The portrayal of these minorities in this Hollywood film crippled the any movement in Hollywood to go beyond these stereotypical African American character types for years, causing Hollywood’s foundation to be crippled by such blatant racism. The influence the 1915 Hollywood film delivered, causing riots, censors, and bans by audiences in the United States, making an impact in areas such as highlighting racism in film, and the enrollment of white men into the KKK, allowing the hate group more steam to push their agenda. The true impact of big Hollywood studios was the power and influence they had on audiences, dominating the screen over any other competitor. This dialogue of race, film, and story fought to set both the precedent for film narrative and character portrayal dominance but also shape public opinion of the American audience, and in the end, Hollywood’s voice rose to top influence, bringing along its racist lineage along.
Griffith’s Hollywood film was unique for its time, boasting a 3-hour run time at a time when most films at the time had a run time of no more than 15 minutes. This expanded run time allowed for expanded story lines, and character development never before seen on screen. This …show more content…
The pre-Civil War scenes showed the idyllic, golden South, with the romance of the white Plantation owners, and the simple joys of the slaves, dancing and entertaining their masters. Showing slavery in such idyllic terms portrayed a biased view of history, and the film would continue to show such revisions to history. This would complicate the ever-growing trend to whitewashed history, and lose this piece of Hollywood foundation due to its troubling nature. Yet, its troubling nature, and flawed narrative gives it all the more value as an historical artifact that cannot be forgotten simply because it is
Griffith’s Hollywood film was unique for its time, boasting a 3-hour run time at a time when most films at the time had a run time of no more than 15 minutes. This expanded run time allowed for expanded story lines, and character development never before seen on screen. This …show more content…
The pre-Civil War scenes showed the idyllic, golden South, with the romance of the white Plantation owners, and the simple joys of the slaves, dancing and entertaining their masters. Showing slavery in such idyllic terms portrayed a biased view of history, and the film would continue to show such revisions to history. This would complicate the ever-growing trend to whitewashed history, and lose this piece of Hollywood foundation due to its troubling nature. Yet, its troubling nature, and flawed narrative gives it all the more value as an historical artifact that cannot be forgotten simply because it is