South and North, blacks and whites, love and hatred, as well as imprisonment and freedom, darkness and light, when the image of 1915 was "revolutionary When the thoughts of "poetry" and freedom were aligned with the war 50 years ago, such opposition seemed to disappear in the birth of a country "invisible", even the expectation of "freedom, unity, inseparability, now and forever" It has completely transcended race, politics and love, presenting the ultimate meaning of peace, friendship and sincerity in the utopia constructed by David Walker Griffith. However, the hope that the suffering nation saw did not end in the expression of this ultimate meaning. What exactly is justice in war? What is national freedom? Or what is the real "country"? The birth of a country is actually the birth of love. When the sweet lovers on the beach hug each other, they look into the distance, the lost period of war and reconstruction, and regaining love is not just the kindness in the city of peace monarch?
Benevolence is the etiquette that a girl has learned since childhood, the warm wording in a letter, the friendly exchanges between the two families in the north and the south, and the photo of the girl Alice hidden in Ben Cameroon, and the carefree quilt. Beloved cats, these details of life construct non-war scenes, whether it is the eldest son of the Starman family and Margaret of the Cameroon family, or Ben Cameron and Alice Starman, the love between them , They all draw out a world of fraternity that has nothing to do with family geography, family identity, and political ambitions. They play, have fun, and enjoy the freedom and peace before the war. However, this overly idealized life scene will be ruthlessly destroyed in the face of a storm of "constant gathering". The so-called separation is not a division in the geographical sense of North and South, but the involvement of two families in different political positions. "The only dream is to meet again." The two families were ruthlessly separated by the war between the South and the North, leaving only a certain yearning for benevolence.
The war is slowly fermenting, and the war is constantly brewing. The battle of that dawn became the beginning of the separation of the two families. Lincoln signed the manifesto, calling for the national will to override the independent state for the first time. Joining volunteers means joining. After the army, that means stepping into the battlefield. The boys of the two families joined their own army, and they became enemies in the face of war. In the South, "their state flag embodies the southern spirit", and the interpretation of the southern spirit is: "victory or death, we must fight for justice." What is justice? After the Bull War, the flag of the federal government was baptized, but for a family, the so-called spirit, the so-called baptism, means the ruthlessness of war and the fragility of life. The mother of the Cameroon family held an expedition ceremony for the three sons. Unlike the army's expedition ceremony, the mother gave the children a beloved gift. This is a ceremony of love, but the ruthless war can be received by those on the battlefield. A letter from a younger sister is more important than anything else: "I want to see you very much. I have grown up and become a big girl." The plural of Kisses is the sum of countless kisses, a kind of coagulation of affection, and it is for war. Another condemnation. At this time, it has been two years since the expedition, and life is still there, but the deaths that occur all the time in the war still put such love in a dangerous situation.
"War embodies its hardship, resentment and sacrifice." In fact, there is no justice here, only the war itself. There is only one key word in war: death. Explosions, artillery fire, and smoke blocked everything and destroyed everything. While a magnificent war scene was staged, on the other hand, it was individual pain and helplessness. In the interweaving of parallel montages, people felt the ruthlessness and brutality of war. Several sons of the Cameroon family died, and only Ben Cameroon was still fighting bravely in the war. This soldier called the "little general" charged into the battle in a series of orders, and his opponent in the last battle was Philip S. Taman, the friendship between the two families once became hatred in the face of war, and even hatred was only a symbol of the theory of tools of war. After occupying the trenches, only a small part of it survived. This is the most ruthless aspect of the war. The so-called victory. , In fact, is also an inevitable death, it will come instantly and take away all hope of man. The most rebellious against the war or the "little general"'s human care for a fallen Federal Army soldier. He gave the dying soldier water, and the Federal Army soldier on the opposite side cheered for this "righteous act", and his humanity surpassed it. War, this may be seen in Griffith’s efforts to build a national utopia. In the fierce or even tragic battlefield, the "little general" exchanges his love for the respect of the other side, and when the "little general" uses his own body When the battle flag is put on the opponent's gun and falls down, is it a victory or a defeat? In other words, he was captured and sent to the hospital but was beaten to death again, is it another utopian myth?
