The Birth of a Nation

I wish I could tell you about the cinematography, writing, score, or some of the other technical aspects of “The Birth of a Nation”. Unfortunately, I can’t. I was too swept up in its story, how it relates to present-day events and what lessons or ideas can be drawn from it to think about anything other than the movie as an experience.

Taking place between 1830 and 1831, the film tells the true story of Nat Turner (Nate Park), a literate black preacher. Initially toured across plantations in Virginia to preach select Biblical passages to his fellow slaves by his master, Turner has a spiritual awakening, a sign from God calling him to rebel.

I found “The Birth of a Nation” to be very powerful. Yes, some of it is simply due to the fact that the film is “in the right”. Slavery is one of the most revolting inventions of mankind. A reminder here and then of the appalling practice that is slavery and a new rain of spit on the graves of those who enslaves blacks is a good thing. But good intentions are not enough to make a great film (just ask “Stonewall”) What makes this picture stand out for me is that there are a lot of meaty conversations that can be drawn from this package.

I believe the film is very intelligent in allowing you to draw your own conclusions about the use of religious texts. Turner is a preacher. He studies the Bible, and is instructed to use choice excerpts to help his fellow slaves “understand their place”. How can you argue against Ephesians 6:5 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ”? I guess all you can do is counter with a verse that argues for the opposite, such as “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. ” I think in a lot of everyday aspects, people are given contradictory arguments for both righteous and villainous actions. To the slave-owners of the Southern United States, cruelty against blacks was a day-to-day thing, nothing to raise an eyebrow about. At the same time, some of them must’ve known, deep in their hearts that what was going on wasn’t right. More than just speaking about religion, we could be talking about laws that prohibit interracial marriages, or policies that make it difficult for certain people to vote, or attitudes in an organization that is biased towards certain people. I think the film doesn’t tell us to throw away everything that we’ve got, but to really consider the impact of what we do.

The film also made me think about modern-day violence as the “solution” to growing problems in America. I found myself recalling some of the most painful, deliciously mutilating scenes of the “Saw” franchise, thinking that I’d go home, pop one of those into my DVD player and imagine Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Jr., or any of the other white actor’s characters as the victims of horrific, blood-squirt-guaranteeing traps. It’s impossible not to wish gruesome, ironic and perverse death upon people that you loathe so much it’s almost too much to bear… but I think the film also argues that violence and revenge are NOT the answer. Certainly, text shown at the end suggests so. On the other hand, if giving oppressors a taste of their own medicine and inflicting bloody vengeance upon them isn’t the solution, what is?

Above everything, I see “The Birth of a Nation” as a challenging film. It is difficult and painful to think about slavery. It’s hard to believe this sort of barbarism was still going on 200 years ago. The film asks a lot of questions about what you should do in the face of adversity. When your opponent will take everything away from you and reduce you to a subhuman state, what can you do? How far is too far? An argument could be made that Nat Turner was in the right, but you could also say that he made things worse for his people. I don’t think the film is as good as “12 Years a Slave” or “Selma”, but it has some of the same satisfying qualities. I think first-time director/writer/star Nate Park tries too hard to create a Hollywood villain (played by Jackie Earle Haley) when none is necessary. I also have mixed feelings about some of the historical omissions and, as always, some of the costumes are not accurate for the time period (at least that’s what my friends who are learned in the subject have told me) I was going to dock a half star for this reason, but these sentiments only came after I did research on the real-life man and the choices do make it a more emotional experience that will satisfy audiences, so I’m choosing not to.

At several points during “The Birth of a Nation”, I was holding back tears. Far from being a warning to stay back, it’s an endorsement. Watch the film and rejoice in the knowledge that this story is being told, that it inspired black actors to produce art and that the man’s legacy is alive. What’s your option? To re-write textbooks and describe the Atlantic slave trade as bringing “millions of workers” to plantations in the American South? My attention was largely on the story and the themes of “The Birth of a Nation” but that couldn’t have happened if the acting was great and the look of the film genuine. Is it going to be the best film of 2016? I’m not so sure. It will, however, certainly end up on my top 10 list. (Theatrical version on the big screen, October 19, 2016)