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December 1999, Week 4

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From:
Donald Larsson <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Mon, 27 Dec 1999 10:07:03 -0600
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Peter Warren replies:


> Mr. Slack: While acknowledging that Birth of a Nation was racist and
> reflected  Griffith's concern with racial purity, mainstream film reflects
> the tenor of the times and we should all be glad that society has advanced
> in the 85 years since BOAN. Griffith himself was appalled at the generally
> negative reaction to the film, and tried to make amends with his next work,
> Intolerance. Keep in mind that Griffith was a"commercial" director, and
> liked to thrill his audiences with last minute chases/rescues such as the
> climax of BOAN. For example - look at other major Griffith works such as
> Orphans of the Storm, Way Down East, Hearts of the World and the "modern"
> sequence from Intolerance. And last minute movie rescues are still with us
> to this day .....

It's somewhat an overstatement to say that Griffith was "making amends"
for BOAN with INTOLERANCE.  In actuality, it was meant to protest the
protests against *him*--that his *critics* were the "intolerant" ones
(rather like kneejerk accusations of "reverse racism" by some whites
today).  But he was indeed within the "tenor of his times."  Woodrow
Wilson himself endorsed BOAN while INTOLERANCE was a flop.  Griffith
had to have an eye on the market, but he always preached the "art" of
that commercial product as well, never allowing for example his actors
to use the pejorative term "flickers" when discussing film.

It's also telling that many of Griffith's "innovations" can be found in
other films and by other directors.  What Griffith did do was to use,
combine (and yes, sometimes innovate) those techniques in very powerful
ways, beginning with his Biograph shorts.  He's an interesting bag of
contradictions, a Dickensian sentimentalist who had feistier and
stronger women characters than many filmmakers today have, a protestor
against social reformers who also decried abuses of power (see the
strike sequence in INTOLERANCE, for instance), a racist who preached
universal love.  He's of immense importance, socially and artistically,
for both positive and negative reasons.

Whether any of that is a reason to name or not name an award after him,
I leave to others.  I can only assume that certain individuals--of all
races--would feel uneasy about receiving an award with such a name.
But would they feel any easier at receiving one named for Thomas
Jefferson--another bag of contradictions?

Don Larsson



----------------------
Donald Larsson
Minnesota State U, Mankato
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