Birth Of A Nation Essay, Research Paper

How the South was portrayed and why the Civil War was a tragedy

There are two sides told in every story. In D.L. Griffin s Birth of a Nation the story is told through the eyes of two families, the Camerons who are from the south and the Stoneman s who reside in the north. The notion of this film was pro-south during the Civil War and the Reconstruction Period and was such a tragedy because war isn t a glorious.

The film portrays the South through the Camerons, a family from Piedmont, South Carolina, who own a cotton plantation near by. It seems as if everything is at peace, with the slaves at work in the fields, picking cotton twelve hours a day and the way of life seems perfect in the Old South. As you watch the film you gain support for this family. The family shows around their old boarding friends from school their cotton plantation. During this scene the black slaves are entertaining the families with singing and dancing during their two-hour dinner break in exchange for the twelve-hour work day and support is gained for the southern family due to the kindness and compassion that is shown to their slaves. Then the war breaks out and the two families friendship is tested due to their apposing sides but they vow to visit each other after all the war is over and done with.

The town of Piedmont is then ransacked and attacked by a black militia leaded by a scalawag white captain. The guerrilla soldiers terrorized the Cameron family home and the women were frightened and hid in the attic until the town was saved by the Confederated soldiers who heard of the news and came to save the day.

Through the course of the film you gain sympathy for the south through the eyes of the Camerons as their trials and tribulation were shown because of the war. The Civil War is such a tragedy for the reason that many lives were lost. Pain and sorrow were inflicted on families and friends due to the lost of loved ones and the reconstruction of the south post-civil war was harsh due to the things lost and damaged by the war.