot almost dead on straight, while only a screening creates through, a mysterious force, best described as a persistence of visual depth. In actuality it is a lighting technique, that dissolves the mystification of depthful wizardry.
Like a historical “chamber of wonders” (an invention not so unlike a modern diorama. In Griffith’s portrayals of Abraham Lincoln, his later films catered to the left wing revisionary hopefulness that was up to date research that the man’s complexifities, all but offered deliverance of African Americans. Here around an hour and five minutes in, Lincoln appears fearless, unfettered and is the abstraction of hero worship, despite the fact that Northerners (and perhaps even a Southern turncoat—remember left and right wing politics factored in the North and South, less than the Southern philosophy of state sovereignty and the Northern accumulation of federal support,) all but surround their leader watching a leader, as though in a king’s court visiting with a long line of visitors, cordially approaching a human likeness of Lincoln. Keen on historical reenactment episodes, strengthening the humanistic presence of Lincoln in assurable gait.
In a separate shot, Elsie Stoneman and the Cameron Mother stand apprehensive yet happily peaceful. Iris masking opens to the next shot (Iris circled around Lincoln), Finally, in a match on action of Elsie moving from right to left (facing the president on the left.) She extends her hand and shakes his politely as he is still seated. The meeting is casual. The mother shakes her president’s hand, as well. Gish is seen close-up a bit off to the side.
As the appeal goes into effect it is not hard to imagine how pardoning soldiers could have played a role in his later assassination. Although, admittance exists that Griffith purely told stories like it happened historically, or at least, in his world view, melded with centricist politics, compatible philosophy, and cinematic enthusiasm, which redundantly took first gun in his repertoire, as he was in on the Muybridgian dawn of Still Photographs that charted the way in a Hegelian fashion of a ghost or spirit reviving the hurt of America. In other words, Lincoln stands and urges the shy Mother to speak to him, however, let it be known that the age old debate, as it has been considered the bane of academia, film historicity and the race war the movie quite possibly created has all but swept its validity under the rug.) For a moment, however, the argument to remain true to television is balanced by the forces that intend to disharmonize film to replace TV with it, or vice versa, a cultural mind game that is like a play of tag, where the leading medium of the moment is not cooperative with the anterior medium. Here as BIRTH is viewed, even on a large television, many critics have actually argued (Susan Sontag, for instance) that the process is in decay due to the move to other mediums. However, clearly the TV moves us in ways that promote equilibrium, particularly among audiences that have found a therapy in Televisual awareness. Unfortunately, fort the film and TV crowd, BIRTH is a caustic message any way it is viewed. Practically any reading of the movie, is a troublesome reading, whether Griffith’s dirty joke was to make an unremarkable film or not. Still, the sheer entertainment, even on the “small” screen is worthwhile to a brave enough audience of history buffs.
If Griffith’s war war-time philosophy was how money, fame and power are equal to corruption (money being the slave trade, fame being absent from BIRTH, except Lincoln’s image and power—in this case Griffith’s holistic, totalitarian control over the movie—then maybe he should have needed his own cautionary tale without frightening the fuck out of everyone by choosing the Clansmen (K?) as a source material.) An insinuation of Dixon’s last name being associated with civil war, boundary Mason—Dixon line, which denotes masonry as a Northern gig (typically, privileged because of winning the war historically) and Dixon as the Southern plane, which means that the only psychoanalytic/psychological motive for Griffith’s privilegization of the pre-Classical South (marginalized for bad reasons—a notion of happy slaves and a good—a recapitulation of Klan ideology, which, although dangerous when repressed—most agree that the world is a better place without them) is due 100 percent to the fact, that his old man was a Southerner (the archetype of the Cameron father) war soldier—which goes beyond mere talks of “folk-lore” as Richard Schickel describes in his watershed study. Of course, a poetic tome as Schickel’s is trippy enough to subliminally induce Griffith hysteria (in a positive logic)—“folk-lore” as he describes, is only one piece of the cyclical puzzle. And in Griffith’s case, there is no way to out puzzle the puzzler. At least, for now, perhaps, the secret is in the movie somewhere.
Or are there logical signs and signifiers that unveil a greater evil than has been unrecognized up until present times? In other words, the urging of RACE, CLASS and GENDER and Religious Tolerance as a goal to implement a final solution to the race war is present and is hostile on any level.
However, if the film discourages, one act of immorality toward another, is that too not “neo-realistic.” Still, I doubt that Griffith had nothing but a clear conscience while doing it. Does the man have blood on his hands. There is no irony behind the fact that more white people appreciate him than black. However, there is an African American professor Dr. Todd Boyd at USC that point to the film as an unshakable landslide of a marketing ploy—mixed with artwork—or to be paraphrasing the context of his writing, he felt that the film was a smash success for bourgeoisie reasons alone, as well as a theatrical impetus for future mediums.
To phase out the militant anti-militance of the film, Lincoln is the centralized peacemaker in the whole event, which is, a point; that Griffith, John Ford and Stephen Spielberg have not compromised on, the honor and duty toward American Presidents. With Griffith, Lincoln is far more humanized than deified. In fact, the film makes it seem for a Southern soldier’s acquittal—but Elsie Stoneman’s sentimental gaze (one which would please the Mulveyians in terms of positioning a female as subject and Lincoln, as object--) (On a side note, rumor on the website, imdb.com is that the man that played Lincoln, in reality, played twelve other parts, at least, which is extremely evident if looked closely, but watch out for such power of suggestive, unverifiable internet material. To verify a fact, my friend Suren M. Seron helped release FOREVER PLAID recently, and his model of studies was film school for awhile, but much more hands on years later. This makes you realize that not everything you read is verifiable.) Gish’s look at Lincoln, softens his heart and truth be told that Gish was more handsomely rewarded than any other actor/actress in the film.
At any rate, the mother is so terrified of losing her last child, that Griffith Irises in a fade to the hurting man, as though his lack of recovery is worsening due to his death sentence (execution for war crimes against the side that won. In the next shot, the mother lowers her head and Lincoln takes heart and pats her on the back, realizing the only way to spare her anxiety is by saving her wounded son. She drops down on her knees as Lincoln writes his name out of the death registry. Do not read into this as the reason Lincoln was later killed, because he was killed by a Southerner , as well.
So there is deliberately no connection, Lincoln signs the pardon and hands it to the now cheerful women, excited that justice is accomplished.
Lincoln seemed to understand why the women are happy and turns away to attend his duties. Wonderful, because Abe Lincoln had nothing to do with slavery but freed the men that did, which is a contradiction that he felt was most likely justified by the “all men are created equal” clauses in both the bill of rights and constitution (though not in those words). It must be noted that because the South ran out of money due to abolitionists, they became poor and it is interesting how Griffith privileges the poor in spirit, in wealth and a dim future stability to maintain them against the odds of poverty and how they could have diverted war without violence by gaining their money back through reparations, although reparations would have averted the Klan, they sprung from the hatred bred by poverty.
Perhaps no reparations could rebuild the damage that had been done to say Atlanta, a town-city that was more liberal in view than others.
Let us pause again for another brief moment to lay stake to a claim that Griffith was a stickler for oppositional readings—a fact that requires a bit of diachronisity considering that it Christian Metz who lays claim to this theory—however, taken at face value for what it is BIRTH OF A NATION could be read in a logical reversal of words as DEATH TO THE SEPARATISTS or DEATH OF STATE SOVIERGNTY, whichever is hard pressed to please the rigid mind that attempts to clear the conscience of one of the world’s most contradictory men in history—Truly, Griffith is beyond good and evil in the Nietzschean sense of the ploy—As best as an educated guess could be derived at this point is that the entire film was a spectacle to sell tickets, elaborating on caustic themes to distract the world from the impending war, which left almost no one anything to believe in besides the cinema.
(Author’s Note: There is a way to revolt against the caustic side of the unremarkable D.W. Griffith and that is turn his name into a play on words, such as D.W. “Spliffith,” as he is known among several ‘marijuana’ communities.)
Back to the movie, there is a terrible problem eating away at the fabric of time and it manifests itself far later in BIRTH, a problem worse than the rest and by today’s standards it looks ugly. In a scene that strikes nauseating terror into the hearts of contemporary audiences everywhere and that is an intertitle post-Southern Apocalypse during the second half of the film, in which, an African-American northern freeman lusts after the “mammy” manifestation of an African-American slave woman. The woman is quoted as saying, “’Dem niggahs from da north sure ‘am funny.’” However you slice it this is a cutting remark and hurts the body of cinema in totality.
In fact, while this author believes that the word should never be used by anyone at anytime ever again, it compromises Griffith’s greatness on every level, except perhaps historical context, which remains to be seen until all the facts are in. The use of the “n” word is so out of date that it is overused when it should never be used at all. But, when the word is in this, the greatest of American films, it is the monkey wrench that sinks the whole ship by today’s standards.
The irony, of course, is that as much as it sickens this viewer, it is used as a moment even in this book, which means it rears its ugly head, even here and thus, is a testament to the fact that either racism will end, or it purely continues on total negative or positive forms allowed only in denotive (negative) or connotive (positive) forms. The word is so bandied about today that it may very well fall off the face of the Earth, with any luck. But is a heavy-duty negative use in BIRTH a way to end it forever, or does it justify the use among people? Perhaps the problem is connected to a larger issue at stake within today’s postmodern slippage of meaningless words that do not have any context whatsoever. However, this author is not African-American and thus is ashamed for even bringing it up, though will be forced to again, once that hard to watch, darkly comic scene rolls back around in a linear fashion.
After Elsie Stoneman and Mrs. Cameron join together to plead over the little Colonel’s pardon to Abraham Lincoln, in yet another scene that could never be remade, a nice looking nurse sits next to the wounded soldier, very concerned for his well being—and clear enough, Ben C. is totally enamored by her presence, albeit still a little half-crazed from his head injury (head wrapped in gauze.) However, the instant Ben realizes that the woman seated to his right is not Elsie Stoneman he appears a bit disappointed and as the nurse stands to leave Elsie and Ben’s mother rush into the room and take a seat next to the fallen victim of war to explain to him that Lincoln has handed back his life to him.
Another trait that must be appreciated about D.W. is that he is literate. The next cut to an intertitle explains that Mrs. Cameron’s son is “convalescent”—in other words “stable” and “coherent.” Ben waves goodbye to his mother almost instantly recovering upon his pardon. In the next cut (a match on action from the hospital prison room back to the guard registry.) Ben’s mother gives Elsie a hug and a cordial kiss farewell in both familial and amicable fashions.
Gish’s charisma is, in fact, (in this precursor to her ensuing “klansploitation”) so contagious that even the prisoner hospitable guard makes eyes at her and she senses his lustiness so she skedaddles. However, the guard continues to stare and in a way this proves that Gish is the subjective thinker and the guard is the objective, because the shot construction is a depth of focus, medium length take (and in the background, it seems the doctors are entirely too engaged in work to notice the vibes.)
Erstwhile, Elsie Stoneman is coaxing Ben Cameron back to health, however he looks beguiled by her charm. She shies away at his look because she can sense a healthy romance. This attracts her to no avail, but the Southerner senses her shyness and respects it. So true to her heart the Northern girl distances herself from Ben and then he reaches for her after she is out of reach.
Next, the film travels back to the plantation of the Cameron’s ownership. Although the senior of the family is placed to the left in the foreground feeling tired, but the sense of relief that his wife and daughter share over the release of their son from the death penalty creates a healing sense of rejoicing. And then a white woman in black face, the ‘mammy’ archetype from earlier enters, with averted gaze to listen to her masters joy and she is thrilled but all is obscured by the mother and daughter that make their way front and center—kissing and embracing is not to be ashamable in this familial structure.
Transition to title card—another historical facsimile, at least to the point that history had been discovered in 1915. Which brings up the ugly question of censorship again—if this event is/was/ history, why eliminate it from the curriculum—of course, at this point the movie still has not veered off the path so much as it has been blamed for. If racism exists, shouldn’t it be exposed?
Anyway, Robert E. Lee surrenders here based on a book cited in the intertitle as “’Campaigning with Grant.’” The whole scene is again played out like a museum-piece and the war general seated foreground, left-screen representing Northern Ulysses S. Grant that awaits the Southern General (as he puffs a cigar, seated on the right side of the screen) behind them are officials in military outfits. Lee signs the agreement, hands it to his assistant and the wax museum ‘chamber of wonders’ fades to a title.
Next intertitle reads, “end of state sovereignty” and quotes Daniel Webster (a quote that will be replayed later): “’Liberty and union, one and inseparable, now and forever.’ Grant and Lee cordially shake hands and supposedly the war is over. In fact, the next scene explains that Col. Cameron is “discharged” from the hospital prison the same day—which is an insinuation that the two events are cross connected.
On the same set piece where Elsie parted ways with Mrs. Cameron (the guard door of the hospital prison)—Elsie (still watched by guards) cordially shakes hands with Ben in a sentiment that keeps the ball rolling on a developing friendship. Ben makes a romantic gesture and is shooed away by Elsie (most likely due to the guards.) But in a completely romantic way Ben kisses the hand of Elsie and she appears pleased but holds in her feelings—Ben exits frame left. She follows him a ways and comes to a stop half way across the room, turn to face the camera and becomes very shy with joy at this developing Romantic subplot. The guard attempts to transfer her erotic energy to himself to no avail.
So Elsie S. crosses from screen left past the lusty guard and exits screen right. In the next shot Mae Marsh’s character, the youngest sister of the Cameron’s prepares a meal of parched corn for her brother’s return—(a match on action cut examines the plate, that the corn is being prepared on) Cut back to the kitchen in the mansion, and as the aristocratic legacy of the Cameron’s is continually reduced to nothingness, her happiness prevails in anticipation of her brother’s return. The African-American woman (house slave in a white minstrel woman in black face) enters to offer the young white girl a beautiful strip of lace for her outfit so that she can look optimal—The next intertitle explains that the material is a cotton-based ‘Southern ermine.’—
Next, the youngest girl in the family attaches more cotton to her outfit so she can be dolled up for her brother. Fade out and fade up to the same girl continuing to primp and prepare so that her brother will realize how attractive she is—She puts ashen soot onto the white cotton and to be honest, she never appears more elated counting to herself to keep track to keep track of how much black soot should go onto her outfit—Next cut shows the girl hopping across the room remaining excited (crossing from left to right to the middle of what could very well be her living quarters. Never looking more beautiful, she rushes to the right of the frame in the foreground.
After a moment, she begins to act saddened by the fact that her dress will never be up to the same specs it was before she donated her clothes to the war. Next intertitle reads: “The homecoming.” The outside of the plantation of the Cameron’s is empty (house entrance on the right and the fence and hedge in the middle. Ben Cameron slowly steps into frame from the left (first his shadow is seen) and he stops to examine his old tromping grounds, approaching his family’s abode with fear and humility. As he looks around, he gets a sense that things are both different and the same. He slowly approaches the gate agape, albeit burdened by memories.
Cross cut to the young Cameron girl in the house’s living quarters (from before) and she is now overjoyed (as though she can sense her brother’s approach.) Her older sister approaches (as well as the mother of the Cameron’s). As the oldest sister fawns over her little sister’s homemade dress, it is clear that her gown is nicer and the little sister feels a bit jealous, though without remorse.
Feeling validated she rushes to the door in mid-ground right and peers out while the mother and the oldest daughter are excited—Apparently, the youngest daughter catches a glimpse of her brother because she gestures about with her face, motioning as though she has seen his large moustache. So the three women rush out the door into the ‘Stairwell Room’ (followed slowly by their old father and they stand center stage as though they are now looking through a proscenium—reverting as bit back to what Noel Burch describes as the primitive mode of representation.) Cut to Ben Cameron slowly opening the gate to the homestead—back to the women joyous and jubilant, sending his approach.
Ben, in the next shot, walks along the center of the frame to the back along an axis described in televisual terms as the (x,y, and z) axis, when x=width, y =height, and z=depth. For now, he slowly approaches the “z” axis to look into the house—and it is not quite clear why he goes slow, other than that he is nervous from having been gone for so long. This is all before the Klan comes into the show—(Author’s Note: One thing I am uncertain of is how the Klan may have lobbied Griffith with fear tactics to present them in a heroic fashion, as the underground Grand Dragon’s of today are far too covert to admit any guilt—although this ground is covered in the contemporary movie American History x—at least to an extent)—but it must be noted that the audience was dying of suspense awaiting their presence, especially a repetitious viewer.)
In the next cut it is factual and proven that the youngest sister is the boldest in the bunch, striding forward with no worries.
Next shot, the angle changes and Ben Cameron (seen from behind) cape barely blowing in the breeze. Actress Mae Marsh’s character comes rushing out the door to greet her long time gone brother.
(Author’s Note: There is a story floating around that when Griffith’s African American house servants—chronicled in Schickel’s account—saw the movie at last, they were morally offended and he honestly could not understand why. Apparently, he must have not have seen BIRTH OF A RACE, a reactionary film to his own, for increasing ascertainments of this fact.)
At long last, the young Cameron girl rushes out the door and examines her slightly downtrodden brother—a different angle than the later arm reaching out the door. In fact, a theoretical stance could be interpretive that as the seasons change the angles change (unlike, say MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, which examines each season from a full frontal perspective—at first in actual paintings, which fade into staged reality.)
Ben, looking beguiled turns to almost face the camera and knowing that Griffith is redefining film style, it is easy to imagine why the characters avert their eyes when confronted by an unbearable mixture of happiness and sadness. The reaction is entirely reciprocal as the young girl can see into the hidden pain that is tearing Ben Cameron apart. As Ben removes and feels a piece of cotton from his sister’s dress, it is a feeling of nostalgia that hearkens back to days of heaven and the wonder if after a costly war, it isn’t doubt that all of the characters are desperate for reparations. The young girl bursts into tears and hugs her wide-eyes (and somewhat amnesiac) brother. As he chokes back tears, his sister latches around his neck in joy and sorrow.
The brother and sister wander slowly toward the entrance and in a splice to the next carrier of a match on action (albeit a continuity error, to the careful eye/although there may be a missing shot.) The shot is amazing, though, because arms from through the doorway off screen right, pull the “prodigal” son into the room.
Next shot, enter Austin Stoneman, the film’s Northern advocate (whether fictitious in name, his bourgeoisie attitude reflects a strain of much needed arrogance.) He hobbles into Lincoln’s study at the White House (although the only structure resembling the White House exterior is indeed the Cameron’s plantation.)
The fallacy of the film that must be examined carefully is the fact that later films like AMISTAD reveal nasty conditions aboard slave ships, the truth that is hard to believe is two-fold, so two wrongs make a right (slavery is evil, even though condoned to an extent in the Holy Bible.) Men that strive for power play rough on a warlike battleground and it seems as though racial prejudice is rekindling and in the hopes of exposing Griffith’s limitations in content, perhaps it will be a milestone and monument to an out of date practice. The risk that any writer takes with Griffith’s films is it is like opening a can of worms among the few egalitarians left in the world.
