Brittany Cook
William Boyd
African American Studies
February 26 2018
Birth of a nation reinforced several stereotypes about African Americans. This film
marked the beginning of a forever trending use of technology. Ironically this film was colored in
black and white, also the central theme between races of the Aryan race and African Americans.
Birth of a nation was based primarily on the stereotypes of blacks. This movie however did not
implicate the true feelings of African Americans.
Reconstruction as some may call a time of rising up against the enemy, and making the
country prevail is an understatement. Reconstruction was a period of extreme violence. After the
Civil War the violence fluctuated. It became a time period of rebellious races. The south as
opposed to the north turned the u.s. into a disgrace for many.
Slavery was the most dominating factor of the antebellum period-also referred to as the
time before war. Power and white supremacy divided the north and south. During the antebellum
period technology transpired into something very cultivating. The first film ever created and
produced, and shown in the white house was Birth of a Nation. It was very prosperous and
incorporated strong stereotypes of African American men and women of that time period. Birth
of a Nation included mixed race mulatto, coons, blackface, minstrel acts, justification of equality,
election crisis, the Klu Klux Klan, and the north vs South’s interpretation and treatment of
blacks.
In the beginning of Birth of a Nation it shows whites as being very high class with a fair
amount of wealth. Although this film is in black and white you can see that their houses are
usually very spacious, white, and have lots of acres of land. Several times at the Cameron’s
home you can see that a depiction of the Mammy is shown. She appears to be the house maid.
She has a very dark face, well rounded, faithful to the owners, yet very assertive when it comes
to things being out of order. Being a house maid seemed to be one of the less challenging of the
jobs of slaves. A scene from Birth of a Nation showed both men and women having to bend over
for hours and pick cotton. As the whites come through the cotton field they had no remorse and
are only focused on the quality of the cotton. Throughout the first couple of scenes, whites seem
