Q: Pick 2 of the 4 elements listed there and discuss the way they are used in the film.

Ones Picked: Mise-en-scene & Narrative

A: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the pinpoint start of the German expressionism movement. Its narrative and the way that it used distortion in the backdrops and fantasy / horror makes it a classic. The mise-en-scene was particularly brilliant. The backdrop had a sort of distorted cartoonish look, which was most definitely done on purpose to further the plot of the story that Francis was, in fact, insane. The switch from the cartoonish, almost completely distorted backdrop of the village to the perfectly rigid and worldly look of the asylum displayed this switch from the perspective of an insane person to the narrative of the sane. The horror and fantasy aspect of the story really popped out with the plot twist towards the end of the story. It definitely came across as a Pioneer movie in the field of psychological horror rather than that of slasher horror.

Q: In Micheaux’s film, how does the depiction of the African American characters differ from that of Griffith (both narratively and aesthetically)? Are all of his characters clear-cut heroes or villains, like in Griffith’s film? Compare the final mob scene of Birth of a Nation with that of this film. In what ways are they similar or different?

A: Micheaux’s film depicts African Americans as human rather than D.W. Griffith’s narrative of them being evil or out to see the downfall of white civilization. Micheaux actually uses black actors as opposed to Griffith’s wanton use of blackface.

Within Our Gates‘ story is a tad convoluted in my opinion, but so is Birth of a Nation’s. The cinematography was much better in The Birth of a Nation, but the narrative of Within Our Gates is much better in terms of morals. Micheaux’s characters are not clear cut antagonists or protagonists, they are very human and I think he does this on purpose. In a way, to juxtapose his film and Griffiths film where African Americans were portrayed as sub-human monsters.

The end scene of TBoaN was much better cinematographically than Within Our Gates but the mob scene for the latter seemed like it had a better lead up than TBoaN’s lead up.

I chose the second question, Film as History, to answer for the first blog.

Here is the Question in its entirety:

“What filmic and narrative techniques does Griffith use to make us think we are watching a true, objective version of history (when clearly we are not)? List them.”

Here is my answer:

D.W. Griffith used many foundational tricks of film making, making it really important for film history. Unfortunately, the purpose of the film is to portray the Ku Klux Klan as the hero in a Post-Civil War south and portrays abolitionists as radicals, african americans from the north and newly freed slaves from the south as enemies, and the old south as a victim. The movie had a budget of $110,000 and received $60,000,000 in the box office. This film could easily be described as the exact opposite of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Griffith uses intertitles throughout the film as both quotations and excerpts from history books but mainly as narrative and speech. There is a scene near the intermission that is written by President Woodrow Wilson. This gives a historical feel to the situation, as does the entire first half of the movie with plenty of civil war reenacting. This first half of the movie being fairly unbiased, and then panning to the second half full of Post-war South sentiments made it feel historical but that could be because it is based on a historical-fiction novel by the name of “The Clansman.”

I think that the easiest way that Griffith made it feel historical was by making everything period dress. The costumes were very ornate and symbolic of the characters that were being portrayed. This made the film pretty easy to understand especially without sound. (besides the original orchestral arrangement for the movie) Using the costumes in this way, I believe that Griffith instilled a sense of nostalgia in people. The Civil War had ended exactly 50 years prior, and many of those who had lived during the war or even after the war had felt some forms of repercussions; family members fighting in the war, living through the Reconstruction period, animosity towards government and the turn towards vigilanteism all set the perfect background for this movie to be recruitment for the Second Ku Klux Klan.

Overall, Griffith portrays the movie as an objective historical film under the guise of artistic liberty, though in reality there were several undertones. Griffith had been a product of a home that was heavily influenced by the Civil War, especially being born to an officer of the Confederate Army in 1875. There is a lot of background on Griffith that would make his reasons for filming The Birth of a Nation make sense; but no matter what background is given his, there is no doubt that his portrayal of Reconstruction era south and glorification of the Ku Klux Klan influenced people for decades.