At least the film shows how a two sided created coin created a wake of chaos—though when Stoneman shakes hands with President Lincoln, he then takes a seat to discuss new business. Lincoln, in a relaxed, legs crossed stance—as a Dandy—looks Austin right in the eye to hear out his concerns (the room is empty except for the two men. Austin rises and waves his arm. Intertitle reads in quotes: “Their leaders must be hanged and their states treated as conquered provinces.”
The double standard detected in this statement made sense. Lincoln reiterates his position to Mr. Stoneman—intertitle reads, “’I shall deal with them as though they had never been away.’” A sentimental death warrant, as intimidating as it must have been for Stoneman to hear.
A big problem with this civil war is that if you side with the North, then—it is siding with the rich, especially after defeating the South.
Deadlocked in a glaring stance, Lincoln towers over Stoneman and the defeated Northerner sluggishly leaves the room, although quirkily exits in haste.
Griffith’s aristocratic two-sidedness is not accidental, but the mixed messages are confusing. With no policies in tow, he eschews all political correctness except in a right wing vein. Lincoln stands by his decision of acceptance to the reopening of the Southern frontier. Thus the South begins its reparations. First to exit the Cameron estate, in the next shot, is Ben and the elder slave behind him (to his right.) The whole family enters the house courtyard. The black-face man bickers about the shabby state of the now wilted hedge. The three Cameron women stay behind, as Ben leads the slave off camera.

The mother of the family puts up a sign that says “Boarding” connotative of a space to welcome guests. The next intertitle alludes to a fateful night “April 14th, 1865.” Next cut, a fade in on the Stoneman’s preparing to attend a play—knowing well ahead of time that their President will be attending—However, is not this scene scarier than hell, considering Lincoln had just reamed Austin Stoneman? (Author’s Note: However, as the film reaches its intense assassination climactic subplot—it is clear that only one lowly anarchist was the singular source of the plot to kill Lincoln—no other conspiracies fit the mold.)
While watching Spielberg’s MUNICH it seems that the zeitgeist is steering toward a more directive way of seeing. Take out the source of destruction, the war ends. BIRTH is the opposite because as Presidential peacemaking is what leads to a social disaster. However, in MUNICH, the Arabs are not familiar with Caliph to Caliph sword warfare, like the Quran speaks of, nor does it maintain moral values of lessening the body-count due to his siding with the re-emerging group of Hebrew in this caustic day and age.
In a pending document, do not forget that MUNICH is a harrowing masterpiece without flaw. A strategic way to end war, by bringing vengeance in a truthful way—without apologies until the death toll becomes so drastic, that Spielberg sustains his voice of the pros and cons of counter-terrorism.
So the Stoneman put on their regal/noble outfits and display an anticipatory, thrilling engagement, but little do they know what is about to be the last performance of the President’s viewing. (Author’s Note: In the Wikipedia article on Griffith, very little impetus is placed in the “web-zone” about the film’s factual essence, but rather places it in the “out of date” category—although is not the warning viable, indeed?)
In a linear fashion, to become more rigid Griffith fan-cult style, it is safe to say that all the facts that the filmmaker had to work with, were all he knew at the time—however, if he knew at the time—and, however, if he so rampantly sided with slaves before he studied the war, why would he honor his father’s war affliction? That is unknown, particularly when a freemason “sympathizer,” as himself would not give or budge, as to his Southern sided debauchery, until of course INTOLERANCE blew his wad and his career in big budget filmmaking. Of course, as stated, his next few cheaper films were a lot more nostalgic and less violent. They created far less controversy (talking now about post-BROKEN BLOSSOMS, ORPHANS OF THE STORM and AMERICA) until he rose again in the sound-era to defy all norms and again reinvent film language, as he did in progressive interests throughout. Left-wing politics ended Griffith’s career entirely because they feared his message and the costliness of it, which caused so many artists loyal to him to drop out of the industry, forever—which is a direct link to why many silent stars did not transition to sound—to defy the Griffith blacklist (Thomas Ince had some persuasion that fell to the wayside when sound came about, and Ernst Lubitsch is among the first to catch on to the way the sound era was meant to flow.)
Later, evidence of Griffith home-movies (‘as explicated in the Father of Film documentary—included in Griffith Masterworks Vol. 2 (DVD,’) that his isolated life was peaceful and Thoreauian, without distraction until he died peacefully of old-age—However, as Gish attests in the documentary, it was a loss she found extremely difficult to shoulder.
If anything is important about the Stoneman’s preparation for the play it is that Griffith is not as vindictive against the rich as taken for—at least, not yet. (Author’s Note: I do not believe that Griffith sided with the Klan but he obviously supported the hanging death penalty of freed slaves led to riot by Northerners.) Recently, I heard a theory, from my close friend Jarren Pope that had even the Northerners bought all the slaves, disaster would not have been stopped.—After such bad racism and prejudice, conditions were so painful, how could the slaves but revolt, and how else do you expect people to act if they do?
In a Nietzschean sense (at least in THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY), an Apollonian animus (or war structure) must be combined with a Dionysian side (a fun and games dialectic), but when the Dionysian side has virtually no consequences, except perhaps a visit or two to Alcoholics Anonymous! However, existential philosophy would denounce the fact that death could never be anything, but symbolic—except, perhaps in extreme cases.
The good news about Griffith’s ‘no-holds barred’ attitude was that his ‘did not give a care’ persona is still used to the note in directorial strategies in film’s today. Although, formalists like George Melies, tended to adapt in a peaceful way to create the sci-fi and horror genre (shades of which are seen in Griffith’s AVENGING CONSCIENCE, so to speak—demon sequence and Fritz Lang’s A WOMAN IN THE MOON.) Again, pioneers of the formal neo-modern camp are atypical to the nature of evil, while adapting to the comfort zone—none of which will be of consequence in act two of this money-gimmick realism of BIRTH OF A NATION, which garnered so much box office that Griffith easily supported all his films with it. (Note: www.imdb.com appears to have limitations in its Griffith reservoir, because certain films remain to be discovered and correctly credited.) In the next few shots, a black face servant allows the eldest Stoneman son to enter the main room at Austin’s chateau (although, again, the exterior is never shown, as Griffith had to be choosy about his exteriors. The melodrama tends to be indoors and the war outdoors—not that it is not obvious that this is the way the director set it up.
The Stoneman men, confer their audiencehood in the following scene and, in the next series of shots , continue the processed ordinary sequence—through parallel shots and episodic causalities. So it goes according to the following intertitle that there is a gala in honor of Lee’s surrender—followed by an elliptical frame masking the brother and sister sitting for the show and author’s opinion no actress has more sex appeal then the eldest Stoneman girl (like some grown up Shirley Temple gone the Judy Garland route, like, in FORT APACHE.) Her dress is elegant with black lace and busty –skinny in the waist—Her brother is caped (which is no longer modest in our society.) On the left center Ms. Stoneman turns her back to reveal a tightly modeled outfit and she takes a seat.
The next shot is a replica of Ford’s Theater (having been there in Washington D.C. and seen in an actual likeness as seen here in the film.)
Through a small pair of binoculars, (remember now that classical structure is seamless, seeding one shot to another to an invisible aesthetic motivated by linearity—which, is not to say that BIRTH starts ‘en media res’ during a slave auction (far less caustic, though entirely disguised,) the forward action continues a pressing mission of disavowal and inertia. What if BIRTH had been a sound, color, widescreen film? Would it have exposed the klan rather than promoted them?
If there is an anti-slave message, it is hard to find it in BIRTH. While Ken Burns once quoted in a lecture that slavery is the curse of America (parenthetical reference at the Telluride Film Festival, 2001) this fact cannot be denied by today’s standards regardless of watered down or fired up socio-political statements.
If THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI helped to generate Nazism/anti-nazism, as Siegfried Kracauer explains heartily in a critical tome (sic), then why does BIRTH look so perfect and in the words of Hitchcock, remains “’a bit violent…but it is all there, isn’t it?’” in so many words.
The play begins to assemble on stage and in the next cut, Ms. Stoneman is seen clapping in jubilance. The old captain of Austin Stoneman’s kin folds his arms to watch the inevitable occur in terms of excellent theater production values and the only thing that separates it from self-reflexivity is that the play develops in a non-caustic way.
In the presence of the great stage show (meticulously reenacted in a passionate theatricality, the domestic melodrama (which may or may not have been “Our American Cousin,” perhaps unbeknownst to Griffith at the time.) Yet, the woman in the play gives a fiery performance in front of what appears to be a proscenium and in the background, the interesting and seductive woman plays out her emotion with her family all around.
Switch to high angle camera, left stage filming the audience to the right and the foreground right center (also including the balcony configuration.) The lead actress in the play walks out of the proscenium (the fourth wall that dissipates reality from fantasy) and she attempts to collect a bouquet of flowers from the orchestra—a fan cult the actress would never deny.

Next intertitle reads “Time 8:30” marking the hour, in which, Lincoln arrives at the play. Next shot is an ascension up the stairs to the reserved balcony seats for American royalty. Up the stairs with kind and powerful guards, the president and his wife (although the lady comes first for etiquette)—all (in the next shot) present themselves in the most advantageous seat in the house. Crosscut back to the interior of the room behind the balcony tier and Lincoln removes his hat and jacket, handing them to an usher.
Lincoln retreats behind the curtain (right frame) and the usher partially follows. The whole crew is in the balcony—smiling (other than Lincoln who looks exhausted as all get out.) The Stoneman’s are alight with pleasure in the next cut, upon recognizing the presence of their war hero leader. In fact, in the tight framing of Stoneman brother and sister, it is clear that the audience (much like the audience watching the film) applauds the presence of their great leader, in fact, to the point of a standing ovation (if Lincoln is there, as the next shot from behind the crowd insinuates,) which will always stand and applaud for greatness.
Lincoln and family stand in the seat box to honor their followers from the North; Lincoln gives a slight head nod, as though a demigod—glorified by steep praise from the right and left—Lincoln takes a seat without any sign of nervousness—absolute strength. Outside the boxed seats, the man on bodyguard post takes a chair and moves it close to the door jovially, expecting a smooth ship.
The play from a high up position, a dream-like prism of museum-like accuracy, which makes it hard to believe that the 2nd film half (The Reconstruction) is at all phony—though, it entirely is. If anything the movie completely forgets that there was an underground railroad that shuffled Southern slaves to the North to get them out of bondage. Instead this film discusses Northern and Southern Africans trying to kill white people, all realized and related to the fact that the Africans were getting revenge for the death of Lincoln!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: In a Pre-BIRTH feature, Giuseppe Di Riguero’s INFERNO is reviewed closely. The film takes you to the ins and outs of the depths of yourself. Understand that hell is a horrible place for the just and unjust—If all are created equal, than l have an equal chance to examine this Biblical epic into a roadshow spectacle that engenders a milieu of isolated disasters—True in form and content to Dante’s base source of wisdom and hilarity to the point of comedic hyperbole—A distortion of the after-life—especially considering Mohammed is still there—(a man that sought only redemption through various old scriptures.) However, the scare tactics in this Italian Spectacle from 1911 (only two years after Griffith’s own theatrical review), which absolutely every earlier silent film, except for Melies A TRIP TO THE MOON among his other works. INFERNO, like many earlier silent films, pays all the price for the sins of the world. Beatrice flies, Dante and Virgil get lost in Hades, another portal, leading to the demon hordes near the city of DIS—You’ll never believe who is waiting for you at the film’s end.

In Griffith’s world there is a creative order of the species. Lincoln is a flawless leader watching over his crowd like the Owl of Minerva (see also Hegel on how the spirit of the Times moves progression through a spirit of the Earth)—Then, if harm comes to the Earth the Times will also be harmed beyond repair.) The entire crowd looks up at their master of ceremonies and wave a white flag in honor, submission and surrender to their valiant idol and icon, Abraham Lincoln.
Next shot: The play continues (from a shot set-up in front of the proscenium to capture as naturalistic as possible, the process, as it occurred. In a post-structural stance, nothing can be read into about the connection between the play and the assassination. In fact, the play was user friendly, as is seen and shown. The next intertitle extrapolates a major flaw in any conspiracy theory for a “view of the play,” then someone must have been watching for any such opening…
The spectrum of the range of action (during the stage play) and drama is still at a populous perspective of sheer romantic notions of a North before the war (or during/or after to include all three ghosts of Dickens.) The “bodyguard” stands and exits the room taking a chair with. In the next few shots an elliptical (circular spotlight effect through masking the lens with a moving filter on a very sensitive to light ‘f-stop’ to pick up grainy, though realistic detail with meticulous style.
‘f-stop—LIGHT BALANCE ON A CAMERA (see also IRIS)’
Robert E Lee attends the gathering, seated in another box, in no way insinuating that he knows the unfolding plot (although he may or may not have read the script—unless Griffith really did keep his 300 page script in his head and not reveal how the story actually went until it was time for that scene—George Lucas and Woody Allen and Spike Lee all use that same method today—then again, Lee is a Micheuaxian upon his discovery of multiple narratives in a tighter space with as much controversy, as Maestro Griffith himself.) Intertitle reads, “10:13 Act III, Scene 2.” That only the Act is used for the Roman Numeral effect is of interest because the film BIRTH only has 2 Acts and Act One is still not over.
(Author’s Note: Herein and through all his films there is not a shred of anti-Semitism, Nazism or other slander sent by those jealous of Griffith’s power. Later, in Act II the whole thing becomes an “anti-race” orgy of blaxploitation.)
Framed by another picturesque ellipsis is the bottom right and center top portions of the frame that distribute attention to the topmost seats and those in the audience that seemingly cannot take their eyes off of the President.
Back in the audience, the Stoneman’s never lovelier (as though involved in the higher class publicity stunt that is the film’s Golden Calf nature to attract attention to itself is some mad dream of a history lesson. After the pleasant array of attractive characters placated by decadence, the next title names the name of America’s #1 Shit List of an important assassin that created tyranny, chaos and a whole barrage of lacks in freedoms that all carry the burden of around the world. Booth, the man renounced here, should have cooled off the demons that fueled him. Like a still photograph of the insanity filled in Booth’s heart is detected buy the evil within the heart’s of men—Next shot placid, yet happy, scholastics that are the Camerons, enjoying the play too much to notice the sinister show within the show. Ms. Stoneman’s sexual prowess oozes out of the scene without a caricuraturization found in today’s history lesson.
John Wilkes Booth is also displayed in the next cut again, hand in shirt, reaching for a gun in his shirt—a good moral lesson for all that really think guns are necessary outside of battleground warfare—or necessary at all. From a grounded angle the lighting is distanced to examine the President’s final moments in life (aka. The day the American Political Body died, at least until now in 2009.) Wilkes still framed in a moving picture holds his hand in his shirt and the play goes on, producing an effect of theatrical dissonance (unlike Mizoguchi’s OSAKA ELEGY, which contains a plot important Banruku (sic) self-reflexive allegory— a Griffith practitioner, although, like Truffaut after him, his plays within the play soothed the idea into acceptability—JULES AND JIM by Truffaut contains a lyrical music number that takes out the pain of breaking up with whole-hearted lovers.)
Lincoln, alone now in his boxed seat (boxed seat to the left completely distracted by the searing romance of the play) and Then Wilkes Booth against the harrowing contrast of pleasantness and the man most feared, suggesting that the fear should have been juxtaposed to Lincoln rather than the world’s most evil man to date. And if any suggestion to religion is made in later film’s is aspired to by Lincoln to take a bullet than why didn’t God or the devil steady the hand—(was it because Lincoln proved he was always ready to sacrifice and martyr himself for both sides of the cause for union among the states (to work in tandem with the federal gov’t without fear of death?)
Next, Wilkes Booth aims his head in a soldier stance, gun now out in the open (revealed to be in the room in which the bodyguard abandoned.)
Close-up Insert on the Booth’s hand cocking the gun preparing it to fire—shocking for anyone’s sensibilities. Booth slowly enters the boxed seats to (MATCH ON ACTION) his sneaky undetected movement to approach the man from the shadows—Cut to the play—the woman actress is chased off by an angry man. In the very next shot, the insanity ensues when, in graphic detail the President takes an explosive bullet to the back of his head, intentionally oppressing the notion of assassination (until the film became only associated with private schools—University of Southern California is in regards to this dualist perspective of how important graduate curriculum teaches the trained eye to find the pros and cons of every film.)
And as history is replete with errors, this is the one historical fact that has never been overlooked up until the double assassination of the Kennedy boys (far more sinister, considering all subsequent administrations have suppressed the details until further notice.
Here all sentiment is spared, Lincoln is eliminated in a repugnant way, keeling over after the bullet blast, Booth clambers out of the box to take his infamous dive onto the stage of Ford’s theater breaking a leg (perhaps where the superstitious term “break a leg” comes into play.) As in the near birds-eye perspective, Booth stumbles around and regains his composure to shake his fist at God and the World explaining in a shout (intertitle reads, “sic simper tyrannis!”—translation loosely in Latin, “Always without the tyrant!”) The only way to cynicize this statement is to take antecendentary Latin to the literal interpretation: There isn’t always a tyrant, which means that Booth was glad he signed his own death warrant, whether the crowd had the “holy” spirit of discernment of Latin phraseology or not.
In every sense of the word Booth is ‘Unforgiven’ (this is actually a reiteration in the most important Western made in a long time—UNFORGIVEN by Clint Eastwood.) It follows the standard of Griffith but breaks free into a liberal archetypal “Christ-structure,” sensibility to prove that no practitioner of evil is vindicated, unless Eastwood’s dark side defeats the darker side of humanity entirely. The message in UNFORGIVEN is anti- and pro-gun, when the gunman atones via a merciful killing in a responsible solution to violence. Would the problem have been solved sooner had an ideal environment of conquering guns with target practice only at the undead A la Stephen King’s GUNSLINGER, which came out in best seller book lists before UNFORGIVEN.
Griffith cashes in on causalities and casualties, whereas Eastwood atones for his mistakes via the dark side of reducing illogical negativism to the fall of Western Civilization in a Grand Narrative that has reaffirmed the values of all Western frontiers for eternity. However, the title alone UNFORGIVEN sheds light on Americana as a stranglehold on the Western media’s values, interpreted loosely on how we cannot forgive ways that are against our values entirely. (*No support of assassinations will be found in America and many films prove this.) If our society makes friends with old morals, rather than allowing for a decaying sense of anger, then the anger will cease and the enemy will win!
However, if a tyrant is blamed for the projected tyranny that he is himself enduring for whatever reason, will tyranny never cease? In YOUNG MR. LINCOLN many Fordian right-wing critics see no scare factor in Ford’s preservation of a didactic (teaching) and auto-didactic (self-teaching) hero that suffered the loss of his first wife, but broke up a riot by stating that people do things in a crowd that they wouldn’t do alone.
Internally, is there forgiveness for the man that blew up the building in Oklahoma, and externally is there forgiveness for the Ayatollah even in the wake of his anti-American hatred propaganda. Walk away from hate and other forms of it may consume all. Hate the hater and it is damned if you do/damned if you don’t situation. Fear tactics, as BIRTH stunningly presents in the assassination sequence encourage the populous to redeem Lincoln (although he has done no wrong.) If his stream of life entered the resurrection phase for his own balls-out perspective, then perhaps enough believers in left-wing revisionist history will take action of their own (like the Disneyland Hall of Presidents, which all but brings the man back to life—again, without fear tactics, still humanistically flawed in idol-worship of the martyred man.)