And the myth seems to have been interpreting. In the battlefield hospital, the young general unexpectedly met the heroine of the photo that he had been hiding in his chest-Alice Starman. This is the true bud of love. Even face-to-face, shy, full-hearted smile, or embarrassment are the most romantic expressions of love between these two people. "Although we haven't met each other, you have been by my side for a long time." Love even transcends the body and becomes a sustenance of the spirit. And when they face reality, there is still an unending war here, and the "little general" is still facing the fate of being hanged. So in addition to love that transcends war and can give people a little spiritual comfort, what else can change destiny?
That is forgiveness. The mother of the "little general" and Alice went to the headquarters together and asked Lincoln for pardon. And the great leader Lincoln really signed the pardon, and the young general was able to survive the war. Under the will of the state, the freedom of the independent state is over. In the face of a surrendered "Grant Agreement", it seems that the war has ended. It seems that the political ambition of "freedom, unity, and inseparability, now and forever" has been realized, but this It is only a victory of a war, or a victory of the will of the country, a victory of the southern spirit, a victory of limited justice, but for this country that has been devastated by war, it cannot be avoided. The question is: which way will the race between black and white go?
Once during the war, such problems were exposed nakedly. A black militia led by white officers ravaged Paramount, the white men on the street were killed innocently, and the Cameroonian family was in this city, so those black men The family was ransacked and attempted to rape every family member of the Cameroonian family. Old Cameroon was injured. The mother and daughters hid in a basement. Their faces were panic and uneasy. While waiting in fear, the federal army arrived. , Defeated these black people and saved them. However, the antagonism between blacks and whites has not been eliminated. On the contrary, after it has really ended, this issue has become the most difficult issue in national reconstruction. The great leader Lincoln was dissatisfied with the radicals because of his too mild attitude towards the South. For the radicals, their goal was to hang the leaders and turn their state into a conquered province. Among the radicals, Staman is undoubtedly a practitioner. This congressman who became the chairman of Congress during the war has always advocated the abolition of slavery, but the abolition of slavery is not just to give blacks political rights, but to gain more support for themselves. In order to get more privileges. Therefore, the disagreement between radicals and moderates on the status of blacks after the war eventually led to the arrival of the "day of hatred" on April 14, 1864.
To commemorate the victory of the war, "American Cousin" was performed in the Ford Theater. Lincoln watched the performance, but a bullet of hatred started on this hatred day. Lincoln was assassinated and the murderer jumped from the auditorium on the second floor. It was called "the eternal tyrant". It was not Lincoln who did not die this shot, but the loss of the moderates in the post-war reconstruction, which also put the racial issue at the forefront of American history. As a country of immigrants, a large number of black Africans have poured into this country. According to Griffiths, "their arrival planted the first seeds of discord on the American continent." Germination and growth have also become the most unstable factor in this country. After Lincoln’s death, Starman and his black subordinate Saras Lynch became excited because they would become the most powerful people in the United States. For the southern Cameroon family, they have lost "our best friend".
The most powerful people’s policy for blacks is to allow blacks to have more voting rights. They use South Carolina as a pilot state to implement their black policy and personally implement them to strengthen the power of southern blacks by voting in elections, and Lynch Naturally, it became a pawn in Staman’s hands, "I will take this person as a symbol of his nation." Therefore, in Staman-Linch’s system, blacks become political protagonists, not only in the right to vote, but also in the rest. Among the various powers, not only have they obtained equal rights with white people, but they have even stepped on white people. On Election Day, blacks had votes, but whites were deprived of their right to vote. In the 1871 election, black political parties controlled 101 seats in the state legislature, while whites only had 23 seats. The parliament was controlled by blacks, and Lynch became a place. Sir, the laws passed include: whites must pay tribute to blacks and allow blacks and whites to marry.
