Reference no: EM133254474

TOPIC "Birth of a Nation and the Second KKK"

D.W. Griffith's 1915 landmark film The Birth of a Nation "took advantage of American anxiety to target blacks, immigrants, Roman Catholics, and Jews" by stoking fears especially among Southern Whites that these groups would "destroy the America that whites had come to know" (Meacham 18). The film aided in the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan, which was originally established during the period of Reconstruction. The film is an example of how art, politics, and history continually inform one another, and shows how each one is presented and represented within the others. Using the assigned readings for this topic, answer the questions below. You must use MLA in-line citation style (exactly as I did in the first sentence of this paragraph) to quote and reference from the books those pages (or location nr. ("loc.") if using an e-text) that support each of your responses.

you write paragraph and you should address everything asked and be a minimum 300 words (though suspect it would take closer to 500 words to properly respond what's being asked)

When addressing the discussion questions, remember to do all of the following:

Enter your responses directly in the text box provided inside the discussion tool - do not attached separate documents or other files;
write in complete sentences, in essay/paragraph form, using proper punctuation and mechanics;
number your responses to that they correspond to the numbered questions;
using MLA in-line citations, cite the pages from the text that support your answers, like so (Niderost 43); for sections of the podcasts that support your response, use the range of hours, minutes, and seconds minute mark, like so (In The Past Lane 00:19:30-00:20:17).

Citing and quoting from Eric Niderost's excerpted chapter "Silent Cinema as Historical Mythmaker: The Birth of a Nation" in chapter 2 of Hollywood's America (click link to library's ebook), around pages 42-50, respond to both questions:
What inspired D.W. Griffith to make The Birth of a Nation? Specifically, what source material did he use, and what personal or biographical history and memories did he draw from?
What historical message or narrative was Griffith presenting to the American public about the Civil War and Reconstruction?

For historical background and context, review some of the readings and videos from the Film & Podcast: Birth of a Nation & KKK (v2.0) submodule, incl. OpenStax US History ch. 24.2 and the excerpted Chapter 4, "The New and Good Thing in the World" from Jon Meacham's The Soul of America (click link to library's ebook). Next, listen to the linked podcasts 100 Years Later, What's The Legacy Of 'Birth Of A Nation'? on NPR's All Things Considered (approx. 8 min.) and The Second Coming of the KKK in the 1920s on the In The Past Lane podcast (discussion of the film begins around the 00:09:10 mark, but for the purposes of this response you should start around the 00:07:20 mark and listen to about 00:10:07). Then answer the following:
Citing the All Things Considered podcast, What was it in the film that Black Americans found so "grotesque"?
Citing the In The Past Lane podcast, What was the "key part" of the film that tapped into racial fears among White Americans, including in the North?
Citing either podcast (or both), How was the film received by White America? Why was it so popular and appealing?

3. Having read about the film and seen some of the clips in the Submodule on this topic, how would you feel about the film's screening today, whether in class or in a theater, even if it was screened for educational/historical purposes? (This is personal reflection, so no need to cite from the texts for this last response.)

4. Answer both questions:

Citing the In The Past Lane podcast, What role did women play in the Second Ku Klux Klan (listen from around the 00:19:25 mark to the 00:20:00 mark)?

Citing and quoting chapter 4 of Jon Meacham's The Soul of America, specifically those pages that discuss the film and the reemergence of the KKK), What role did U.S. President Woodrow Wilson play in popularizing and legitimizing the film, and what does this say about the power and influence of our political leaders (especially presidents) in shaping public opinion about history, justice, and race?