However, if the magic of cinema, and now with its ancillary business rights (though big businesses associated with the quest for greed are falling apart due to President Obama’s understanding of the lower classes frustration against corporate money schemes. Yet, it seems since the days of President Bush, many more peace talks have been made in the NEW ADMINISTRATION with everyone, including big business, which makes up for any short-coming, which, with these men in office, it is hard to find. For example, Dr. Joseph Biden is currently adapting to the new era of diplomacy among Vice Presidents in order to resolve current crises, which seem to be diminishing all around in 2009, already.
The problem here is that when freedom is harmed, America swoops in to clean up the mess and is blamed for everything to ease the conscience of the guiltier party. Therefore, Booth may not wind up in hell, but he always remains unforgiven because assassinations still occur for entirely irrational reasons. (Author’s Note: The TV show THE WHITEST KIDS YOU KNOW have attempted several failed attempts to revise and laugh away the death of President Lincoln—But can assassins be laughed away? Perhaps if Griffith had shown Booth’s death the way it happened in history—as he was chased down and burned in a barn--or perhaps if evil men like John Wilkes Booth had never been born—than the lamentations of Americana would have ceased long ago.
Racial hatred will perhaps be eliminated, as the tension itself is further alleviated democratically.
To soften the blow delivered by Booth, movie aficionados like Michael Moore have steeped America in a guilt crisis for owning guns (see all that is BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, a decent movie, however, willingly forgets to point out that the young killers were entirely illiterate because they did not understand the trained mind of a peaceful thinker, like the always accused Nietzsche, who would never take part in murder, whether or not rage was exposed.
Let us take the Kierkegaardian approach to Griffith, which is the “FORREST GUMP” approach or, sometimes, “SHIT HAPPENS” and no one can be blamed. Take, for an example, the Hebraic Text of JOB as a lesson that there are crimes that no one (Devil, God, Friends and/or Family) can be blamed for due to the accidental randomness of a Darwinian non-causal universe. Yet, damage was done, damage fails to revise damage and the cost is almost always war (see also Vietnam and Kennedy.)
To freestyle through a reckless mode of pre-classic, classic and post-classic codes, as are merged in Griffith’s plan to bring audiences together, he taught that assassination goes beyond heresy, beyond hate and beyond insanity. Thus, there are events that are not meaningless, which must admittedly someday become meaningless, to be recognized as landmarks.
In terms of Eastwood’s UNFORGIVEN, the categorical imperative of timely differences between modes of representation between ways of the past and ways of the future, Eastwood stars with Morgan Freeman and they do not sell out to any respective courtesies except to defeat an evil culture created by a lack of values in gun-play. When it comes to a head in the ultimate showdown—nothing is left but the sacrifice Eastwood gave to exterminate evil, forevermore.
On a side note, Robert Bresson’s AU HASARD BALTHAZAR is a pro-animistic film that sacrifices a burro in order to prevent violence to animals, which as we all know has trained hunters to kill only animals that are hostile to us—like a grizzly (see only LEGENDS OF THE FALL.)
Yet, taken as postmodern, even time travel fails to teach us the lesson, as to why Lincoln was killed—The South and North have never united in shouldering the guilt of his death—but because it was one victimizer—he takes all the blame.
Anyway, in the “Wagnerian” sense of additions over subtractions, only constructive criticism will heal the Lincoln wound, which Griffith completely betrays in his second act for the sake of preserving a half-truth, that the death penalty for all African-Americans should be instigated over the death of a young white girl. Of course, if counter-hegemony is painful, does it have a place in the spectrum of an utopia—unless, it is a memorial to the death of old ways? Would Griffith have given his life for Lincoln, perhaps only symbolically in a “freemasonic” paradigm etc. Does right-wing revisionism justify left-wing hypocrisy? All politics become culturally fascistic on the reversal of historical events that actually center and create a bottom to the bottomless pit of social impositions and propaganda.
Interestingly enough, Vertov’s experiment in MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA deemphasizes the warlord side of propaganda and focuses on human issues. Life and Death, Flight and Travel, Olympics and Recreation, no war zones in sight (though in the midst of war). Griffith eschews humanism to an extent, so focused on the ball game of cinematic style that he forgot about his own power and oppositional readings that French Liberal Critics have had a heyday with before and since. Although, it is becoming clearer that no critic would defy BIRTH just to recreate its anti-structuralist course of seamless precedents.
Hopefully the battle to justify or condemn Griffith will end over the confirmation of Griffith’s decision to choose art over ethics and continually redefine style and form (as it did for even Vertov and Eisenstein on the Russian side—especially for Pudovkin’s linkage mode of editing. Of course, all films flow from BIRTH, or Feuillade’s LES VAMPIRES and the new movement of African American film entirely owes itself to Micheaux’s WITHIN OUR GATES.
Affirming historical facts can be as deadly as the witness to the death of hero’s, because a blathering idiot could see the film and in a feat of indifferent anarchy would eliminate a peace-maker to fulfill continuity of what is believed to be a “just-war.” War is no longer ‘just’ when leaders become martyrs and the world is just behind being thrown into War, Plague, Famine and Deadly Chaos.
Of course, writing about ‘war’ is scary enough due to its “Pandora’s Box” effect of war perpetuation. Now that the intent of the world has shifted to end racism, end classicism and end sexism, and maybe to solidify ‘religious tolerance,’ (a nice effect that all four would have,) there is no safe approach to the Griffith dilemma, at least in BIRTH, unless it is a total testament in a Sartre sense of what not to do when caught in a tidal wave of burdens—even when it is to meet audience demands. Plato, the Ancient Greek philosopher, discusses this very problem with “ILIAD” in Republic Book X.
In the scenes to follow, the devastating wake of Lincoln’s death are about to follow.
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: Having experienced the loss of my friend Matt McAllister in the eleventh grade, in a trailer fire that could have taken my own life had the timing been different, has made me all too aware of the problem of pain and how it stirs up hatred within—and vengeance is the Lord’s only, when does he ever require to act out our emotions? In the recent fire at Universal Studios a question comes up, when does the party stop and the mourning end to bring about total “Messianic,” Peace on Earth. Must we die to prevent further death or must we live to promote more life—I choose the latter.)
Fear begets fear and peace begets peace, but as my mentor Jon Wagner at CALARTS explains, in not so many words, is that the hell we have all been through, in a way, disproves the right to believe in God altogether, because a diviner of Good Power would never allow evil, right?
The Griffith formula falls apart after Lincoln’s death and demolishes the right of auteurisms by transgressing the absolute power granted by only one person, when ethics are bravely employed. Ethics are so thrown out the window that the rest of the movie is almost impossible to watch and if INTOLERANCE and BROKEN BLOSSOMS attempt to end genderism and racism, then why is always one value forsaken for another—the endless railing Griffith stakes against classism in BIRTH (which, John Ford later defied in the capital enterprise that is his “IRON-HORSE” silent feature—a film that defines the national allegory of cultural imperialism at the cost of innocent and not so innocent Native Americans.)
Now that censorship has distorted itself to disband the lie of “1984’s Orwellian Thought Crime dilemma,” no one dares to give a history lesson that goes against the Hegelian lie that always impresses the notion that good will overcome evil. Hegel’s stance remains, but falls short of the modern agenda to catch a lie and disseminate it in a slower process than usual, to defy the quick-fix economical policies perpetuated by the Right and Left to protect businessmen (albeit, they are sometimes found in theft)—And, to recall correctly, producers of Hollywood’s Golden Age were the perpetrators of the end of directors as auteur, always running to the Griffith dilemma, as their straw man. Will Hollywood learn a lesson or will they look back and laugh? The left-wing and right-wing agree that a Presidential assassination is never a laughing matter until the complete Postmodern agenda of dissociation with signs and signifiers are meaningless.
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: After borrowing a loot of books from CalArts without checking them out—a library crime, I hope to make up for—I have also noticed a pattern among Foreign filmmakers to train out all Griffithian patterns that have stunted the growth of the ideological camp of filmmaking, a theory that has worked and also back-fired in so many ways that are not even funny.)
Does misogyny come at the cost of racism? Does classism come at the cost of misogyny? All of these questions do not erase the pain the American world still feels over Lincoln’s death! And how dear Griffith does the portrayal of war end war. Most likely it perpetuates it, in a total “Working Class Hero” sense of anti-aristocracy a la Jon Lennon.
Rigid BEATLEMANIA and its post-beatlemania spheres take precedence always in the anglo-philia of modernity—although, let it be known that early Beatlemania was a bit of a mirror image of a Chuck Berry attitude.
(Author’s Note: Let me debunk the producer as enemy theory now because the studio system rose and many stars became property under contract, there is no other system—Other than the Hindu Bollywood system that has produced and invigorated a response to love, joy and hope, as a nominal defense against hate, lack and destruction. Which begs yet another question: Did Griffith hate the industry he created, did it hate him, or did anyone really give a fuck? That is unknown by even today’s antiquated philosophies (even by a philosophy junky standard.) In the end, the message Griffith promotes is that no one wins in war-time, no matter how you play the game. Also, keep in mind that this current generation of shot analysis all comes from David Shephard’s definitive version before other attempts on further restoration are made on this old legend.)
If the root of Manichean thinking, as was in the days of Christian Empires that sought to devour Ottoman governments, then perhaps this is the root judgment against the African race that has always been at stake!
Fade Out—Intertitle reads: “Stoneman told of the assassination;” Which is followed by bedlam in the Stoneman estate library where chaos ensues, although certain stereotypes act ambiguously—everyone is in shock and the vindication of the Stoneman’s in the supposed overthrow of the gov’t is at hand. They are all vigorously outraged, knowing that the South will blame them—(however, do they not blame the South?)
The look in Austin Stoneman’s eyes is a blank expression of an “I told you so,” whisper toward Lincoln’s progressive abundance. Cut to, the women’s quarters of the Stoneman’s estated home-stead, where the women mourn what they have seen to the point of panic, albeit a sense of denial is precedent.
However, the Stoneman’s stand strong in their convictions, knowing that the torch carried by the Republic has been passed onto the Democratic North, but by what means? As the half-breed lover/maid explains to Austin, “You are now the greatest power in America,” an ideal flattened by freedom fighters Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X that were both also martyred in waves of conspiracies. Sidling up to her lover is the power starving mulatto woman, no longer a villain, but still plainly a seductive seducer fallen to the whims of power’s aphrodisiac.
Next intertitle: “The news is received in the South.” A different perspective here, immediately juxtaposed by a more shocked and less prideful stance—The family and boarders gather around the literate Cameron father who passes around the paper to breed a total devastation upon gathering the cost that it will take to make up for the dead hero. CLOSE UP Insert on the article, which is a reminder that even then, the media shifted blame to soften the blow, in this case by claiming that there was another plot to take the life of the Secretary but the fine print reminds the viewer that is quick to read that flags went “half-mast” that very day.
The Cameron family admits that they have lost their best friend and are now entering a world of pain. Fear and trembling is all that is viewed by the father, contagiously spreading to his family members. What will this mean for the future of the South?
“END OF PART ONE”

The second part of Birth is the “Reconstruction,” not suitable for the squeamish, or any others that do not wish to glamorize excessive racism, which has only just begun. The intertitle dividing the sections, ends with the sentence that is never truer, “The blight of war does not end when hostilities cease.” However, in what way does this impose the earlier antiwar sentiments?
A determined truth is that Griffith was and is in the realist camp, at least while directing BIRTH OF A NATION. There may be a botched history lesson coming soon to theaters, but these days of financial woe remain a fun and games, pulp and cult, mid-range of snowball effect money schemes (a decent goal of Hollywood forever and always.)
If time is allowable to bend backwards, don’t forget that the longest feature masterworks up to a point were and are total formalist approaches, with many effects beguiling audiences today (how did they create the ‘well of souls’ sequence in the first and second levels of Italian made, 1911, INFERNO?) Notice, too that early Fritz Lang, in the German Expressionistic vein, is obsessed with formalism, NIBELUNGEN part I. and II. are among all the greatest fantasies in existence.
Griffith’s friend Douglas Fairbanks was (as is Tom Cruise today) the world’s most versatile role changer (ZORRO being a low-tech realism with Stunt work, THIEF OF BAGHDAD, a more special effects driven star vehicle. Special effects are associated with formalism, the unmediated camera for realism and stunt work, erotic love making and in today’s age, the use of foul language are integral to the in between centered aesthetic that is predated to the origins of early cinema, even after Griffith retired (or was he ready to give up on ‘film’ because he dried up his money supply on his final film THE STRUGGLE?)
Psychology and Metaphysics are collapsed in BIRTH OF A NATION due to its enlightenment in the frontier that are one solution to a master plan.
Before embarking on the RECONSTRUCTION, here is an outline of Aristotle’s Point of View, which informs Griffith’s METAPHYSICS to a note:
ACT ONE
A. In an Aristotelian paradigm, conclusive evidence leads to four key representatives of aesthetic categories, which infuse to release artistic impetus (as produced by an artwork of such.)
1. Peripataesis—Greek for energy, produced by walking long distances briskly.
2. Kinesis—Energy produced in a theatrical venue, which changes up a response from either player or audience (in a positive or negative way—preferably both in an arena of non-censorship.)
ACT TWO
3. Mimesis—an artificial and intellectual representation of a realistic event (albeit too realistic would transgress the rules of ‘mythos’ and ‘imagos’—terms built upon formality, within reality)—
4. Catharsis—The absolution of feeling after seeing a violent or erotic event that effects you critically in order to get it out of your system, forever.
(With recommendations that the adherence of Classical Art in terms of unabashed, unrestrained copycat crimes to fall on the sexual side, as long as they are harmless—upon intense viewings of violence, pacificism rules—or as Jesus Christ would say, “Blessed are the peacemakers—“
FADE OUT and then the next intertitle reads that the Civil War aftermath from here on out, “is not meant to reflect on any race or people today.” Thus, the box office schemata is back in play. Woodrow Wilson is quoted in a long statement about his own historical lesson on the South—a long winded sermon about his intense racism (disproving that the audiences of 1915 were egalitarians.)
In Austin Stoneman’s study, his whole crew of politicians and servants dandy about the room with cautious eyes peering from the men in the background. Austin takes a drink and his half-bred lover hostess brings important men into the library.
Next event to occur is the entering of a very important character, the “protégé” of Austin Stoneman, Silas Lynch that enters the opulent settings comforted to see African American house servants, although he is not a slave.
The house servants bow to Silas, who is dolled up in black and kisses the hand of the now made over African-American maid. His hand points to screen left, as though sending Griffith a cue to throw the cut into the next appearance of Austin Stoneman’s busy library. In a series of short cuts—a back and forth tug of war exists in the polar oppositions that are about to be united in a single frame (the house library. To interrupt the meeting and announce Silas Lynch’s arrival, the maid graciously gets Austin Stoneman’s attention. Meanwhile, in the lobby, Silas appears slightly nervous, but not entirely afraid of the crowd he is about to approach. The half-bred maid returns to Silas and points to the room to validate his acceptable presence among the elite.
When worlds collide and Silas finally approaches, Austin Stoneman, Mr. Lynch bows to kiss Austin’s hand, not knowing that he must adapt to American customs, which in the next cut, illustrates Austin’s unbudging anti-racist policy—Still in a reverse shot (framed not from an angle, but still entirely inside the square box of symmetry—Silas Lynch’s overthankfulness is evident by his humble bowing before a Mr. Stoneman that reconfirms that it is no longer necessary to submit to a higher power, if and when the “all men are created equal,” clause in Americana is to be fulfilled.
In business practices, utility and its inevitable complacency have white washed public spectacle to the point of death. Ironing out problems may lead to a kind ideology, but only by giving the people what they will want, need and cherish, is the only way to please ethical business practitioners. Silas Lynch knows not how to react in front of the White superpowers of the Northern alliance. Griffith’s take no prisoners—win one for the team attitude is still a grim approach to generating press in a never-ending money-ploy—impress the people, make a quick buck—please the people with important historical lessons and time will heal the wound--(Still it is worrying that BIRTH OF A NATION will someday be vanquished from boutique cinephiliac stores—or any limitations in advancing a BIRTH collector’s piece—I cannot wait for the BLURAY HI-DEF version, myself.)
To reiterate a money plan for a centrist like Griffith, risks are taken, risks are ignored, and gangbusters at the box-office remains. However, any time money, fame or power enters the equation of art hanging out in one of the spheres for too long, corruption is a factor. In CITIZEN KANE, for instance, in an unforgettable scene Welles states as C.F. Kane, “I always gagged on that silver spoon.” It is his moment of defeat that he started off as a progressive populist and became a legend that no one could ever safely follow in the footsteps of.
Still, imagine what a nightmare each Production call sheet must have been on a movie of such scale.
In the beginning credits of the film, admit that Griffith is Producer and Cowriter, along with Frank E. Woods. To date, not much is discussed, in a story line this out of control. When people decimated their own brothers and friends over slavery, Lincoln’s assassination is presented without caution. When the sly money ploy of presenting the harsh aftermath of war’s reblossoming and ballooning into a chaos film, a film without apology; No rules and all bets are off. The story packs such a punch that all other films are lost in its wave. Whatever Civil War outfits have been made, none can topple the tower of Griffith. David Lean and Stanley Kubrick came close. Bresson and Hitchcock are equals with him, but they are only the two that could be compared (albeit, not as powerful as the break neck pace of D.W. Griffith and his massive cast and crew.)
(Whoever was allowed into Griffith’s inner circle was blessed to know him and learn his cinematic prowess. Interesting that John Ford and Erich von Stroheim along with the countless others they’ve effected up until the postmodern era when George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg carried the torch. In those days, nothing was forbidden to film, censorship’s anti-plea became so buried in a wave of misallocated guilt. Across the cinemaverse, no one has outdone Griffith, his genre changing body of work, his sustained impressions imposing over every image and frame of exploding emulsifiers creating processed footage of film, suspending reality or disbelief and spreading lies and hypocrisy about a disenfranchised nation of Africans.)
However, it is the rock that all cinema has been modeled after ever since. Orson Welles partakes in the Renoir camp of poetics in film. Yet, there may be a combative side of other countries to defy the allegations that the orchestrated Witch Hunt of the Klan. Griffith had a bring everything in and leave nothing out approach so much so that he had to film a passion play segment to his following film INTOLERANCE to atone for his sins.
Religion is film these days and nowhere else can you find another GENESIS chapter of film.
Yet, is it not true that in Genesis, it is human error that is punished and God is meanwhile left to pick up the pieces. Under the guise of religion, so much bloodshed has been overdone in the media, so that people are able to ascertain the violence that exists in the World. However, wars are not necessarily fought over anything other than money, or women, or power. Sheer power to conquer and colonize nations, idealized by past historical American figures. Christopher Columbus would have loved to see this movie, because dominion of the unconquered is what it seeks. If there were ever a more necessary time to fend off racism among those that suffered more or less.
