In a 3-4 page typed, double-spaced essay, choose two or three scenes from The Birth of a Nation and discuss in detail.Be specific and avoid generalization. Your

organizing principle is how the film differs from the reality of Reconstruction, especially in regardto the role of African Americans.  Apart from what characters in

the film say and do, it is also best to describe how they dress, what music is played when they appear onscreen, what kind of lighting is used—anything that you can

incorporate in order to compare and contrast the legendary view of Reconstruction with what actually happened. For example, why is Gus, a black character played by a

white actor in blackface, so critical to the film’s version of Reconstruction?   When Gus appears, take note of the lighting and music, the mood that Griffith wants to

createwhen white southerners’ central fear manifests itself onscreen, i.e., the black sexual predator, result of so-called “Negro rule.”
Numerous racist stereotypes are used in the film:  point them out and discuss them.  How does the film portray Freedmen and how is that presentation different from

what historians—beginning in the 1950s—have learned about black behavior and aspirations during Reconstruction?  How are white characters and the Ku Klux Klan

portrayed in the film?
Again, be specific and avoid generalization.  Begin your essay either with a very brief discussion of the reality of African Americans and Reconstruction and then

quickly cut to the film, or vice versa.  Everyone knows that the Civil War was horrible, etc.—no need to repeat any facts or figures about it.  Also, please do not

repeat what I have already written on The Birth of a Nation handout, or any of the above.    Stick to details.  Style, grammar, and essay format are not as important

to me as content.  So do not worry about perfect sentence structure.  I want to know that you have reflected on the film and the topic of Reconstruction, and how

different they are from one another.
Please print out your essay. STAPLE it together, and bring it to class.