So ridiculous, I had to laugh!

Rating: 2/10 (9 November 2001)

Of course, I heard about this film from my film courses, and they commented about how this film established the feature film, yet was so racist, but until I saw it, I really had no idea how ridiculous this film was. The entire first half had only slight racism and I began to consider that my professors were over-reacting by calling the film racist--that was until the second part began, not without a warning that the film was not intended to be racist, but rather to convey history during the Reconstruction period. From that point, there was scene after scene with ideas so absurd, I could find no other reaction but laughter. From the scene of the horribly stereotyped Black Congressman, who were certainly never elected to any positions of power, to the notion that Blacks were able to vote and kept whites from voting (when in fact the history of Jim Crow, grandfather clauses, literacy tests and other discrimination made sure that blacks never got to vote in any great numbers) I could only stare in disbelief that D.W. Griffith could have ever made this movie with any degree of seriousness. I know people used to be so ignorant and stupid--obviously miscogenation was more than frowned upon--that much I believe, but believing that whites really feared the creation of a "black empire with an unwilling white Queen at the side of the evil Mulatto"--to believe this as any sort of valid fear is just laughable. How could this even be filmed? Sure it is racist, but to take this racism seriously would almost be like taking an insult from a mentally retarded person seriously. I don't mean to downplay the consequences of perpetuated stereotypes, but if this film in any way reflected feelings of people at this time, then I'm glad that I have been fortunate enough to live in this era if it is indeed that much less ignorant and ridiculous. (In addition to my other complaints, I found the scene where the "little general" got the inspiration for the KKK to be hilarious--the sheets scaring the stereotyped pickanninies away was the beginning of such a horendous tradition; that and the idea of union and confederate enemies teaming together to defend their "Aryan birthright"?!!) I know that history is more tragic than it should be, but this film was so outlandish that it felt like it was a parody made by black filmmakers to demonstrate an exaggeration of misguided racial tensions and discrimination, prejudice, etc. (I apologize for rambling, but I merely meant to clarify in hopes that my perspective won't be misinterpreted into disregard for hatred of discrimination.)