In the film, at this phase in the Northernists headquarters—hardly any tension between the opposite race is felt, in fact, getting to know each other was to them, as important as re-enfranchising the sufferers, (although duly note that African-Americans were at least confined to a different state of registry. The scenes go on to meld together an ongoing, unheard dialogue considering a policy to keep things safe at the expense of equal rights has been at stake all along and these friendly gatherings (like attending a film) changed the world’s policies entirely.
What with the recent death of the mysterious Michael Jackson, race relations are more even by democratic media standards and practices. All the evidence may never be in to what actually happened to the downcast, outcast of society. In a further along shot, the half-bred maid unfurls her fan and listens in on the men’s gathering (injunctive with the previous spot of manipulated, though realist space.)
(Author’s Note: Odd that if the film grew among word of mouth, good reviews and a large reward of box-office, the Klan has all but gone underground after the government banned them.)
Some kind of peaceful resolve is complete in the library/study with powerful men.
Also, interesting that the film has been lambasted for its racism, whereas the Holy Bible is far more ‘xenophobic’ (at least until Christ arrives on the scene,) in sections, without the intent of perpetuating war or death, still not leaving those inevitable in human life.
After a disgustingly worded intertitle, not to be defended here, the next shot is of a seated Austin Stoneman discussing a political scheme with Silas Lynch. As Silas goes to leave, Lillian Gish’s Elsie Stoneman enters again and is bowed to by Lynch. Her dress is gorgeous and her basket of flowers is a nice commodifier of a set prop. In the next foreboding shot, Silas Lynch casts a lustful gaze immediately after meeting her (a star driven movie typically has the problem of misogyny at its core—this film is unafraid to reveal anti-feminist equality in vile virulence.
Anyway, the meeting between Mr. Lynch and Ms. Stoneman is key. The implications of the last name Lynch is quite frightful in context of the lynch mob later in the movie. Stoneman is a name that is likely related to the masons that fought for the North. When they meet, they do not understand each other. Lynch has an impulse toward the woman, but she does not become uncomfortable at Lynch’s overbearing gaze. In fact, Ms. Stoneman is a bit flirtatious in response to Lynch’s shy awkwardness. Lynch waves and exits through a door screen right (now the camera is in a mid-range theatrical realist position.) Austin Stoneman gains comfort in his already tiresome process of authoritative leadership and his daughter fawns to his side to comfort her weary old man. Next, a very strange occurrence sets of events that are more than meets the eye. Intertitle reads that Lynch’s “headquarters” are in Piedmont. A nicely composed shot manufactures a horse drawn coach that Silas Lynch appears to proudly occupy.
In a tight splice—a cut is seen of Lynch entering a room, cross cut to another space and time (in a thematic montage structure.) In this shot, Mr. Lynch takes flack from old slaves, appearing dangerously rich to them.
Apparently slavery is far from over (even though abolitionism prevailed in the war.) The next shot is of African Americans, working the crops in Piedmont’s acreage. Splice back to Silas and company that continue to remain very hoighty toighty in a crowd of celebration and hard work, a feeling that colonization is fading—which is interesting because the Southern states are atypical to the terms of colonization, at least compared to the North. Silas and his lackey turn their back to the camera, walking toward the background and a cut reveals that they (as well as the audience) can see a dance number—without insurance of whether it is a dance forced by the man and why in the world is an African American pictured eating watermelon? (So stereotypes begin to form again at this point.) Admittedly, the dancing that goes on here, while racist, is a hell of a good entertainment and a good diversion, for now.
Next cut, S. Lynch comes upon the crop worker ex-slaves and implores the workers to take a break and come to the “dance party,” or at least to take off work. The dance goes on and the workers leave their post. Silas continues the marching forward action, overseeing the voting process—as though African Americans in the South cannot read or even understand how to vote.
An important sign-post, in the voting sequence reads “Forty Acres and a Mule” (a moniker the legendary Spike Lee still uses in a recontextualized way for his production company.) The problem with the 40 Acres and a Mule theorem is that there were strings attached and as usual, nobody got what they were promised. As verified later in the film, (although reality has taken an oppositional course—to an extent,) the carpetbaggers buy up land to constantly drain Southern money in the guise of anti-slavery.
In fact, even the next intertitle explains, “The charity of the generous North misused to delude the ignorant.” A loaded statement, but full of partial truths. If house slaves were allowed to read the Bible (historical fact), then would not they have spread words orally among the field slaves? And then how could they have been ignorant?
Anyway, in the next scene there exists a strange ambiguity among the picturesque details that penetrate an idealistic dystopic plot. The African-Americans are collecting reparations at some kind of a booth that is conditionalizing recompense for their suffering, although their excitement is overblown—in a conditioned response fashion—not unlike Mark Twain’s stereoscopic disenfranchisement of the disenfranchised. After collecting many items—An African-American collects a tophat and allows the next member of his race to collect, as though he has just hit the lottery.
Perhaps the transition from African to African American induced position (and then to a white-washed American, without any connections to Africa, a total sin if asked by this author), is not without a money bribe—to gain impetus among the losing race and restore them to instant gratification (as if this will not impede their nature/nurture progress.)
Still, money produces excitement no matter who you are. Next scene, Silas Lynch, (decked out in tophat and tails) walks in front of the Cameron plantation and coming his way is a group of African-American soldiers, which begs the question: how were they ever bamboozled into joining the Army? Was the G.I. Bill to provide free college already in place? (And would they not have been forced into a military college, regardless?)
Strange as it may seem, Silas Lynch vanishes offscreen and as Ben Cameron and his little sister begin to journey onto the street, the African-American military (walking screen, top left to screen bottom left) slows down their normal pitched gait. The army gives them orders (along the lines of how they are impeding progress) and then the Army marches on before the Cameron’s are able to close the gate. This is the first in a series of insults that wind up the Cameron’s intense, annoyed anger.
Silas Lynch enters from the rear of the Army (appearing like Wile E. Coyote, like out of nowhere) and he antagonizes Ben Cameron even more by telling him—as the intertitle reads—that “the sidewalk belongs to us as much as it does to you…” If mimicry of the once rich and salvageable South does not implore a violent response from reverse racism, perhaps the suppressed will of the angry Ben Cameron is a stepping stone in Griffith’s master plan—(to explain why the Klan rose as a Machiavellian “any means necessary” fascist engenderment code that broke free in the last few years of a newfound Religious Tolerance regime in and among the Barack Obama Presidential Victory, 2008.)—Still if overt racial hatred is placed under a microscope—camps will split and return to their rightful place until there are peace talks that relate to everyone (an Anti-Platonic democratic agenda, no less.) So, Ben and his sister look back in Anger and continue up the sidewalk, as though they have not been harassed.
The chain reaction of causal determinants regresses further when Austin Stoneman’s sickness carries him out of his office to none other than “South Carolina.” In the next image, Austin prepares to leave the roost and is confronted by his family (on the mid-frame is Elsie and behind is the eldest Cameron boy. They are pensive, apprehensive, but mostly well-pleased with anything that can fixate their father’s pneumonia like symptoms to restore his health.
Upon further analyzation of the shot—the physician’s recommendations to move and change locales is hardly a problem considering that Northern leadership in the South is inevitable. Silas Lynch has already proven that he is unable to lead on his own—or, at least, in a less caustic environment that he has felt was important as an act of restitution, revenge and a Descartesian plan to restore victory among the African-Americans, without regret or retread.
(Author’s Note: Griffith must have known that very few African-Americans had money to pay for a roadshow, platform release like BIRTH and as will be seen, the Whites unapologetically win!)
Next shot, getting ready for the South Carolina trip is interesting because A. Stoneman’s house servants are of African origin, yet choose him as their leader, because they know they are not his equal.
As the children suggest to him, to take up residence in Piedmont, the town of the Cameron’s ACT I, continues to seed the flow of ACT II, the very next shot rolls in (left frame at the slightly angled frontage road—perhaps Piedmont’s main street, as seen earlier) and an expensive horse drawn carriage (a spectacle even for the rich, who were losing money and lives over the current World War I that was only in its middle of the road phase.) The shot reestablishes the friendship between the Stonemans and the Camerons and a factual reinterpretation illuminates the present situation, that Austin always intends to bring his family with him wherever he goes (until later, when they fall into harm’s way.)
From another angle the men enter the frame (filling up the space MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY settle, eclipsing the African “mammy” who all but welcomes them home. The caboose of the house entering is concluded with the ever flirtatious “star-crossed” burgeoning love-birds (Ben Cameron and Elsie Stoneman)—Silas Lynch also approaches after Elsie leaves.
In the house, those that have entered, are in the foyeur and shown immediately to room (to the right frame, which means that the next cut on action retrieves information from shot A and merges into starting on the left and crossing to the right in the bedroom—shot B.)
Now, the next shot leads us back to the dreaded position that was enumerated in detail earlier and figures into the Griffith grids explorative franchise.
The house servant of the North meets the house servant of the South and a comical shenanigan busts loose vaudeville style. The Northern servant meets the emancipated Southern slave and she is immediately turned off by his attempt to get her to carry his bag into his quarters. So, “mammy” sends the Northerner into his quarters, labeling him as “black trash” and gives him a quick kick to the ass.
An intercut diametrically reveals the white folk having fun on the porch—never more excited. The next arrangement of the kindred spirits, reveals young daughter Cameron, vivaciously kissing Gish’s Elsie Stoneman, furthering the validation of the intensifying Romantic subplot that Ben Cameron does not mind a bit.
As the action is thrown back to the hallway, Austin Stoneman is in view, leaving his quarters to saunter outside. Again the servant meets the slave and this time the language gets slanderous. As the Northerner attempts to beguile “mammy” with hypnotic eyes, she is horrific in her insult. To quote the intertitle: “Dem free-niggers f’um de N’of am sho’ crazy.”
The line alone goes down in infamy and is a discussion section worthy of an entire book! There is a sense of maudlin and unkempt twisted humor in the version screened that many would call the black face actors, sell outs. Again, this quite frankly eliminates the notion of literacy, a notion that should not be left out of African-American History.
Cut back to a contrast—antithesis of the white players entrenched in a family love affair. Mae Marsh’s child-like innocence floats into the next shot (after refraining from embracing)—then she turns and gives a bow and exits by entering the house.
So to break up the calm, Lynch reenters the picture and Griffith describes this as condescension. The next shot is an enigmatic mix of face gestures. On the left is Lynch, appearing, as though he is smarter than he looks. Next, on the right of Silas is A. Stoneman cheerily thinking the Cameron’s will accept the “mulattos” hand. On the right of Austin is Elsie and she peers in to see how Ben will react and although he is not letting on that he is xenophobic, it is certain that the war he fought and nearly died for is always on his mind, especially as the North is subsuming power. Interesting that Silas extends his hand first and carried away by his judgment Ben Cameron gives a cold stare at Mr. Lynch and folds his hand away. Ben turns away and Silas appears unchallenged, but Austin Stoneman is a bit troubled, while Gish makes fawning looks at the whole situation remaining beautiful in the tension. So, Austin and Silas (Silas oft-forgot to be a Christian name) enter the house offscreen-right. Leaving the angered Ben Cameron and the much confused Ms. Stoneman. Then Austin is seen busting into the nursery—angrier than ever—followed by the unfettered Silas Lynch (in the background, a servant-slave is still hard at work, but she takes notice of the situation. Austin strips his blanket off and turns to blather on about Ben Cameron’s lack of politeness or something and Silas opens his pocket and removes a piece of paper—a scroll like document and as Austin takes and reads. Back outside is the reconciling Ben and Elsie, who prove that old time Romance did not used to be based on money—because clearly she is, by today’s standards—too rich for a poor man’s blood. Ben takes Elsie by the arm and they walk offscreen together. The contrasting displacement of the next interior-shot reveals Austin continually lecturing Silas, who looks stern and exits.
In this author’s opinion, the next intertitle gives too much away and is in some way a suspense killer in an excavating “terror” profile implementation way.
So it goes that Griffith’s intertitle accuses Lynch of being an all around “traitor,” sick with “power.” As about to be seen, there is a hint of truth in the statement, but perhaps it is another seat-grabbing money scheme, as budget is always on a good cinematographer’s mind.
Silas Lynch takes an arrogant stance, pointing to himself, as though he is some kind of “anti-Zorro” or a would-be enemy of humanism. At this point, he is drunk with power.
A huge jump into the next scene, exactly an hour and forty minutes in, begin the next battle, the South clinging onto the last remnants of a botched system of slavery. So they “rally” before the election board in attempt to stop the African-American vote, but the unseen tidal wave of Northern support is about to catch everyone off guard. Although, in the next shot, a black man taunts the crowd in a stereotypical vein. The African-American supporters listen to this upstart merely because he is of their color. Forty Acres and A Mule promised in every way and a libertine version of equality promised. The African-Americans in this movie see through these tactics as non-fraternal but governed through slick trick psychology.
The next shot closes in on the riled (over-hyperactive) black governor surrogate. In the crowd, the sign-posts of unplayable promises abound. Some ignore, others initiate a process of courtroom bedlam. Next shot is of an African-American at a voter registry (which means that African-Americans were allowed to vote earlier than most history books were printed as allowing.) Anyway, a small crowd of eager black voters rush in to sign the registry.
Griffith’s choice to displace time and elevate space, when watching him, it is like a dangerous time travel game. Silas, Austin and the eldest Stoneman enter a back door area, adjunct and directly behind the voting registry room. In the world’s most interesting voyeur shot, after Silas knocks on a door, the next cut is a match on action of an eye looking through the hole in the door.
(Author’s Note: how did this film survive the years of cinema history, discarding films non-chalantly after their screening circuit was over, as I have noticed from working intensively with film labs. However, many films have fallen into disrepair, due to the biodegradable nature of organic materials.)
Then again, there were never low supplies of Griffith’s prints circulating Hollywood and the world. Now it is easy to get a DVD copy over the Internet, as has been suggested in so many ways by this author. In those days, troublesome inequality was burgeoning all around in laws, practices, standards, and Griffith no doubt felt a bit drawn and quartered by historical accuracy, entertainment value and blind faith in the art of motion pictures. So it comes to pass that the African-Americans are being let into the political hall from the back door (another straight on blocky shot.) The next shot produces an abstract idea that is still far from hostile to anyone. The hearts and minds of the African-Americans in the political forum, are only a bit distracted because the war just ended. Austin and Silas enter the picture and in the next important cut, Silas is silencing the town council meeting and drawing attention in a “Nixon”-esque attention grabbing event. The crowd of imported African-American property becomes freed, but it seems as though they are laughing in contempt. In a vain attempt, Silas is waving and will make every attempt to win over the crowd of the uninterested.
The crowd of listeners do not seem to care about Silas’ demanding outlook (all all that he demands will be achieved.) Finally, Silas rises the crowd of sudden belief to their feet, as they have become supporters due to something Silas says (which, I think would have been nice in a soundtrack—yet, the intertitle that pops up on the “blackboard” next is: “The franchise for all blacks by way of enrolling the…vote.” (At this point, the uglier “n” word pops up and shall not be mentioned.
A gathering of blacks appear before the voting booth, eagerly awaiting their shot at the limelight. Then, in ignorance, a black man explains to a white American that if his “franchise” does not fill his “bucket”, then he could care less about it. This line connotes three views; One) The depression was so severe that no one in the African-American world had enough money to upkeep land; Two) The man had no idea what franchise meant or Three) That it is another of a series of racial slurs. The play on words continues in a Twain-esque allocated space of differences of opinion. A postmodern stance would admit that this too, is meaningless.
In the next undervalued scene, a glimpse of realism is injected into part two’s formalist camp—A whiter looking Silas wrestles with a dog while being taunted by two Black Men and the dog is thrown toward them, another anthropomorphic reference to the metaphor of a dividing line between the way “colored folk” were still thought to be “animals” (A tradition totally subverted and recontextualized by the late-capitalist artist Snoop Dogg.)
The love story is immediately leapt onto (as loosely and thematically as Godard’s PIERROT LE FOU—a movie where there is delinearized linearity.) Here the story moves with a heart-pounding forward action. The “windmill chaser” in this scene is Ben Cameron, still pursuing Elsie with all her might.
Silas sees the lovers and is stirred to envy, bitterness, rage, jealousy and lust. Ben Cameron leaves Elsie behind and goes to check on something offscreen. Silas slinks back behind the tree in the match cut (a reversal of the 180 degree line, practically filmed on the line in either direction, Ozu style—although not as close-up.) As it turns out, Ben Cameron went offscreen to fetch a bird to bring it to Elsie so that from a close-up sideview of the actress and actor, the little bird kisses Gish in a soft-focused natural light look to elevate time and space for an element of Griffith’s own hopeless longing for the ways of the old—a romantic (with a character flaw that will emerge, re-emerge and ultimately sink back into Romance.) The footage in this case, speaks for itself. Ben Cameron kisses the back of the bird to get closer to Elsie, but she still backs off at his attempted initiation into a touching relationship. And then, the bird-kissing reconvenes, and from a further back longer range shot, the two trees in the shot that frame our lovers and heroes walk closely together. Silas, from behind (in front, glares at the couple, in his eyes, is a lust for the old days of war-like segregation between the Northern and the Southern whites.) He walks toward the camera in the Griffith signature “walking into a close-up” fashion.
(Author’s note: the whole second half is so laced with conjecture, that it could be the root origin of blaxploitation.)
The next intertitle incites blistering romance by defining the characters as what they are not, in a negative unity discovery, only to define them by what they are. Gish alone in her room, kisses the “White Bird” (a song later coined by “It’s a Beautiful Day,” although the allusion to cocaine is totally in double-entendre innuendo in their version, whereas Griffith had the wherewithal to doubt any other meaning then a Manichean view, that white is pure and dark is the unpure.)
Jarring the readers of intertitles into another subplot altogether. (Author’s Note: Griffith’s anti-reflection of impetus driven fiction inserts values beyond a descriptive formula, insinuating that art never imitates life and life rarely imitates art. This line of reasoning could be a misnomer characterized by infractions against the terratorilization of a scary African-American penal code against the values that the founding fathers up to Lincoln wanted to withhold but couldn’t—especially after Lincoln’s martyrdom.)
So it goes that the South cannot forget and forgive the North (Even after 1865, the day the war ended—as lectured by my history buff friend Matthew Crowe), because their economy is and had been in shambles ever since the war.
Ms. Cameron, of the eldest of the daughters, stares at a flower, most likely playing the ‘she-loves-me, loves-me-not’, game, thinking of the eldest Stoneman boy in a natural longing. Of course, in a vein of Midsummer Night’s Dream, the eldest Stoneman stares off from behind a shrubbed hedge and looks into the eyes of the woman he longs for. Notice the doppelganger effect is intensifying—as mirror images collide in the film’s two central Romance subplots.
The narrative flips channels so frequently, but flows in unity to create a mind-wave of good and evil vibrations—unmitigated disasters that reawaken poetics in a caustic mindset—yet, the penetration of the Romance controls the war, as if a Lysisastrata-esque cease-fire plan has been put into place by the images and words of love, in this context, it is anything but a cop-out.
Disconnected shots of lovers (the man staring at the woman, who doesn’t even know he’s there, but secretly wishes he was) fuels the fire of this contextual abstraction of old Eros simplification, isolation and yearning for unity.
