“Fun and Frolic†on the Cameron Plantation
By Jillian Sibio, with comments by Caitlin Prozonic and Adrianna Abreu
[1] The plantation scene in D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation serves as an artistic means to represent the Southern Lost Cause myth, in which the South’s defeat in the Civil War is downplayed and the issue of slavery is viewed in a positive light. In “Griffith’s View of History,†Melvyn Stokes cites Thomas Connelly and Barbara Bellows as saying the myth of the Lost Cause was divided into two parts: the inner Lost Cause and the national Lost Cause. The national Lost Cause was “for the most part a creation of Southern literature†and “ignored the subjects of the Confederacy and Southern defeat.†It is in this fantasy created by the Southern media that the plantation scene in The Birth of a Nation exists, and these shots of slaves working the Cameron family land function in the film to romanticize the notion of slavery and present the audience with a picture of the stereotypical loyal, happy slave as defined by the Lost Cause.
[2] There are some basic elements in the scene that contribute to the overall significance of the Lost Cause in the film. The scene opens with the visiting Stoneman family from the North being shown around the slave quarters on the Cameron family’s plantation in the Civil War-era South. The setting is in front of the slaves’ cabins at midday, and an intertitle speaks of the typical work day: the slaves work from six in the morning until six at night with a two-hour break for dinner. (see comment by Caitlin Prozonic) These shots suggest the slaves are treated well and not overly physically exhausted from their work, which in reality was grueling, uncomfortable labor. As Bruce Chadwick notes, white society was willingly served by black slaves who “were typically shown as helpful mammies, obliging butlers, smiling carriage-drivers, joyful cotton-pickers, and tap-dancing entertainers†-- a sentiment of the Lost Cause that is further emphasized in the film by the next shot of the slaves dancing for the entertainment of the guests. When the white characters in the scene are leaving, the director Griffith shows the audience two distinct instances suggesting the approval of a white supremacist society by the blacks. First, two older slaves approach Ben Cameron, and he shakes hands with one man and pats the other man on the back in a friendly manner. Second, the slaves are shown nodding approvingly at their master as he turns to leave, almost as if they accept their place in society and ultimately accept the institution of slavery as a whole. These shots function as a way to show the Lost Cause through portraying the slaves as happy with their lives, with no desire to change the current state of affairs.
[3] An interesting point to note while watching the film is the way blacks are portrayed in the first half of The Birth of a Nation, such as in the plantation scene, compared to the second portion of the film. The first half aims to show slavery in a flattering light in which the slaves are content with their place in Southern society and even happy with their lives. Stokes says, “the enthusiasm of the whole Southern community, including slaves, for the war effort demonstrates an acceptance of the existing state of society, including slavery.†Also, the actual amount of physical labor the slaves were forced to endure working on the plantation is significantly minimized in the film, and when slaves are shown working they are smiling and seem to be enjoying themselves. There are also no visible signs of unrest or discontent among the black population in the first part of the film and within this scene, which contrasts greatly with the second half in which almost all slaves revolt against their masters and are shown as wild, uncontrollable savages. Examples of their unruly behavior can be found in the scenes depicting the mostly-black members of the House of Representatives in South Carolina eating, drinking, and fighting at their first legislative meeting and in the scene in which Lynch orders a black militia to invade the Cameron’s house, where they harass the white family. Also, it is important to note the difference in how the slaves and the whites interact at different points in the film. In the plantation scene, Ben Cameron shows affection towards the slaves who approach him and has no problem shaking hands with one man as if he were an equal. This is strikingly different from the scenes in the latter part of the film in which men and women alike show distaste at having to make physical contact with the blacks, even with something as harmless as a handshake. For example, in the second half of the film Silas Lynch is introduced to the “Little Colonel†and Elsie Stoneman, and Elsie moves away from Lynch in fear while the white man crosses his arms and turns away from the newly-appointed black political leader.
[4] From watching not only this scene in the film but the film in its entirety, one can conclude that the director clearly wanted to elicit a specific response from the audience. Griffith wanted the masses to become proponents of the Lost Cause, and the planation scene serves his purpose well. Slavery was represented in a positive light, which ultimately presents the viewer with a very biased perspective of history. One reviewer even praised the film for its portrayal of the “fun and frolic of the plantation days,†which is probably extremely disturbing for anyone in today’s society to even fathom. Griffith makes a convincing argument for the Southern agenda in the plantation scene in particular through his use of intertitles suggesting the fair working conditions for the slaves, representations of the stereotypical “loyal slave,†and shots highlighting the cooperation and mutual respect of the blacks and white society, all of which lead to the viewer being tricked into a blissful state of ignorance about the true face of slavery.
Comments
Throughout this scene, the tune “Turkey in the Straw†is played while the slaves dance on happily for their white masters. This little ditty plays in the background, causing us to feel light and in a good mood as we watch the black men dance for their master. As Sibio mentions, it seems as if the slaves do not seem to be doing back-breaking labor, even though history suggests otherwise. It is interesting to note that the tune played in the background that gives us this light-hearted feeling about slavery was actually popularized by blackface performances during the early-to- mid-1800s. “Turkey in the Straw†is sometimes accompanied with lyrics that, in their earliest form, were written in a lyrical form that showed lack of education: “Turkey in de straw, turkey in de hay / Turkey in de straw, turkey in de hay / Roll 'em up an' twist 'em up a high tuc-ka-haw / An' twist 'em up a tune called Turkey in the Straw.â€
This tune was originally known as “Zip Coon.†The word “coon,†an abbreviation of “raccoon,†is a racist, offensive term for a lazy black man, portraying them as animals rather than human beings, stereotyping them as good-for-nothing. “Turkey in the Straw†is a song that is offensive to African Americans, a song that was first used in minstrel performances as white men sang and dance in an exaggerated fashion while wearing blackface, making black men and women as laughable characters, once again dehumanizing them. This tune was not written or sung by black men, but it was begun as an American folk tune with a racist edge. This shows that not only is the history of Birth of a Nation inaccurate while the plot is racist, but even the score that accompanies the film itself to help draw in viewers to the propagandistic message of the film is filled with racist history as well. (see comment by Adrianna Abreu)
I agree with Caitlin, D.W. Griffith places key songs within his film as a propaganda tool to not only enforce the racist plot, but also he places songs like "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Yankee Doodle" to sway audiences into thinking that his film is some sort of pure American documentary. In the last fifteen minutes of the film when the Ku Klux Klan starts to ride into the town to help the distraught white people from the black people, charging music is being played as if to naturally insinuate a rescue. Although the majority of the score in the film was originally written just for the film, it is the key songs like "zip coon" and "The Star Spangled Banner" played during the Klan's rescue scene that allow Griffith to pull a naturally patriotic and politically correct card throughout his film.
