Talk:The Birth of a Race

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Expansion[edit]

Needs a discussion of the race angle by someone who has, say, actually seen the movie. It's 10 reels but how long is its running time? Tempshill 16:19, 22 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

From what I understand, it is impossible to find. Only a few snippets have survived. M. Frederick 01:36, 2 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The way this article is written is really slanted racially... LENGTHY? Then wartime story? Wasn't the film's emphasis towards the portrayal of blacks in a positive light??

The article does not have sufficient content. It's impossible to know what the film was about, or how it related to Birth of a Nation. --Parkwells 22:27, 10 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Negative sterotypes[edit]

This article says:

It was made as a response to the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, and was meant to discredit the negative stereotypes perpetuated by the film. The Birth of a Race was released following the end of World War I.

Also, in Birth of a Nation, we say:

In 1918 Emmett J. Scott helped produce and John W. Noble directed The Birth of a Race in response. The film portrayed a positive image of blacks. Although the film was panned by white critics, it was well-received by black critics and moviegoers attending segregated theaters.[citation needed]

Yet the New York Times review of the movie makes no mention of any black characters or content. Instead, it describes it as anti-war and anti-German. IMDB reviewers mention some scenes depicting racial unity, but they are apparently not a core part of the movie's theme or plot. Since we don't have sources that support what we're writing, we should probably trim some of this. Will Beback talk 21:36, 1 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A November 16, 2018, article in the Tampa Bay Times about the film's production in Tampa a hundred years ago sheds light on the muddled plot, which combined the theme of black achievement down through history with the WWI subplot of two white brothers fighting on opposite sides. The article has been expanded with this cite. JGHowes ^talk 14:52, 17 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]