D. W. Griffith transformed the ____________ into an art and unlocked its potential as a medium of serious expression and persuas
ion with his controversial film The Birth of a Nation. While critics praised the film for its narrative complexity and epic scope, many others were outraged and even started riots at several screenings because of its highly controversial, openly racist attitudes.
The Birth of a Nation was a pivotal work in American film history. At the time, it was the longest and more technically complex film, even getting to be privately screened to president Woodrow Wilson.
However, this epic scope and technical improvement were obscured due to the blatantly racist view of the plot, and the oversimplification of the dynamicsof the Reconstruction Era, portraying the pro Reconstruction parties, particularly blacks, as lazy, non-compliant individuals, filled with lust and envy towards whites, creatures that needed to be punished by the Clansmen.