Comforting that there is no hostility between the acting couple, because they sense love for each other beyond a reasonable doubt—except when will their worlds collide—and why violence?
Now, I think it is important to step back and reflect on the way, in which, Griffith imposes a white utopia, entirely disrupted by the rise of the African-American empire (—a fear dating back to the Muslim Ottoman era, when Africans conquered Rome—perhaps.)
Definitively, the only message that can be salvaged by the wreckage of man’s laughter that followed in the wake of the film’s post-cinematic aftermath, is that love stories, in the midst of drama, always sell to a larger crowd, no matter how you concoct the formula. In fact, the New Wave in France responded far more accurately to Griffith’s purely nostalgic class critique TRUE HEART SUSIE, as the ultimate deproblematized film in his canon.
As the Stoneman’s eldest man and the Cameron’s eldest daughter are attracted, a feeling begets the honest viewer that things will work out between Elsie and Ben, as well, but at what cost?
In a nicely arrayed linkage cut, the 2nd couple of lovers mentioned return together—locking a non-biased stare of hypnosis. The couple gaze into each other’s eyes, for an effect of good sentiment and better acting abilities over any other screen example. Here is another scene, in which a forming relationship emits a complex value of what the French critics/poets term as amour fou (wild love.) Yet, in actuality reasonable weight is placed into a value of taming love—whereas the initial reaction of Ms. Cameron to evade her suitor turns into this gesture to stand up and secretly hope for him to follow—(Twists of Fate, divine bliss, and unexpected whimsy, as seen here, is a technique that Ernst Lubitsch coined as his own Lubitsch touch.)
As Ms. Cameron is standing surrounded by opulent foliage. In the reverse shot (albeit from a different camera angle to interest the viewer in a flexible space, achieves maximum depth of physical natures.
Mr. Stoneman (the young lover) leans over the fence, yearning for something that he understands, is out of reach and quite possibly that so forever.
The girl further walks away from the man; Her without any hint of what she really feels, altogether. Invisible boundaries represent the infinitely split sides of geographically mixed emotions.
Cut back to the first set of lovers (Elsie and Ben), also face tension and appear to disagree on their feelings for each other. Elsie, exits the frame to the left and enters the next shot from the right frame for contextual and indexical reference. Behind her in the second shot is a picturesque painting like immanence of natural beauty, competing with the beauty of Gish. She erupts, in tears and Ben moves to comfort her and discover by what means she has been driven to sorrow.
Ben sweet talks the girl into a happy mood, by initiating his feelings for her. They both finally embrace and their mutual respect is turning out to be a mutual relationship, back in the comfort zone.
The embrace fires up a passion, unquenched by the sands of time, unfettered by a modern sound film approach—in short, the love scenes here are impenetrable—erotic and mild. And the fade begins, as the lover’s kiss. As Elsie and Ben lock lips, it all but fades out to allow them their privacy.
Then, the dialogue appears in the intertitle, “I’ll watch you safely home.” It is a strange credit to silent film that just the intertitle derives a perfect picture and is not to mention, better for foreign markets, as only the intertitles need translation for people to understand the on-goings of the picture.
As the newfound lovers emerge midground left frame and walk further up the trail to the center foreground Elsie is so excited and frantic that she hugs her beau and rushes offscreen foreground, left frame.
The next shot of the film is of Elsie Stoneman’s bedroom, her private woman’s quarters, decked out with a large four post bed (which takes the center of attraction), neat paintings on the wall and other burgoise accoutrements—Elsie bursts in through a background doorway and is so giddy at her newfound love that she jumps for joy and the precious moment is conjoined with Ben Cameron, sensing her appeal outside of a gate. Satisfied, Ben walks away from the camera, headed down a path toward the background.
Cutting back to Elsie’s quarters, she proves her excitement by running around like a school girl and fantasizes about her love by kissing a bed post. A Close Up, in fact, illustrates her profound, bittersweet demeanor, as she knew, Ben was a kindred spirit, but now the curiosity has lead to erotic passion. She holds tight to her bed-post and the Close Up reveals Gish’s, Elsie, as a nuanced, meticulous actress, rabid for intimate detail.
After this cut, Ben Cameron’s march of love’s of his house—he turns aside, smiles and enters the doorway. Intercut of Elsie squeezing and cuddling her bedpost, still giddy as a school-girl. (Unlike the examination of adultery in marriage, in Griffith’s two versions of BATTLE OF THE SEXES—films that no doubt had an impact on Cecil B. Demille—here love is imparted with a graceful majesty—only to be later temporarily torn asunder by political mind games and a growing fascism implemented by North and South platonic aristocracy.)
So, after Ms. Stoneman has her ephermal, ethereal love hallucination, the film takes another turn toward the realm of uber-fiction. In not so many words, it is election time and for an unexplained reason only “blacks” are given the vote. And the question is, why is that a bad thing?
Well, for starters, democracy is an attempt to include everyone (unless they do not wish to be included, an option democracy feels uncertain of—in any case.)
In the election footage that follows, African-Americans control the polls and yet, the soldiers that are in place, do not seem to comfort a poor black man, who is beguiled and confused by a process that heretofore has been a white man’s game. Still the man votes and turns away, as he is being taken by census registry that is attempting to rig an election anyway. Then again, how much can a single person’s vote influence others? Apparently quite a bit, or the pollsters would not have made such an effort to control the damn thing.
Furthermore, the black-faced minstrel that voted, makes a racist stereotype face while making a comedy by voting twice. Next cut is in front of the gate of the Camerons as the top gun of the family strolls out on to the street in a tophat, implying that he is, at least at this point, not hurting for money (or too proud to admit that he is.) The gate closes and the director cuts to a fade up on the election poll scene, as though Mr. Cameron is headed for the voting square, though he has not a clue about what he will run into. The poll rigging demonstrates an ugly side of cultural imperialism American style. When tides turn, the government typically will stop at nothing to get what they want as part of some retooled gov’t process requiring world dominance, mitigating disaster by manipulating the feeble-minded poorer classes.
Interesting that when the white men (Mr. Cameron present) attempts to vote, a black faced soldier pushes him away to keep anyone that is not of color to vote. Next shot is positioned dead locking the puppet masters of the mainstay of the governing body politic, without the friendly persuasion of modern times.
Silas Lynch, in the foreground, shoves the excited pollsters aside, so he can verify the win, without any hubbub.
In Austin Stoneman’s inner chamber, his soldier son presents him with a detailed letter of announcement of some kind. The next intertitle reads out that Silas Lynch has won, as governor, he is elated and his followers erupt in satisfaction. Silas enters Stoneman’s room from the left screen (matching his exit of the ballot room.)
Elsie enters non-chalantly, glowing with affection—she holds a basket of flowers. Her father, Austin, confirms the news of Silas’ victorious election makes Elsie happy, in a genuine way.
The next shot is an excellent portrayal of what has most often been railed into Griffith’s mind as the power of editing. Later, Dziga Vertov in the Soviet Industry, wrote a book on cinema, KINO EYE that confirms a use of agitative propaganda trains, or a vehicle for the “agit-prop.” Griffith took this valuable lesson from Edwin Porter’s GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, (a masterpiece deserving of sycophancies, as well as BIRTH.)
What happens here is an entire group of African-American soldiers parade down Piedmont’s street. Back in the Stoneman bedroom/study Austin has never been prouder of himself or his deliverance of a new leader. Little does he know that Griffith has an agenda to show that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Silas is happy, at this point—before the vainglorious descent into madness.
Silas’ line of sight match focuses in on Elsie, as she becomes his obscure object of indiscretionary desire. She unfolds a large poster board, which ghostly reflects light (probably manufactured electronic key and spot light.) And Austin continues his discomforting stare. The problem is that it has been a few minutes since he’s been elected and he already has his sight on forbidden fruit.
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of mistakes that leads to a Klansmen jihad—unusual due to the nature of the Quran’s spiritual battle that is meant entirely as a metaphor and or a spiritual battle with demons, never meant to manifest physically.)
Though Silas’ ugly stare is aimed at Elsie, her response is none because she cannot feel his lustful penetration of look. The next shot brings the multiple shots back together establishing continuity through brick-layering form and technique. Silas takes instruction from Austin and leaves the room. Elsie brings the papers to her father that she subtly places in his hand.
Next cut displays the African-American army going ballistic over the win of their appointed governor. Silas is elated at his supporters—They pick him up to carry him off and the next cut is of Austin watching from the window and so far Griffith seems to venerate the African-American takeover of politics—a theme he will stick with even after the bloodbath that later ensues.
For now, the Northerners could not be happier about their anti-Confederate, unity of the lower class, underprivileged racial equality act. In fact, Griffith does not view this in contempt (except for the uncomfortable moment that preceded jubilance involving Silas staring at Elsie.) FADE OUT and cut to an intertitle that portrays and depicts the Southern side of the story, to deflect Northern morays as all encompassing.
Ben Cameron is seated with a group of elders, including his father (they are in the main stairwell hall in the Cameron estate.) He recounts the changing historical news that brings him to anger. He explains some kind of trial, in which, a white man was tried and found guilty by a group of blacks.
Cut to another in a series of cunning, yet, abominable scenery of a court room, presided over by an African American official. The courtroom is moderate in temperament and it is far from the fantasy of bedlam that it will become. Next shot, an African-American on trial (obviously a black-faced minstrel—for more info on “black-face” check out Spike Lee’s BAMBOOZLED.) Next cut is a seemingly sedated crew of clean cut, mild mannered African Americans.
The African-American judge presiding attention over the crowd in the next shot, presents a double-sided thematic code reference that extols and abhors civil rights—Lincoln himself is only on one side of a penny. The unusual civil suit continues with a very uncomfortable upper class white family carry on without ease.
And so, the next shot of the entire courtroom reveals the man in the hot seat, let off the hook and the jury box rejoices. Back in the Cameron estate, Ben tells the story of the African-American takeover of power all throughout the South. The next chunk of the story takes place in what looks like a town square, ruled by some pretty mean African-Americans, ready for violence.
A white man and his son are told to clear off by the militiamen. Fancy that the militia men are villains that push around innocent people.
In the next screwed up series of events is black people, punishing a black man for not voting for their side of the ballot. So, the victimizing begins of a Southern man and Northerners are the responsible villains. A gang of militia men begin tying ropes upon the old slave and he is close to a tree. An intercut of an old man entering a cabin, slices between the reckless endangerment code of onscreen violence, when the Southerner is blinded and beaten with canes against a tree.
The old man hobbles around the corner and sees the (line of sight cut) mayhem ensuing all around, which turns the tides of the film into a racial hatred piece—perhaps the most notorious example of hate in all of cinema. The old man rushes into the frame and is shoved and shot dead by a soldier, but the slave is dropped from the tree and the militia get the hell out, thinking they are being watched.
Ben Cameron stands amongst his gathering, raising a fist at the camera angle (straight on) and then the film cuts quickly to the African-American slave breathing heavily, standing and running off frame right.
At the Cameron household, the elders stand and plot together a way to stop the madness (only, as we will see, the South fights madness with madness—the whole war is unhinged insanity, at this point.)
A term “faithful soul” is the most endearing remark made in reference to a black man in the entire film—The next shot is of the “soul” explaining to his owner of the near death torture he just experienced (gesturing in pantomime near the tree that the event took place.) The Cameron father slowly walks the slave offscreen and he brings him into the house where the others are waiting with sympathy. The continuity appears a bit hackneyed here because how did Mr. Cameron find his slave at all? This is never explained, and thus, the whole scene is an unusual object lesson in coincidence, albeit accidental.
The slave makes his statements of his near death experience known. The next scene is another in a series of “out-of-nowhere” theoretical conjectures, like a what-if that has never even remotely come close to happening in human history (just to prove how faulty the entire historical canon was, at this point—unless the event was suppressed, which wouldn’t matter, because it is in the film—one theory is that the unenlightenment throughout American has always left its meathooks in conjecturing historical “facsimiles.”
The less said about what happens here, the better, as the whole House of Representatives is taken over by African-Americans and they make a mockery out of it, proving either that they could not be leaders ( a fact disillusioned by the Protestant Work Ethic that contends to reason with the amount of a workload in comparison to leadership skills—or perhaps this is just further proof of xenophobia—or fear of the “other.”
Again, Griffith takes to task stylistic mastery by revealing a room (gov’t official-like) with desks and chairs that miraculously dissolves in the seated black officials—among the rest of the court—still, an unsurpassed aesthetic of detachment and looses the argument against him be sheer aesthetic prowess.
How loosely the word “Reconstruction” is tossed about, when the inexperienced African Americans turn the courtroom into a carnival of shams. As the presiding residence reads over the daily agenda, members of the house are displayed in a montage as drunkards, mannerless and in a final insult, a black man takes off his shoes and puts his feet on the table—Later Martin Scorsese will replicate this symbol of disrespect toward institutions when a “redneck” stereotype in CASINO puts his feet on a gambling unit and gets the shit beat out of him for the crime.
With inattentiveness, the blacks disrespect their surroundings and Griffith disrespect their surroundings and Griffith disrespects them by creating this hoax. To add insult to injury, the speaker of the house puts out an order for members to always wear shoes—a parodic idiosyncrasy of what was (and in some small circles) considered a laughing matter. Cut after cut in this painful memory (still well composed, but over the line in content.) The rules that finally get the court’s attention are twofold: all black officers are to be saluted (not a problem) and that miscegenation is allowed, between black men and white women, which, long story short, the crowd erupts in much rejoicing. And, it goes without saying that the whole “fictive” sequence is put together with the same stylistic care that under Griffith’s gun is making the unreal, real, for better, or in this case, for worse.
There is a shot series to follow closely during these events, that of the new majority of blacks taking over the house and the old white majority reduced to minority—relegated to a balcony view of the entire charade. So the hall resounds with Black pride and it isn’t too much to anticipate what with the cuts between the floor and the balcony that some other plan is being put into place—as, the wool is pulled over the eyes of blind justice.
What ensues next should come with another warning, besides its foreshadowed “Grim Reaping” label. After Silas Lynch opened the Golden Door for equality, almost immediately, is the new power abused. Foreshadowing immense, the next shot is a bit frightening. Notice in the scenario, Gish’s Elsie and Mae Marsh’s innocent young girl sit near a split of two trees and in the far off distance (in the background behind them), near the fence line, stands a menacing black-faced man, that sneaks a look at the two girls—CLOSE-UP on the man and he is encircled by a faded ellipsis, staring grotesquely with a face of violence, anger and frustration. Cut back to the girls seated at the tree, coddled in each other’s arms, not quite feeling the vibrant aura of hate flowing their way. In fact, the black man walks away, as the two ladies lock hands and head behind the trees, disappearing offscreen frame right. The black man (who has factored in before and whose name shall be known as “Gus”) reappears and heads to the right of the frame in a stalking motif. Next shot, the jovial women (match on action) rush into the day shot exterior of the fence gate entrance and enter the yard. The next cut is back at the trees, finishing a crosscut of “Gus” leaving the frame to the right, followed by a shot of the Gate from a front (rather than rear, as before,) as the peering Gus looks at the women (of course, they are both so dolled up, it must be noted that they are both easy to look at.)
The next shot is on the porch and who should greet the lovely woman and girl, but none other than Silas Lynch, doffing his hat to the kindreds, shaking Elsie’s hand in a seemingly innocent way. Next, Gus stares through the gate and picks up a stick and chews on it, a nervous “oral” fixation, no less. Back on the porch, Lynch has a “mirror” fixation on the objectified Elsie, who takes cue from the younger girl that exits frame left. Next shot, Ben Cameron catches the plot in the act and as the following shot reveals, Elsie is unable to get away from Lynch’s gaze. Ben Cameron is actually in both the master shot and a side angle mid-shot in juxtaposed variation and he is not in the least bit amused. (Note: Cultural Imperialism has this whole scene tied up in knots—as a minority is viewed as dangerous when seizing power.) Stares are in a match cut, the white young girl Ben Cameron is not amused, yet Silas almost appears, in acting craft, diversionary and intentionally distracting. Silas wanders off to the background.
In the same scene, Elsie and young and innocent Cameron girl discuss the rudeness of Silas, Elsie deflects the sentiment and they cordially kiss each other in affection—The girl’s squeeze hands and off Elsie goes, screen left. Almost immediately after this Gus is seen prowling along the fence line, yet again and the young girl (very next take) exits the frame by entering the house.
Action on Ben Cameron approaching Gus with the utmost vindictiveness and according to an intertitle, Ben “orders” Gus to stay “away.” So the bust shot of Ben Cameron reveals, in pantomime’s autonomous function, to give Gus the “exit” sign.
Reverse shot to Gus indignant at his foil, acting tough and all. Next, Silas is seen, still giddy, entering a nearby door, stopping to look back at the scene, which in line of sight match reveals Ben and Gus continuing their heated quarrel (on opposite sides of the fence, literally and figuratively.)
Silas’ reaction shot reveals him to be angered at the sight of the disrespect of Gus. So much so that he enters the shot with the argument, still going on and Ben is then framed alone—eyes lighting up—CUT TO, Silas talks to the man, as the angered militant Gus shoots a bedeviled stare at Ben, who in linking shots, decides it is high time to exit as he does (and the background, is still that Athenian-like pillar column at the estate/ex-plantation.) Silas appears to chastigate Gus, though and Gus wanders off defeated.
The next intertitle, again, gives a bit too much away—it refers to Ben’s sadness that his “people” are being led to “ruin.” Ben is now seen on a hill-side over-looking a river or lake (in a Gainsborough like picture, though typically he did not deal with frustrated characters.)
Next shot, is, as sad as it seems by today’s standard, the entire impetus for the Klan’s origin comes about in a series of shots, in which Ben Cameron views two naughty children (apparently poor white trash) dressing up like a “ghost” to frighten away some harmless black children. Ben is, for personal reasons, amazed at this reaction. The shot reverse shot that is apparently at Ben’s line of sight reveals a total scare tactic of two white kids, in a white sheet, again, frightening away the black children—(AUTHOR’S NOTE: This I find troubling because, a ghost really shouldn’t be scary in comparison to a riled up, ex-slave owner)—anyway, the scare tactic works and the bed-sheet ghost (HALLOWEEN style), causes the black children to panic and flee. This is the “inspiration” for the Klan—(a fact that this author finds hard to believe), but nonetheless, there is Griffith’s argument.
In the reaction shot, Ben Cameron is joyous to discover this devilish enactment, altogether ‘anti-black’. He waves his hat and points his finger in a “that’s it,” mannerism. The next intertitle gives the next series of problems away—that the “KKK” is formed to “save the South from the anarchy of black rule,” although, even Griffith admits that a lot of blood is going to be shed.
The very next shot reveals the foreboding Klansmen, decked out in cross covered shrouds, horses covered by blankets, points at the top of their heads—in some kind of heretical anti-Christian mode of hatred, determined to punish the innocent culture of African-Americans, for attempting to take over the turf.