This is real politics. In such a political structure, the blacks exercised control over the state with a kind of barbarism and ignorance. They drank and ate chicken legs in Parliament, and even took off their shoes and put their feet on the table. And this life of black and white opposition has undoubtedly suffered a major blow to the love between Cameroon and Alice. At first they ushered in their true love in the post-war reconstruction. They hugged and kissed each other and walked on the street. That cute duck became their token of love, "I will look at you at home every day, then The tears of time and the epic." But behind this love, there is always another pair of greedy eyes, that is Lynch. Lynch, who is coveted by Alice, threatened Cameroon and said to Cameroon that the sidewalk is black. , So they must step aside and pay tribute to the blacks. Starman, on the other hand, used a more ruthless view to uplift the blacks. He said that we should use the heels of the southern blacks to crush the whites in the south. For him, the sacrifice of his daughter's love is only to gain a higher status, so he forbids his daughter Alice from contacting Cameroon and makes them sever the relationship. Helpless Alice had to reluctantly part her love, cancel the marriage contract, and be loyal to her father.
However, this struggle for black rights has resulted in "terrible results." On the one hand, Cameroon and Alice's love ended, and on the other hand, Cameroon's sister was jumped to death by the black Gauss. It was a pair of greedy eyes, that was a pair of hungry eyes. Behind the eyes was the occupation of white people. In the forest, he chased the Cameroonian sister with "I want to get married", and the sister jumped off the cliff when desperately desperate. His death was a resistance to Gauss’ occupation, but the greater significance may be the resistance of whites to the deformed black rule. When Cameroon arrived, there was only one cold body, and the death of his sister seemed to have awakened him. "We can see dignity from her. We should not grieve at this moment, because she has found happiness before she died." This kind of resistance called "happiness" stimulates another kind of struggle, which is lost with oneself. Like love, Cameroon urgently needs to change the status quo, so he was inspired by the game of white children pretending to scare black children away and formed the Ku Klux Klan.
White clothes, white headscarves, and white war horses. This white world is a symbol of white people. Using this color symbol to form a "white empire" against the blacks, their purpose is to liberate the whites from the feet of the blacks, and they will take revenge and kill them. Goss, caused incidents in the city, and the Ku Klux Klan was found guilty in the place led by Lynch. They stepped up their defenses and arrested all people related to the Ku Klux Klan. Old Cameroon had a large number of Ku Klux Klan in his family. Signed clothes, and was arrested and paraded. In the end, although he was rescued, he was besieged by blacks in a small wooden house in the countryside. On the other hand, the Ku Klux Klan began to implement a plan. They stained the Cameroonian sister’s blood on the battle flag before they set out. "The blood of southern women" became a symbol and motivation for their resistance. They wanted to sacrifice sacrifices on the altar of civilization. They lifted up the symbol of the ancient nation and lit the torch with blood that was once spilt with yellow sand. Their goal was to disarm the blacks.
In the face of this new war, Alice is undoubtedly an innocent person caught between the two factions. On the one hand, it is his father who supports the black people. On the other hand, it is her lover who formed the KKK, so she still hopes to use Her innocence came to seek reconciliation, and when she entered Lynch's office, she had fallen into an inextricable trap. Lynch, who has coveted Alice for a long time, naturally can’t let go of this opportunity. After being rejected, he tied Alice up with violence and held the wedding in a violent form. As a representative of black people, Griffith To portray him as a greedy, savage, and lustful person, in addition to prejudice, or also reflects Griffith's single thinking. As a supporter of the black movement, Starman also tasted the bitter fruit. When Lynch forced Alice to marry, he also threatened Starman. The man who had been trained by himself now turned his head and bit himself. , And even fell into an embarrassing situation of desperation.
