Notes from the film- Birth of a Movement:
- Birth of a nation is known for being inaccurate and racist.
- The newspaper editor was William Monroe Trotter
- William waged a battle against D.W Griffith.
- Griffiths father passed when he was 10.
- From age 14 to 30 he is traveling the country to try and become an actor.
- By the 1890’s he was an inspiring stage actor (Which was what is dream was)
- He was struggling and needed money during this time though because he wasn’t all that talented
Questions from Birth of a Movement:
1. What were the names of the newspaper and the organization started in response to both The Birth of a Nation and white supremacy in general?
The story on the news paper was “Negroes Mob Photo Play”. At the top it was titled The Guardian. The first film on the newspaper was the “”Birth of Nation” causes near-riot”. The writer was William Monroe Trotter against D.W Griffith.
2. How do you think the organizations referred to in the previous question were ways to legitimate black Americans’ discourse concerning white supremacy and Jim Crow Laws?
3. What were the prime differences between Trotter’s and DuBois’s approaches when it came to combating white supremacy?
4. When discussions to ban The Birth of a Nation failed, what methods were used to disrupt screenings of the film?
5. What specific, illegal–but often overlooked and unpunished–act of violence against black Americans was common in the United States at this time, and why was The Birth of a Nation seen as a possible accelerant for this ritualized violence?
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