Further proof of this “tragedy” comes about when the Klan attacks a supposed “barn-burner,” for the sake of entertainment. Two black men leave their house and walk to the foreground, frame left. The Klan, in the next shot, stalk them from behind a hedge, waiting to move in for the kill. As the “black” men exit the gate, the Klan awaits to give them a scare—interesting that such “puritans” slam down a keg of what appears to be alcohol (what else could it be?) The black-faced actors (in a reverse-shot CLOSE UP) soon to be come-uppance, distracted completely by their lethal terminators. Foreboding in every way, the sinister plot of the klan is at hand.
More trembling, more scare tactics, waves of a terrifying hand, sends the two “Black” men back to their cabin. Feeling triumphant in this unhatching race war, the Klan rides off into the background, disappearing. Now things get even more disturbing when the intertitle reveals that Lynch’s men are the first to “score…blood” against the KKK (not that they aren’t justified to do so, in the wake of confusion.) Silas Lynch retaliates with militia men in waiting—completely armed for a battle. A spy tells them of the Klan’s arrival and in the next shot, the riders aptly arrive on the scene, quickly racing toward the center foreground from the background. Next shot, an African-American prototype pops off a shot—(it appears to be “Gus,” the most defamed of all the scape-goats) and he blasts a shot offscreen left. The shot connects with a KKK rider knocking his dead ass off his covered horse. The violence and panic to come is far worse. Is this really Griffith’s plan to end war? Or is it a ploy to metaphorically valorize the klan? Hard to tell so far. Apparently the “klansploitation” is only the tip of the iceberg of today’s safer readings of BIRTH.
So, three Klansmen are gunned down, and this incites a furor among the Stoneman’s power trip, because Silas (in the next shot) brings the dead klansmen garb to Stoneman to prove that there is a total conspiracy just waiting to be unhinged. Silas, Gus and Austin agree that something must be done (Austin pounds his cane—or objective correlative—a prop that gives him attitude.) So Austin blurts out his plan—(intertitle reads: “We shall crush the white South under the heel of the black South.) Silas exits offscreen left, mid-background, through a door, determined to follow Austin’s orders.
Fate, chance and time has now revealed her lover as a racist, Ben dose his best to muddle through an apology, but Elsie pulls away, exiting frame left. Cut to Elsie walking away from who she thought she could trust and as she approaches center screen, she looks back to see what effect this has on Ben. Cut to Ben looking broken-hearted almost instantly. She returns to him, crossing through connected frames and waves a finger at him, putting it up to her lips explaining—as noted in the intertitle; “But you need not fear that I will betray you.” Still she leaves him in the lurch and the very next cut reveals her in nature’s beauty, leaving her beau for what they both think will be forever. So, Ben turns and exits his frame space to the right offscreen.
Next, in the mise-en-scene, Elsie’s room is (in purple tinting) occupied by the down-trodden Elsie, registering that she is saddened by her decision to leave the love of her life, even if he is a pain in the ass to her father’s livelihood.
The next cut is of Ben Entering his house to meet his little sister, involved with the Klan, due to her brother’s alliance with the group. (Perhaps this has something to do with her downfall later.) Intertitle explains that the Klan has already risen to, at least four hundred thousand—a strength in numbers propaganda technique and the costumes were made by the women.
Ben unveils his klan outfit (Klan symbols being two crosses in two circles), he shows it to his little sister, pointing at his eyes to get her attention. She follows him to the background and sits in front of their mother, who looks ready to replicate many outfits. They together, examine the design and if the Klan is a secret society that attempts to hide knowledge, why does Griffith expose them behind closed doors? Ben meets with his sister, closer to the foreground again and he confirms the secret of his society, although now that the secret’s been represented, it is no longer one among audiences.
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: I must add that in recent observations, promotion of a racist organization, at all, is an unfortunate accident, because one kind of racism is quite plausible to lead to another.) Anyway, actress Mae Marsh, as young daughter Cameron returns on screen, from offscreen left wearing a Confederate Flag, positioning her hand in the air, as though taking an oath. She leaves the screen for a second, running back in frame, affirms her brother and races to her mother’s sewing table to help make Klan costumes.
Cut back to: Lillian Gish’s Elsie Stoneman, in a bust shot, in her bedroom, staring at her birdcage, in a state of shock—(the ellipsis is a half-circle arc on the right.) And next is Ben and family, as though Ben can sense Elsie, but almost with a sense of indifference, but some beguilement is transpiring. In the next shot, again there is Elsie, almost as though, she is praying for her lover to give up his qualms in the ensuing race war, before it gets uglier.
The Next Shot is of Elsie hugging, her brother Ben to approve of what he is doing, despite the ongoing vibrations he may or may not be picking up from his lover. He shakes his head, as though that is the confirmation, he needs for the go ahead with the plan. As he exits the room in confidence, he turns and notices his little sister, clinging onto his arm, he smiles and assuredly exits through the door mid-frame, as happy go lucky, as a smiling killer could be.
Next shot, it seems as though Ben enters THE STAIRWELL ROOM with reservations, almost, as though he is still not prepared to do what he is about to do. His sister (in the next shot) reopens, the door and purports to urge him to do the deed. (Confirmed in the next intertitle, which reads: “Little sister consoles the disconsolate lover.”) The next two shot confirms this disposition, as Elsie exits the knitting room, to the Stairwell room and gives her brother another affirmation. Meanwhile, in the previous room the door to keep the secret. Then, in the Stairwell Room the little sister sends her brother off with a kiss.
In the next fade in, the camera is back on a full room shot of Elsie collapsing on her giant four poster bed, crying as though she can sense Ben’s decision—And, then the film cuts back to the three Cameron girls sewing together klan costumes. Together, they prepare a bag—but next the intertitle, switches the film into a different gear. Apparently, although forewarned, she goes off to a “spring” to retrieve water from a Spring. So, she leaves the private practitioners and fetches a pail of water, points at the door, but they all could use water, no doubt.
Out the front door busts the little girl, in a fun and fancy free aspect, all prepared to get some thirst-quencher for the ladies. Hovering by the gate is the black-faced Gus, lurching down around the gate, waiting for his moment of the attack. This is where Bill Nichols’ MOVIES AND METHODS I and II, comes in for the block. It reproves that this whole scene is only safe for an African-American audience in a state of “DISAVOWAL” (as though it never happened, for example.) Next shot is of Elsie trotting her way past the gate free-lovingly. Then the camera cuts to a wide shot of a large pasture empty, until the Young Cameron girl reels into frame from offscreen left and rushes to the Midground center of the scene, after picking up a bramble off of the ground, next to a shrubbery.
Gus stalks along the gate, where the Young Cameron girl was at before, sneaking after the girl with malicious intent stopping for a moment to bare his murderous teeth. (Perhaps, again, he knows of her Klansmen ties.) Elsie, sensing no danger runs offscreen foreground left. Gus begins to retreat, but then does a double-take and acts, as though he will leave the scene.
Next shot, young Cameron is at the Spring, filling up her bucket, happily enjoying the picturesque scenario, she wipes a bit of mud off her hand. Close-up insert on the bucket being filled by water and then the film cuts to the little girl positioned over the waterfall-like Spring, checking out her right hand (screen left), as though she has slightly injured it—
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: A key figurehead of the “Flaw in the Apparatus” technique is Mary Anne Doane—who posits that the camera itself is made by men, for men and used to intimidate and harass women—a theory only half-true in Griffith’s domain, as all the women in BIRTH are stereotypes turned archetypes, whether they are marytrers or martyrs or in between—Griffith’s preference was in the middle of the perspective, which lays claim to some kind of non-existent right-wing feminism—As the Religious Right category is a privilege to men, as the believe that many scribes were women, but many more were men and being technical dataticians there is very little sympathy for territorial warfare.)
Eventually, Gus violently thrusts his black-face mug right up at the little Cameron girl and explains in the intertitle (quite vehemently, no doubt,) “You see, I’m a Captain now and I want to marry—“ Forgive the partial repetition of shots with allowance to clarify a bit. In the Cameron household, far off from the sight of the fore coming attack on the girl (at around two hours and twelve minutes deep—directly after the crosscut line of sight match perspectives of the young Cameron girl laughing and cheering at a squirrel on a branch,) Mrs. Cameron crosses from left mid-frame, passing the stairwell. Then, shot for a few seconds is Ben Cameron entering his house, back-turned, center mid-frame.
Now, to continue into the heart of the film again requires the same precision that Griffith himself cut the shots together—timing so perfect that current films continue to match the length of these textbook shots. As far as the racism increases along the contextual nightmare that is the content, the author raises the question: Is not racism real? In other words, when did the horrors of racism ever go away? There is no excuse for a pro-Klan ideology. Yet, the challenge with BIRTH is to closely compare the scenes that follow with the testament of historical basis—an excuse in 1915 to illustrate a hegemonic dead-lock of white man’s values. Still, the subject is only the more foolish to avoid and quit due to the film’s offensiveness. Also, if certain film’s change during the context of time, as did the audience reception for REEFER MADNESS, for example (once an anti-marijuana film, now viewed by pro-marijuana audiences for camp value,) so too does THE BIRTH OF A NATION fit into an entirely different mode of representation.
Anyway, Ben Cameron enters, back turned, close frame center and approaches his mother, facing the camera mid-depth center. They discuss the missing little girl, both moving forward, facing the camera. Cut to, here again the little Cameron girl playfully hops over a log in the woods, mid-ground center. Then, she runs offscreen right. Back to the Cameron “Stairwell Room,” the mother and son discuss the girl’s whereabouts. Cut to center frame, at the front door of the Cameron’s, as Ben rushes offscreen right, mid-close frame. The mother in the Stairwell Room turns her back mid-ground center and begins to exit the room on the left.
Next, Gus, from the right and the young Cameron girl on the left, run into each other in the woods mid-ground center. The intertitle reads of Gus’ dialog, “You see, I’m a Captain now—and I want to marry—“ referring back to the legal system condoning miscegenation. Mid-left frame is the young Cameron girl facing Gus, surrounded by forest. They are in mid to close range. A close-up of the young Cameron girl is seen and then a close-up bust shot of Gus facing left frame, as he smiles and says these ghastly words. The young Cameron girl, in another short take bust shot midground close up, reveals her looking right toward offscreen Gus—in other words, a series of one-shots. Then the two are in a two shot in the woods and Gus pulls and tugs on the young Cameron girl that begins to struggle away. Cut to a match on action of the girl shoving Gus away and scrambling over the log to her escape offscreen. Gus follows and trips over the log. Then, in the shrubs, the young Cameron girl, mid-ground center, runs toward the camera, waving fists in the air. Cut to Gus getting up near the log and dashing offscreen right to catch up. Meanwhile, the young girl runs through a thicket of trees raising her arms in panic and exiting frame right, close to the camera in depth. Gus continues his run, further away from the camera and the intertitle quotes him saying, “Wait missie, I won’t hurt yeh.” And back in close up Gus waves and races offscreen right, following the girl’s path.
Ben Cameron is now seen in the frame, rushing from center to frame right—mid-ground, as though he senses the trouble. The young girl, in the crosscut footage, scrambles to a tree, frame left and grasps it, looking back. A short take reveals Gus in full run. Next shot, the young girl still holds the tree and looks forward, then back. Cut to the bull rush of Gus. So, next shot, the girl lets go of the tree and close up, frame right, runs offscreen.
Ben Cameron comes running through the trees that were viewed upon the young sister’s journey to the spring, he runs forward, offscreen left.
Then, a wide shot, deep focus longer take of the woods and the crazy chase that ensues. Far off, in the background, the girl runs onscreen left to right and makes it about half way forward, when Gus pops out from offscreen left closer up and dashes toward her from behind a tree. The girl then runs back the way she came, background frame left, with Gus following quickly. FADE OUT.
In the very next shot, Ben finally notices the bucket at the spring, left behind and as he looks around, he begins to notice something is amiss, calling out to his sister and leaving the frame left from the spring.
Next cut, the girl leaps out from a tree frame left and then the next cut is a close up of her catching her breath and uttering something while in panicky fear.
The scenes of the outdoors are similar to represent a familiarity of setting during the chase. Gus shoves through the shrubs facing forward in mid to close range and extends a hand toward the offscreen girl. The next shot is more of the girl in close range panicking and then in the movie is Gus exiting the foreground right to continue pursuit. The young girl, midground, scrambles through a tree. Crosscut to Ben Cameron mid-ground going from right to offscreen left, calling for his sister as he passes by the log where the girl saw the squirrel.
He reenters the frame from the left and hops the log to find the clothing that the girl must have dropped at the beginning of the chase. Ben approaches the close range of the camera, calling out to his sister when dropping the clothing item. He runs offscreen right diagonal.
In the background, the girl, flailing her arms, runs to center frame and then in the woods, she crosses to offscreen left. In another repetition of locale, used frequently in this sequence, a wide shot pictures Ben in the background, running toward frame right, stopping and turning to find his sister.
In the next shot, the first of the rocky hill is viewed, as the girl in mid-range traverses the stony hill. Still flailing, she runs offscreen right.
In a short take, Gus stalks from center to offscreen left, still in pursuit. Fade in to the girl struggling to traverse a rocky slope in close range, she shoves her way over a rock. In the very next shot, Gus in midrange follows up a portion of the rocks, runs into a branch and races offscreen right. Next, the girl gestures in fear and there is a quick shot of the trees in the rocks.
On the edge of a large rock, midrange, the girl in a crawl position waves her arms and looks around while becoming apparent to be on the edge of a drop off. Ben, in fearful anguish, arrives in a thicket of trees and exits the frame quickly, wide-eyed and calling out, as he disappears offscreen right.
Next, the girl crawls around at cliff’s edge and then a closer shot reveals her turning to offscreen left to speak to Gus. The intertitle reads, “Stay away or I’ll jump!” In the next shot split by the intertitle, a close up reveals her speaking and then a wide shot illustrates the massive cliff that she stands atop almost in silhouette—Gus is close to her.
Ben Cameron enters the frame from the right, back turned and as he turns to the left, his eyes grow wide, as though he sees his sister on the cliff and he rushes offscreen left. In a close up the girl in fear peers over the edge and in a match on action, though further to the left of the frame, the girl begins to stand on the rocky edge. Next, Gus clambers in close up toward the offscreen girl. In a wide shot, the victim and victimizer are seen atop the cliff. Next, the girl finally jumps off of the rock ledge she was perched on.
The next shot is a special effect of the girl toppling from the far range steep cliff, hitting the bottom. And the next shot reveals her crumpled body amidst the rocks of the cliff base. Gus is seen climbing to the rock that the girl leapt from screen left. Another shot illustrates the almost lifeless girl at cliff’s bottom. In a wide shot, Gus hovers at the top of the cliff. Gus turns to leave his vantage point and in the next shot, Ben runs forward along the rocks, finding another item of the girl’s clothing. Then Gus crawls over a rock crossing in a hunch to frame left, around a rock and then out of view behind it. Ben shouts at the offscreen movement and rushes forward. At the rock at top cliff’s edge, Ben climbs up and looks around, then over the edge. A slight fade in of the girl on the ground almost getting up and then crumpling—near death. Ben sees this from atop the cliff and runs down the side of the rocks to get to the body. Fade in, again, to Ben entering the same shot of the dying girl. He runs to her body, stops at it in mid-range and bends to pick up his hurting sister. He holds her in his arms and in a closer up match on action, the girl is clasped by Ben, but is almost ready to draw her last breath. She is limp in his arms, whispering to the concerns of Ben that strokes her hair. He hugs her tight and listens to her bloody mouthed whisper. And as she looks around, he becomes saddened by her failing life. His facial expression shares the girl’s of pain and suffering. The girl slowly dies in his arms (her eyes roll back and she sinks into lifelessness,) and Ben continues to cradle her. In this somewhat longer take, he now changes his expression from sadness to anger, holding his dead sister he hugs her body tight, half-seated on the ground.
Griffith interjects an intertitle that explains that the girl should not entirely be mourned for leaving the world to go to the “opal gates of death.” Strange considering the scenes of mourning to follow.
In the next scene, the Cameron house front door is center right and Ben carries the corpse of his sister to the door frame until the shot fades out. Fade in to the Cameron house room with the couch and Ben carries the body—covered with a blanket—and in the thirty second take, Ben slowly lies the body of the girl onto the bed-couch. From offscreen background left-frame, the Cameron mother enters to see what happened. Ben, back turned, puts a hand on his mom’s shoulder, as she freaks out from the sight of the dead girl. As Ben turns toward the girl, the mother kneels to the right frame couch and the older sister enters from the right-hand door that Ben came through with the body. Ben holds the older sister that goes into wide-eyed shock at the sight of death. The room fades dark as the two women kneel at the dead girl’s side. Ben exits through the left background door his mom came through.
The next intertitle reads, “And none grieved more than these.” The two black-faced slaves in their quarters mid-to-close range center frame, weep over the loss, as the older slave woman uses a handkerchief to wipe her tears on the left and the slave man looks down holding his head in remorse until the scene fades to black.
The next intertitle reveals the plot continuing with a “son’s plea” to his father—the shot following is of the Stonemans, father and son, father seated right frame, facing forward and son center frame appealing to his father. The son waves his dad to indicate that he is not pleased with his policy. The father Stoneman reassures his son with a tap on the side that his policies are sound. He waves his arms and shakes his cane and pats his son on the back.
Crosscut to the Camerons suffering. Old man Cameron is seated on the left mid-ground and Ben, in a top hat, holds the older sister as she stands from the body and in the center, she acts negatively toward her brother Ben because she can sense trouble brewing. They both lean over the corpse and the older sister removes the pillow that Ben grasps and hides under his shirt—his Klan gear. The older sister begs Ben not to leave, holding onto him, but he hurriedly exits frame right through the door.
The next intertitle explains that Gus is hiding out in a gin mill, and in the next shot Gus rounds the corner of the building and heads forward then to the left to enter from the outside. Next cut is a match on action of Gus closing the door and entering among seven or eight other African-Americans. The four in the foreground (appearing like Gus, black-face,) are motioned to by Gus. He asks them if he can stay and they agree to it, so they all head left frame toward the background, backs turned. Gus attempts to close the tricky door on the right again, but as he joins the others it reopens.
Meanwhile, at a building with carriages for sale, two white men work with an anvil and are approached by Ben Cameron that beckons the men to follow immediately. A long intertitle explains that the “Townsmen” are on a search for Gus to give him a “trial in the dim halls of the invisible Empire,” a reference to the Klan. Cut back to Ben pointing at the men background left frame and the others with Ben all hurry off (except two) offscreen right. Intercut two seconds of a burly man walking toward the gin mill. Then, inside the mill, Gus sneaks to the left frame background and hides under a table that other African-Americans sit around. Cut quick to a white man looking at the door of the gin mill—center frame. He goes in and he is surrounded in a room full of black men. He walks toward a man in the foreground right and questions him of something.
The black man stands in the same shot, in black face, and then the white burly man turns and walks toward the left frame background table. A closer angle of the black men to the right and the white man to the left as they converse. Next is a close up with ellipsis fading in to a close up of the white man—a bust shot of the man—reveals his demeanor in a hero-like one shot. He grasps his shirt. The next shot is a close up on Gus, peering out from his hiding place under the table, with a look of fear upon him. Back to the man grasping his shirt that then makes a fist with his right hand (center frame) and in the background the black men’s heads and hats can be seen moving around for shot depth.