And in this danger, the savior appeared, that is, the KKK led by Cameroon. They were victorious in this city, and finally rushed into Lynch’s office to rescue Alice and his father Staman, and finally In the classic "One-Minute Rescue", the old Cameroon family trapped in the cabin was rescued. The cabin is also a symbol of the status of the whites during the reconstruction of the war. The storm is precarious and isolated, and will be broken by the besieged blacks at any time. The arrival of the K Party broke through the imprisonment of the blacks and rescued the whites who were in dire straits. Not only that, in this city, the Ku Klux Klan disarmed the blacks and regained the political rights of the whites. From then on, the inflated desires of the blacks were stifled. , Seems to return to order in justice.
The Ku Klux Klan became the incarnation of justice and the god of suffering white people. This is of course the most controversial part of Griffith’s film empire created by him. Those black people always look at white women with greedy eyes, and they destroy They broke the rules and destroyed life, they created terror and death, they seized power and seized the parliament, and even the main black characters in the movie were all dressed up with white black faces. This inverted gender theory is still 50 years later. Become a taboo that Griffith can't get rid of. And his positive shaping of the Ku Klux Klan has also become the most criticized passage in American film history. This $110,000 film caused opposition where it was released. Riots broke out in Boston, Philadelphia and other big cities. Chicago, Ohio, Denver, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis banned the film from being released. According to legend, in Lafayette, Indiana, a white man killed a black teenager after watching this film.
But for "The Birth of a Nation", Griffith is not just looking for a redeemer in politics. For him, the reflection of the Civil War seems to be more important in the "inseparable" unity, this unity It is the country's expectation, and it is also the hope of love and beauty in human nature. "Don't we dare to dream of a golden age that is no longer ruled by the cruel God of War, and replaced by the benevolent king sitting in the Palace of Friendship in the City of Peace." This sentence appears at the end of the movie, under the light of the icon of Jesus, the city is heavy After being calm, people who love each other can finally sit on the seaside without interruption, hug and kiss each other. For the "little general" and Alice who suffered in this war, the love after the ordeal seems to be more precious , And this kind of love life is the benevolent king sitting in the temple of friendship in the city of peace. In other words, Griffith wants to find simple and unified love in this epic movie, knowing eternal freedom. From the worry-free communication between the two families during the war, to the elimination of the human care of the enemy and ourselves after the war broke out, and the love token of the little duck in the early reconstruction period, people can experience the beauty and value of love, but the greatest love is for love. The blow comes from opposition, here is the opposition of political ambitions, here is the opposition of North and South life, and the root of all this lies in the war, that is to say, in Griffith's view, the racial issue is an unresolved issue brought about by the war. "If this work gives us an idea that the war caused by hatred will bring a piece of rubble, our efforts will not be in vain." The hatred of war has caused separation and caused the confrontation between blacks and whites. , And racial contradictions have also destroyed and subverted all beautiful things. Therefore, the subsequent advent of the god-like Ku Klux Klan is an effort to eliminate this abnormality. The birth of a country, in a sense, is The birth of a kind of love.
Putting aside political ambiguities, "The Birth of a Nation" is indeed the empire of film art created by Griffith. The black and white images of 1915 laid the foundation for commercial films in three hours. It was the most profitable at the time. According to the existing Shepard DVD cover, the film’s ticket revenue exceeded 10 million U.S. dollars and maintained the highest box office record for a silent film. The combination of the description of the grand movie scenes and the subtle close-ups in the movie pushes the art of film to a peak, which contains Griffith's sincere creative passion. "A pursuit of film art, we are not afraid of criticism, because we don't want to attack inappropriate and low-level, but we have the right to demand a kind of freedom to show the dark side of error, so that we can reveal the bright side of morality." Using movies to fight back is a victory for art, but the opposition between black and white seems to have forever become an indelible color in Griffith's life.
View more about The Birth of a Nation reviews