The black man appears facing left in mid-close up and then the shot goes wide as the burly white man turns to look for Gus. Gus continues to hide under the table in fear. In close up he peers screen right at the white man. Back in the wide shot of the gin mill interior, the black man tugs on the burly white man’s arm and the room bustles with nervous energy. After being somewhat accosted and told something conflicting, the white man throws a hard punch and knocks over the black man he originally spoke to. Another black-face man moves in and the white man lifts him up and throws him down. As the brawl busts loose, the white man stands and deals blows to all that challenge him.
The next shot is outdoors and Ben Cameron—with a friend—asks two black men a question (probably if they’ve seen Gus.) To the left of the frame, mid-close range, the black men (denoted by their straw hats,) ignore Ben and his companion that turn to left frame to leave.
Back at the indoor gin mill fight the strong white man that has a black man lifted over his head and he throws him right at two other black men, toppling them all. The white man—starting frame right—now mid-frame left, shoves another black man onto the pile of men and as they get back up to fight, the white man takes them all on at once. Crosscut to Ben and his friend walking toward the camera outdoors. They exit frame right diagonally. Back at the indoor fight, the white man knocks one black man over (center frame) and another black man charges him only to be thrown over the white man’s shoulder. The white man is against the left frame corner (same take) and starts throwing bottles at his rivals. He makes it back to center frame and decks a fighting black man. Then, as a chair is lifted by another black man, the white burly man picks up a different black man and throws him through the window. The match on action cut transitions to the black man smashing through the outdoor window mid-frame left. Three black men see this and race off to the background, as though to alert someone.
The fight continues in the gin mill cabin and the white man center background beats on a black man, shoving him to the ground, grabbing a chair, the white man waves it around to use as a weapon. As the black men (backs turned) line up to face the white man that drops the chair, the white man clobbers each of his rivals with heavy punches. One of the black men ducks his punch and now there are three black men attacking him at once. So he picks up the chair again to fend them off. Crosscut directly to outside, gin mill door to the left of the frame, black men continue to run toward the background to get help. Inside again, the white man’s shirt has been ripped off and he grows a bit weary from his multiple attackers, though he tends to control the fight. He ducks a thrown chair and beats down an attacker with a plank. Then he is out of enemies for a moment and staggers around shirtless center frame. Another black man charges him and the white man picks him up and shoulder carries him out the right-frame door. The match-on-action cut reveals the burly white man shoulder carrying his attacker and he drops him. A quick take of inside the gin mill views Gus firing a gun from the left frame pointed toward the right frame door. As the match on action reveals, the burly white man is shot in the back and he reels from the shot. Inside the gin mill the black shooter, Gus, looks out the door right frame. And back outside, the shooter hangs from the door and gun blasts the white man again. The white man falls dead right frame and Gus, having shot him, kneels to make sure he’s dead.
The next shot reveals a man walking forward outside, nearby a frame of a building. He snaps his head around forward and the line of sight match reveals the POV of outside the gin mill, as the gunman stands over his victim. Gus, still holding the gun, rushes to reenter the mill. But then he turns and races offscreen. The white man witnesses and runs forward offscreen right. The next shot is a saddled horse at a stable and Gus enters from frame left going to the right to hide in the stable. The witness to the crime rushes to the outdoor view of the mill to watch the dead burly white man that the witness crouches next to. Gus at the stable again, bounds onto the horse and rides it offscreen left diagonal.
The witness stands from the corpse and runs offscreen right. The match on action reveals the witness at an empty stable, motioning to another person that joins him in pursuit of Gus. The next shot is of Ben and his friend in an exterior and a man approaches them. Cut to Gus riding horseback with the two white witnesses chasing from left frame forward with a fence to the right. The original witness fires off a gun and all throughout the movie when firepower is used, a cloud of smoke emanates from the weapon for the effect of the blast. The next shot reveals Gus on the horse left frame, background, as he attempts to getaway. Back to the white shooter that keeps his gun aimed forward. The next shot Gus is knocked by gunshot from the horse. Ben Cameron and his cohorts in exterior, view the commotion and a match on action reveals the men surrounding and accosting Gus. All of them drag Gus offscreen right diagonal.
The next intertitle is seeped in dark red tinting (as are the next few shots that follow) and reads, “The trial.” A haunting vision of the Klansmen in full robed gear in red-tint exterior, reveals a Klansman to the left frame, arms in the air, with Klansmen watching to the right. The leader to the left waves his arm and entering quickly, the Klan bring in the captive Gus that is surrounded by Klansmen. Now two Klansmen on the left point to frame right where another Klansman begins to take off his hood.
The next shot shows the dead young girl at her wake in the Cameron household—mother, father and older daughter sit at the foot of the bed the corpse is on. The young dead girl has a bouquet of flowers on her body. Back at the red-tinted Klan trial, (the shot of the dead girl to emphasize Gus’ guilt as the intertitle explains, “Guilty,”) the Klansmen drag off Gus to execute him. The next shot is still in the Klan encampment and Gus is put onto a horse that a Klansman drives toward the background.
The next intertitle partially reads, “On the steps of the Lieut. Governor’s house…” The exterior that follows is of the place mentioned and from the background the Klan ride in on horseback. A rider points at the porch. Next, a match on action reveals one of the horse riders tossing Gus’ dead body onto the steps with a “KKK” labeled drape over him. Cut back to the Klan to the right of the steps on horseback, lining up to view the sight and then they all ride off into the background.
The next shot is an interior of the side room in the Cameron’s house where the girl lies dead. Ben enters the door frame right (the old father sits frame left) and the older daughter meets Ben, as he removes his hat and sets down the pillow case full of Klan gear frame right. In the longer take, the sister closes the door and Ben goes to the foreground frame left, looking downward with a feeling of sadness. His sister crosses the room slowly behind him, further left frame and puts a hand on him. Then, after full thirty seconds elapses of these two-hours twenty-six minutes into the film, the brother puts a slow arm around his sister.
The next intertitle reads simply, “morning.” The shot that follows is back on the porch and a black man and Silas Lynch open the door to view Gus’ dead corpse lying on the ground. Silas (left frame) leans to pick up the note on the body and looks bewildered as his crony looks scared—they know it was the Klan.
Next, a mob of black-faced men rush forward in exterior. The match on action that follows watches the mob approach the Lieutenant Governor Lynch’s house and they arrive frame right from offscreen. They examine the body of Gus, as Lynch steps forward and marches offscreen diagonally to the right. The other men pick up Gus’ body and carry it off, behind Silas Lynch, exiting the frame as well.
The next intertitle explains that Silas is hiring a black “militia reinforcements to fill the streets.”
The next shot is of Austin Stoneman in a room with a man that is an official with paperwork and two black faced men (frame right) watch as the official exits frame left through a door that he closes. Austin points his hand at the men. The exterior of Silas’ house is seen, viewing Silas’ anger as enters the house and pauses to look forward and shout something like obscenities. The next intertitle reveals that Stoneman takes leave of the situation “to avoid the consequences. The shot that follows reveals Austin in exterior approaching a horse drawn buggy (frame left), crossing through the shrubs outside the house from right to left. Austin gets in the coach and a black man gets in with him placing his friend’s suitcase in the vehicle. Then the coach, made to by the driver, drives toward background and then offscreen left.
Meanwhile, back at the Klan encampment a red tinted intertitle claims that the Klan is preparing for action. The darkened, red-tinted shot reveals a crowd of Klansmen, as their leader (frame left) stands by cross and lifts a flag from a basin and he rings it out and holds it up. His speech in intertitle begins, “Brethren, this flag bears the red stain of the life of a Southern woman…” The next shot reveals the Klan leader, still around his full costumed men raising a cross and a flag. His dialog in the next intertitle claims the objects to be, “the ancient symbol of an unconquered race…the fiery cross of old Scotland’s hills…” Then, in the same intertitle the Klan leader says he will dip the flaming cross into the blood of the dead girl to put out the fire. In the next shot the Klan leader dips the cross into the basin and waves the garment at one man in frame not in Klan gear. He rushes to a horse behind the Klansmen, frame right and gets on. The match on action following watches the rider on horseback in exterior center frame from background to offscreen left diagonal. The Klan, in the next shot, still in red tint look at each other at the meeting.
An intertitle explains that the Klan intend to “disarm all blacks that night.” The next frame is of horse and rider in a red tint shot, arriving at a fire in the woods. A quick fade in of the rider’s POV reveals Klansmen hiding in the shrubs, slowly emerging from a hidden crouch. Back to the horse and rider, then a cut of the Klan heading left frame. Next the Klan on both sides of the rider explain before he rides off that they are out to “disarm.”
An abrupt intertitle explains that there are spies to find thee KKK to kill them.
In Silas Lynch’s study, (right center frame) he gives two black-faced men (right frame) his instructions and they rush off to the background. Back in the Cameron’s house the older sister enters the room in a polka dot dress and she runs forward to greet her father that enters from a right frame door. The old man exits frame left and out of a pillow case, the older sister observes the two circular crosses on the Klan gear. A quick take is next of a black spy that looks through an open window at the Cameron girl. His POV of the room reveals the older sister stashing the outfit (right frame.) She sees movement near the curtain in the background and runs over to it, crouching hoping to find the cause of the movement.
Meanwhile, Silas enters his study and facing forward, center frame, drinks from a champagne glass, liquid dripping all over him, then he looks frame left. Next, the Cameron girl closes the door to the room she’s in, in the background. Then she walks frame right and makes sure the Klan outfit is hidden. An intertitle now explains that Silas now has a reason to attack the Cameron house. In his study Silas walks to the background and two black-faced men run in through the door. He sends them to attack and they head out, while he poses with a clenched fist and walks to fetch a black militia man. Then, Silas is seated.
The next intertitle reads, “The bitterness of ideals crushed.” The following shot is Lillian Gish, after sometime of absence, as Elsie Stoneman sitting center, foreground. She looks in anguish and holds her head. Fade in to the interior of the Camerons, as the mother, father and daughter enter frame left and seat the mother in a chair. The next intertitle explains that they are about to be arrested. At the exterior of the Cameron’s front door, a white captain leads black militia men to the door and all have their backs turned and are armed. Crosscut to the mother getting up and heading frame right. A quick take reveals the arresting officers at the door. Back to the mother opening the right frame door and exiting into the next take of the “Stairwell Room” as she looks forward to see who is there.
Then outside, the militia enters and in the Stairwell Room they march in from the foreground as the mother in fear goes back to the room frame left. A quick cut shows mother, father and daughter, locking themselves in the previous room. In the Stairwell Room, the militia attempts to enter, as one black man pounds the door with his rifle. In the hiding room, an icon of escape common to Griffith’s oeuvre, the two women hold the door right frame, as the father watches. In the Stairwell Room the militia beats on the door and in a match on action the door swings open right frame and the white captain with militia men, enter. The captain takes hold of the pillow, sets it down, then grabs the Klan gear that the older sister struggles to take away from him. In the same shot, the old father Cameron struggles with the militia, throwing an arm at them, but to no avail, as the black militia men take him by the arms in arrest.
The exterior of the Cameron front door views the old man being escorted unwillingly out by the attackers and the women follow crying out. Silas Lynch, in the next shot, views the situation from afar, making sure his orders are carried out. Past the gate, the black militia, with large rifles equipped, continue to arrest the old man. Silas, in the crosscuts, watches with a grin. The next take is of the soldiers escorting the old man that disagrees with them and they all disappear offscreen right leaving three black witnesses laughing and one white witness that all are in the exterior’s background for shot depth.
The two women on the porch of their house explain to the female slave what is happening and the older daughter runs offscreen frame left. Her running carries her right to left, passing a fence, as the intertitle explains, to get help from the Stonemans. Elsie is still depressed in her bedroom, (foreground right frame) and the background door swings open with the living Cameron daughter entering, hysterical. Elsie stands and as they grab hold of each other, Elsie shakes the girl to get the reason for her panic. The next take is of the old slave woman consoling mother Cameron at the house door. Back in Elsie’s room, the girl explains the conflict and Elsie looks shocked, holding her friend (both now center frame.) Crosscuts continue with the female black slave in tears facing forward and then the next cut features a black witness laughing at her from the street sidewalk. The slave woman rolls up her sleeves and walks offscreen. She enters from frame right to the street and on the left of the laughing man, she decks him and knocks him down.
The next intertitle reveals that the slaves are to play a role as it reads, “The faithful souls take a hand.” In the shot that follows, mother Cameron is seated frame left in the exterior of her front door. The black slave she owns hobbles frame right and the mother appeals to him, when the slave woman grabs hold of him and shoves him forward. On the sidewalk, the slave woman shoves her male counterpart ahead and punches the black onlooker she knocked over once, knocking him over again. Waving her clenched fist, she exits frame right foreground.
Back in Elsie’s room, Elsie hugs the Cameron daughter that runs out the door and Elsie turns to face the camera with a plan of action while getting a change of clothes instead of wearing her night gown. The Cameron girl, near a staircase, rushes forward and pauses to pull on her hair while feeling desperate. Next the two living Cameron women, mother and daughter rush through the exterior gate onto the sidewalk and are frantic in their approach to the foreground moving offscreen right.
Next, Elsie enters frame left into her father’s study, flailing about in panic, as well. She turns her back and heads to an open background door, tugging on a black woman slave’s arm. Upon not finding her father, she goes to exit frame left, the way she came in.
The next intertitle explains that the old man Cameron is “The master in chains…” Around the plantation where there was dancing early on in the movie, the “freed slaves” gather in all frame depths and from right foreground the white antagonist captain brings old man Cameron into frame, locked in chains. The black men and particularly a woman to the left, mock, laugh and point at the chained Cameron that is escorted to the background and all the people follow. Then the intertitle announces that there is a rescue plan as, “the faithful souls pretend to join the mockers.” Fade into a buggy frame left next to the sidewalk, manned by a driver. The Cameron slaves enter center frame and point and wave about. Then a shot of the brother Stoneman appears, as he crosses to the foreground right and witnesses the commotion. Back at the buggy, the slaves continue to talk to a person apparently about the captive man. And back at the exterior with an angry black mob, pulling and tearing at the prisoner Cameron, they all smile and rejoice as he is hauled offscreen right diagonal.
On the outside of a building, a black man is seated, while the white captain and two militia men continue to escort old man Cameron. They stop center frame, the seated man stands and walks to the right for depth and the prisoner is hauled offscreen left. At the buggy, the captors lead in the father and his two slaves pretend to partake at first. An intertitle throws out a pretense of insult and mockery for a moment and then a shot follows of the two militia men laughing, while the slave woman pretends to laugh, too. The white captain, the old man and his male slave are next to the buggy, closer up than before. The slave continues his pretense of mockery. Cut back to, center framing of the slave woman and the militia men. The woman puts her arms on the men’s shoulders and looks back at the camera to view the situation.
The two Cameron women rush past the building seen moments before, moving from right to left and brother Stoneman follows. They all stop and hug, watching the scene at the buggy on the street. Their POV is of the men readying old man Cameron’s captivity. But the next shot illustrates the slave woman, rather heavy in weight, bounding onto the militia men, knocking them both over. Then the shot at the buggy watches the slave man saving old man Cameron by getting him onto the buggy as part of the plan. The black slave woman stays atop the militia men that struggle under her weight. Next to the buggy, they all fight and then by the building, brother Stoneman removes a pistol and heads offscreen left. Entering the buggy shot, he defends the old man. Fade in to Elsie Stoneman watching from an exterior sidewalk, the horror unfolding. Brother Stoneman shoots down the captors, as smoke erupts from his gun. He crouches to view the kill. At the building nearby, the Cameron women are shocked and they rush offscreen left. Now at the buggy, the Camerons rally to escape. Elsie, in the next cut, watches in fear to frame left. All aboard the buggy, the three Camerons, and their faithful slaves are nearly escaped. A black militia man rushes away to find back up.
The intertitle that follows explains that Elsie’s brother has killed a black militia man in the struggle. Elsie appears with a white officer frame right, pointing out to him the scene of the crime. He evades her and people appear in the background for depth as Elsie watches, still terrified. Now on frame left, Elsie runs offscreen right. The buggy is seen in a round elliptical frame driving up a road toward the background—as the escape, for now, is a success.
The next intertitle reads, “Awaiting her father’s expected arrival.” Elsie, in an interior, enters her father’s study again, frame left, looks around and sits frame right in exasperation. Out at a barn, the black militia ready themselves for war. Then the next shot shows the buggy, which even brother Stoneman rides, driving from foreground to background on a dirt road. The black militia gathers and a whole troop of men rush diagonal offscreen left. The next intertitle reads, “The social lion of the new aristocracy.” This title refers to Silas Lynch that is seen in his study with a group of blacks in formal attire at a party (including Stoneman’s own mulatto girlfriend from the beginning of the film.) Rushing down an interior sidewalk, the troop of militia men race after the escapees and one them stops to examine the man brother Stoneman killed. Elsie is now seen seated, wearing a long black veil, still in a bust shot close up, which lasts for awhile to emphasize her helplessness. At Silas’ household social gathering, Silas himself, right frame, reveals a look of antagonism. In the next shot, the escape buggy finally gives out and collapses—so everyone aboard begin to dismount the broken carriage.
The next intertitle reveals that a cabin with two “Union veterans” becomes a hiding place for the runaways. First, the exterior is established, then the cabin is viewed. And, finally, an interior of the cabin, the two Northern soldiers and a girl are frame left, cooking with a fireplace’s aid. A cut goes to close up of the veteran tending his fireplace and an insert close up reveals a pan with bacon frying for food, being pried at with a metal fork. Back to the close shot of the men in the cabin working on the food.
The next shot is distanced from the subjects, the escapees of Cameron and Stoneman personage make their way to the cabin. And the next take is of brother Stoneman, followed by the others to the cabin doorway (from left to right frame.) Back in the cabin, the veteran hears the outdoor commotion, stands and grabs a pitcher walking to his door frame right. The next shot shows the Northern vet walking in the cabin room to the right, setting down the pitcher and opening the door to the right. Outside, the vet sees the crowd of Piedmont locals gathered round for help. The loaded intertitle makes a statement that what were once enemies are commonly united again. The next interior shows the Camerons and friends entering the cabin door, for refuge and the Northern vet shakes hands with old man Cameron. The vet, holding again his pitcher (probably coffee) and offers his hospitality. Further into the cabin, the little girl hides by the door frame right, while the other vet is still seated.
Then, outside the cabin, the black militia men in a scatter, head forward to recapture those that hid in the cabin. Indoors, knowing they’re in trouble, everyone goes further in, cutting to a match on action of the den of the cabin where they all hide. Fade out again.
The very next intertitle reveals that Elsie seeks Silas for help, not knowing he is behind the present evils. In her father’s study, still cloaked in a veil, Elsie stands and looks forward, then exits frame left again. Outside, at the broken buggy, two horseback riders examine the wreckage. Then crosscutting to Silas’ lair, black militia men guard the door, as Elsie enters to plea for help. She exits frame left and a match on action sees her enter a large room in Silas’ house, as she tells the guard to retrieve him. Next, the formal party continues at Silas’ house with a room full of drinkers, celebrating their current victory. The guard tells Silas (frame right) that Elsie has arrived to see him. Elsie awaits him in the other room, seeming impatient and she turns her back, then faces forward with nervous energy abundant. The guard, in the party room, salutes Silas and heads to the background. Silas sets down his drink and follows him. The next match on action views Silas peering through a left frame door, in medium close up. His eyes light up and he smiles mischievously. His POV in the next shot, shows Elsie still pacing from her shot nerves. Silas peers in from the door, in a different take and yet another shot of the cocktail party watches Silas telling a black man something like that he needs to clear out the party room. The next shot views Silas entering the room through a doorway and closing it behind him. With back turned, he approaches Elsie and continues to the background to have the guard close up the room. Then he meets Elsie midground center frame. As she explains the problem, Silas sits and writes on paper. Crosscut to the clearing out cocktail party, full of exiting drunkards. Silas folds up a paper and gives it to the guard, leading him out of the room.
In the same shot Silas smiles at Elsie and the intertitle explains that he, unexpectedly, proposes marriage. At first, Elsie acts calm, but as he proposes she shrinks back. In a one shot of Silas, he asks for her hand. Then an one shot of Elsie shows her in silence. Silas, framed alone, acts selfish to the girl on his terms. Elsie acts scared. Back in the two person shot, Elsie scolds Silas and walks away to the door in the background, but Silas follows and keeps her from leaving. Elsie moves to right frame dropping her veil and asks to be let go. The next intertitle reveals that Elsie will have Silas horse-whipped and Lynch opens a curtain to reveal the next shot of bedlam in the streets of Piedmont. The black militia has fully taken over in chaos.
Silas points to himself and back outside the crowd goes wild, firing off rifle shots and gathered for take over. Silas speech and gesture is described in the intertitle, “See! My people fill the streets. With them I will build a Black Empire and you as Queen shall sit by my side.” A scary statement, indeed. Too much for Elsie that sinks into the chair frame right and Silas kneels and begins to sniff her dress like an animal. She gets up screaming and flailing her arms but Silas sits frame left to watch her vein struggle. In a one person shot, Elsie realizes the door is locked and her fear grows. An one shot of Silas shows him grimace and announce her futility to escape. Elsie begs Silas to let her go. He sits and stairs. She opens her eyes wide at his insanity and back in the full room two person shot, she flies to the other door to escape. Silas shoves her out of the way and appeals to her to cooperate.
The very next shot is a red tint of two horse riding Klansmen approaching the camera, up a dirt road. Inside, Silas carries on with his threats and then a stylish shot vies the Klan riders to the left frame (the right is obscured by a mask over the camera) riding through a stream, toward the background. Silas points outside again and in the cocktail room, the remaining guests overhear the rising conflict. Silas calls out again and the black-faced actor hears and goes to the background door. Cut to the action match of a left frame door opening and enters the black house guest. Next, Elsie is frantic but seated and Silas orders—as the intertitle explains—the plans for the marriage to be carried out. His black friend, takes off offscreen left and Elsie fears Silas more than ever. Almost through the door left frame, the black man turns and in a different angle of the same room, asks Silas a question and he is lead offscreen right. Then in a straight on centered angle, Silas scares Elsie. Cut to Elsie running and pounding against the left frame door. But in an one shot, Silas waves suggesting that she cannot escape. She looks back from the doorway.
Cut to a regiment of Klansmen on horseback riding across a stream to the foreground. Indoors, Silas threatens offscreen Elsie. She looks at Silas, shaking in horror. Then in a two shot, it appears in Silas’ presence, that she is trapped. Fade in to an exterior of two Klan riders rounding a corner and going off to the background. Silas continues his assault of Elsie and she struggles all over the room to escape his come-ons. Fade in to an exterior of Klan horse riders in formation (left frame,) listening to their leader (right frame, veiled by a bush) command them.
In a close up hero shot, Ben Cameron is seen to be the leader. Then on the edge of the town, Klansmen ride into the background, then offscreen right. At the other Klan meeting led by Ben, the men listen to the plan. And over a far off hill in silhouette the Klan rides left to right. Cut to Klan riders moving forward down the road. In an even closer shot, a tracking camera moves down a road to keep the two riders centered as the move forward and one of them carries a cross. Crosscut back to Silas’ foreboding antagonism to Elsie in the interior of his study. The two Klan riders appear left frame and stop at the rendezvous point. Then a rider continues right to left, followed by the intertitle, “Summoning the Clans.” (In this film “Klan” is rarely used in nomenclature, instead the film uses “Clan.”)
A close up and then midshot of the awaiting Klan riders is seen. The riders approach the foreground, one still with cross in hand. The other rider is seen in the next shots exterior background left, preempting the coming counter movement. And a troop of Klan riders approach the foreground, (with a pond in the background during several of these discussed shots.) Then, an exterior of a caravan of Piedmont locals moving en masse toward the foreground left frame diagonal. Elsie, in interior footage, finally becomes so desperate she passes out into Silas’ arms that holds her limp body. Outside, Austin dismounts his car and the next shot watches him enter the building frame left. A quick take of Austin indoors is right before Silas takes Elsie out of the room. And now Silas is in the bigger room from the cocktail party, seating Elsie’s limp body, frame left asking the mulatto woman to take care of her. Austin looks around the entrance room center frame. Silas leaves the mulatto to guard Elsie and in the next shot he goes through the study background. Austin finds the door open finally and in the following shot, he enters the study, showing a paper to Silas.
Still lined up, planning their counter movement, the Klansmen are in a tableau exterior, led by Ben. Crosscut back to Austin and Silas in the study. Silas explains, “I want to marry a white woman.” Austin pats him on the back and congratulates him in handshake, not knowing that Elsie is Silas’ bride of choice.
The next intertitle begins the final Klan ride. They all assemble at the rendezvous and begin to move forward. The next cut shows the Klan riders moving forward in troops offscreen right in massive number. (No wonder during the film’s initial release, Klansmen showed up at the opening in costume to show their pride.) The intertitle is a “Meanwhile…” and the take that follows is back at the hideout cabin, where brother Stoneman (frame left) expresses his feelings to sister Cameron (frame right) and the little girl stands between them—while no resolution can be made yet.
Silas, in interior study, keeps telling Austin his plan. Elsie is still in the next room, out cold. Silas tells Austin that it is Austin’s daughter Elsie he wishes to marry. Austin erupts in anger at Silas and refuses to allow it. But Silas feels justified.
The next intertitle heightens the intensity by alluding to the town chaos overcome by fascist militia and rioters. A massive crowd shot follows, of the anarchy at hand. Indoors, Austin and Silas quarrel and two black militia men enter the background door to work for Silas’ devious plot. From background to foreground, in rides the legion of Klansmen and in Griffith’s auteur signature style, the last minute rescue and apocalyptic finale, engages.
Right after the assemblage of Klansmen ride on, the shot is of Elsie waking up in Silas’ house and with her looks of fear, she stands flailing about, running to the right frame door from her chair on the left. An intertitle says, “White spies disguised.” Now seen are two men on horseback and what makes the shot unusual is that they are white men in black face, not to be confused with the white actors in black face that are meant to be black. Their point-of-view reveals Elsie at the window, screaming for help. A shot shows her take a swing at the window and the next shot shows her throw some object, smashing the window to pieces. But she is held onto by her captors and the two spies ride away to report the scene, as she is held back by the mulatto woman. Then, Silas shoves Austin into the right frame chair in the study. Austin in total shock now is frozen in fear. The two women struggle, as Elsie is wrestling to escape and another black man comes into the room to hold her.
The next shot shows the white spies in black face riding past undetected by the militia. Indoors, Austin is still confronted by Silas. A troop of black militia, outdoors, races into battle armed with rifles. Then, back in the cabin, the little girl sits on sister Cameron’s lap, as the others are left frame seated. Brother Stoneman goes through the right frame door and a match on action views him crossing the next cabin room from left to right for continuity. A two shot of the seated women in the previous room is followed by a close up of sister Cameron, gazing with a near empty expression. Back to the two shot and the little girl tickles her new friend’s back and they hug. Outside the cabin, the militia men close in. And inside, brother Stoneman shuts the door. Outside, the militia fire off smoking shots. And in the cabin, the men work to barricade the right frame door. Brother Stoneman equips a pistol and loads it. In the other room, old man Cameron exits frame right, then there is a cut to the old man entering to help the men of arms defend the cabin. Smoke fires off denoting gun fire outside and some of the militia men back off. As the old man is shoved into the other room, an intertitle reads, “The Union veterans refuse to allow Dr. Cameron to give himself up.” The vets back in the further room from outside, corner old man Cameron and they both reassure him with guns that they can hold the fort. One of them heads to the background window, firing a pistol—the other after patting the old man on the shoulders, heads back through the right frame door. Outside the cabin, the surrounding black militia, in wide shot, puts up a fight.
In the next shot, the Klan in many numbers, ride shoulder to shoulder in packs, from background to foreground left offscreen diagonal.
In Silas’ main room, Elsie is now gagged with a white cloth and the mulatto woman holds her arms to keep her prisoner. Outside, the bedlam in the streets continues as the mob of blacks is seen. Next, there is a close up of Elsie with the gag in her mouth. An intertitle claims, “While helpless whites look on.” White characters heretofore unseen watch out their window frame left, as the women hold an open Bible. Outside, the militia and their supporters hold the whole city hostage. And back inside the house of white people gather to pray for a solution. Outside, the militia continue to beat down a white bystander and inside the whites await their fate. An intertitle shows that there are KKK supporters tarred and feathered next in full view. Then, a wider shot reveals the crowd, tossing around their victims. Looking out a window at the madness is another fearful white family. The mob grows wild and another shot shows them covering every inch of free ground, waving their rifles outside a jailhouse. In a jail cell, white captives await their fate, as well. But the mob is not leaving outside and inside the men are locked up. Fade out and cut to a shot of the over-sized mob. Then a wide establishing shot watches the Klan racing across the far off horizon left to right. The mob in Piedmont is unrelenting. And seen not so far away, in the next shot, are the Klan riding toward the black-faced white spies, stopping for the report and then forward they ride in several numbers, deep in a line and wide in men riding next to each other, never breaking ranks. The mob antagonizes the jail. The Klan, now seen with a tracking camera, ride on to reach their destination and the Klansmen in front pull on their hoods to conceal their faces. Finally, in Piedmont, the Klan comes riding into the street, stopping in the foreground. The mob sees them, but the next shot is of gunslinging Klansmen firing at the offscreen foreground mob. Then they ride on. The mob grows scared, but the militia men guard them—backs turned in a horizontal line in the background, shooting back at the offscreen Klan. The mob begins to disperse. But in frame are shooters from the militia firing right to left. In Silas’ study, Austin sits defeated but Silas hears a noise. (NOTE: On the soundtrack of the author’s copy of BIRTH plays the Valkyrie Ride of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.) The Klan rides on close to the frame and one is shot off of his horse collapsing dead. The militia, now on the left, fire at the offscreen Klan. Another Klansman drops from gunfire. A militia man enters Silas’ study to report and holds Austin at gunpoint while Silas exits frame left. A row of militia men, with rifles, fire at the onslaught. The Klan riders are not stopped though, and ride on through the city. Guns in a row center frame keep firing off in the gun battle and shots of dying Klansmen continue in the ambush.
Outside the cabin, a whole gang of black militia men approach the building in wide shot. Inside the surrounded prisoners of the cabin shoot their guns through window and door. But right outside, the militia approach the cabin. The North vet, inside, shoots off his rifle through the window. Sister Cameron, her mother and the little girl huddle center frame in a different shot, in terror. On the street of Piedmont, the mob and militia hold their ground. Silas exits his house frame center to watch his militia and he waves an arm and exits offscreen right. The hideout cabin inside is full of raging gunfire. The militia still wait in wide shot outside. In ride four Klansmen to the scene. Seeing the fracas, the Klan rescuers ride off for reinforcements but not without losing men. Old man Cameron watches through the window and his POV eyeline match watches a Klansman crash off of his horse to the ground. Smoke billows around the field. Old man Cameron retreats from the window and outside the militia confirm their Klan kills. Reassuring the women inside, the men realize that the hideout is still under attack.
More Klan riders enter frame left and race off to tell the others what is happening at the cabin. The gun battle in the street rages on. A row of militia rifles fire, but the Klan is on their way. In a fantastic tracking shot, the Klansmen ride forward and they fire off their guns while the camera follows in a circular elliptical frame. Finally, the militia is pushed back and they begin to withdraw. Right as the mob flees, in ride the Klan, firing at their foes, cleaning up the city street and in the next shot, the militia men begin to face their downfall, scattering to avoid the Klan.
Elsie, still gagged, is seen in close up, rolling her eyes in shock. Austin tries to stand but the black guard forces him to sit. A different tracking shot, always moving the camera back for frame movement, watches the black rioters to disperse. The Klan blazes down the street. Silas goes back into his house at the sight. The whole mob flees forward, then cutting to a different angle, they flee into the background. The Klan right downtown, on a street, are effective in clearing out the enemy as they ride frame left (next to buildings on the right) toward the background backs turned.
Elsie frees herself from the gag and turns to escape, but Silas awaits her, grabbing her and carrying her off. He brings her into the study where Austin tries to pry her free. Several militia men enter from the background.
On the streets of Piedmont the Klan riders grow thick, riding to the background. Still outdoors, the Klan rides from offscreen left, stopping at Silas’ house and quickly bursting in. The next cut reveals the rescue of Austin and Elsie Stoneman, as the Klansmen burst into the room, guns blazing and they have Silas at gunpoint and father and daughter embrace. A closer cut of a Klansman putting his arm around Elsie, lifting his hood to reveal Ben Cameron as identity, leading the rescue. Elsie hugs him and a cut of the full room shows the successful last minute rescue.
Still, at the cabin’s interior, the gun battle continues. A closer cut shows old man Cameron, watching out the window, crouched on the floor, talking with the Northern vets. The next intertitle reads, “News of the danger to the little party in the besieged cabin.” Two Klan riders race up the street and a match on action sees them join the other Klan riders to tell them about the cabin. Indoors at Silas’ house, Ben puts his hood back on and rushes out of the room as the Klan escort Silas away. Austin and Elsie embrace and one Klan member stands guard of them. The Klan riders reassemble and cruise down the street. In another shot, they keep moving forward stopping to figure out which way to go and then riding frame left offscreen. The Camerons await their doom in the cabin and a closer shot of brother Stoneman watches him pop off a pistol round. In the other room, sister Cameron to the right and further back than her parents, watches through the door. Going through, the next take watches her rush to brother Stoneman and they embrace. Outside, on onslaught of militia men are at the door. Inside, the lovers embrace again, until a window is knocked open, breaking apart and falling, while outside the situation appears grim. Brother Stoneman pistol whips an entering militia man, knocking him back outside. There, a group of bloodthirsty blacks continue to attempt a break in. A quick take shows a butt of a stick, knocking a militia man out of the window.
The Klan races up toward the camera, exiting offscreen left diagonal. Turns out, it is the slave woman knocking down militia men with a stick. Outside, the militia gathers and inside the vets witness the other room. They retrieve everyone and gather into the inner room to escape. Outside, the villains finally break in and inside, they pillage the room, killing a vet. In the inner room, the door to the right is slammed shut in the fracas. Still, the militia attempt to bust open the next door and in the inner room, the living veteran holds the door. Banging against it, the militia are almost through the door, so in the hideout room, a table is propped against the door. Rapid fire cuts continue, as the assault on the inner room is nearly at hand. But as the black militia bangs a log against the door, the victims inside push to keep it closed. The Klan, on their path of revenge, continue in large numbers, down the dirt road. In the cabin, the blacks fight to kill, the whites on the other side, fight to survive. Then on the other side, more militia attempt to break in, but brother Stoneman is on the other side of the door to keep them out.
The door begins to open and sister Cameron fights off the victimizers. A smooth tracking shot races backward to emphasize the speed and strength of the approaching Klan. Inside, though, the militia grab hold of sister Cameron, but are temporarily stalled by the men that force them back out offscreen left. The Klan continue to charge and the cabin inhabitants are running out of options. A harrowing cut reveals the Northern vet with the butt of his rifle above his little daughter in case he has to kill her before the militia gain entrance. Mother Cameron holds the girl in her arms in close up. In extreme close up, the little girl bursts into tears. The militia fight to break in frame center right and brother Stoneman begins to run out of energy frame left. Even the old man Cameron might have to kill his daughter to protect her. Finally, in wide shot, the exterior erupts in a gun-battle from the arriving Klansmen that have come to save the day. The militia men flee the door and inside the cabin there is a moment of relief. The blacks fear the gun blasts and scramble away, as in the short cut the vet watches the action. Outside, the Klan overwhelms the field and then closer up, they dismount. Inside, the Klan enter and kill the last of the militia, gunning them down with pistols and stopping for a quick hero pose. The Camerons, in the inner room, are overjoyed and embrace. The Klan enter and have rescued almost everyone. Center frame, a Klansman whispers to sister Cameron, which means that it is probably Ben under the mask. A whole regiment of Klansmen ride past the rescued cabin.
The next intertitle says, “Disarming the blacks.” And on the left and right, a line of Klansmen with guns pointing at a crowd of black militia, watch as they drop their guns and run away. The next intertitle reads, “Parade of the Clansman.” A white shot shows a crowd cheering on the Klan and a closer shot shows many of the film’s protagonists riding on horseback down the street with the proud victors. The black people are scared now, in their field. But the Klan match with pride, waving victory flags. A crowd of blacks flee the scene. Frame right, in the next cut, the white crowd waves at the march of the Klan, thankful to be safe because of them. In a household seen during the battle, a white family rejoices. The Klan marches on outside and inside, the family cheers, continuing the celebration. Another interior and another reveal the white people in jubilation, waving, hugging, and in three different shot angles of three families, rejoicing. The Klan marches on.
The next intertitle states, “The next election.” Klansmen (right frame) line up on horseback watching black voters at the booths. Two black men discuss their vote and the turn to see the Klan in a POV shot next. So the blacks return to the booths to change their vote to Klan desire that watch on horseback. The next intertitle says, “The aftermath. At the sea’s edge, the double honeymoon.” Brother Stoneman and sister Cameron, newly married and dressed for it, watch the seaside out a window, embraced left frame. And on a hillside by the sea, Ben Cameron and Elsie Stoneman sit in embrace as well, also newly married and dressed for the occasion. The next intertitle announces that someday war will be no longer and that God has a hand in that. A red-tinted frame reveals a crowd of dead sufferers in hell; a fantasy shot, with a Centaur waving a sword (a pictorial reference to Charon from Greek Mythology.) That’s hell, but in heaven, the dead rejoice as a giant superimposed Jesus watches over them and disappears. On the hillside Ben and Elsie sit in love and in the afterlife, the justice is final. Ben and Elsie sit on the hill (right frame) and a giant city is seen to the left of a huge civilization. The last two intertitles are, “Liberty and union, one and inseparable, now and forever!” and then, “The End.” The film, after three hours and seven minutes approximately, draws to a close. Final Author's Note: The Birth of a Nation is my favorite film, as it is the guidebook to how all movies were and are made post 1915.

THE END.