Creating a Villain, Spreading a Myth: D.W. Griffith and the Fear of Miscegenation
By Mary Brune, with comments by Margaret Watters and Karen Haberland
[1] At a time of slightly buried, but not dead, southern loyalty for the Ku Klux Klan, D.W. Griffith directed a film that would refuel the fire under the feet of racist southerners. Birth of a Nation, Griffith’s filmic rendition of Thomas Dixon’s novel, pronounced the African-American population to be many things. Disobedient, unruly, uncivilized, and sometimes evil are only a few adjectives to describe Griffith’s African-American characters. However, worst of all may be Griffith’s portrayal of African men as sexually driven, uncontrollable, rapists. And who were the black men’s main target? White women. Griffith, who grew up in a home with financial hardship because of the South’s defeat and with a former confederate colonel father, had a purposeful agenda while making Birth of a Nation. One of his most dominant purposes was to provoke fear of miscegenation in his white viewers. With characters comparable to a classic horror movie, the portrayal of black men as animals, an attempt at demonstrating that all black men, no matter their profession are not to be trusted, and small filmic details to increase intensity, Griffith sets up his audience to be terrified of all African-Americans.
[2] Without a monster, there would be no horror film. Without some creature to make you jump, make you scream, make you tremble, a film simply does not fit the mold. Griffith did not resort to the typical Frankenstein or Dracula but created his own genre of monster: the black rapist. Silas Lynch, the mulatto lieutenant-governor, fills the role of Birth of a Nation beast. Aggressive, insensitive, and evil, Lynch perfectly captures a classic Hollywood villain. To achieve a threatening rapist, Griffith gives his monster unusual intentions compared to the typical horror film creatures. Lynch is a man defined by his unrestrained sexual drive. His drive is threatening enough to scare any woman sitting in a theater’s audience.
[3] Scare is exactly what Lynch does to Elsie Stoneman, a victim in Birth of a Nation. Griffith’s assignment of victim is in no way random. He make sure to choose a white young woman of high stature in order for his target audience to be able to relate to the damsel-in-distress. There are a few key characteristics that go hand in hand with the victim of horror movies. These characteristics include frailty, vulnerability, and helplessness. These traits are often on the border of stupidity. However, Elsie’s ridiculous, exaggerated traits, allow Lynch to be that much more of a threat. If Elsie was to fight back successfully, the scene would no longer summon fear within the women viewers. (see comment by Margaret Watters)
[4] The last piece to the trio of horror film archetypes is the hero. Instead of chainmail, shields, and swords, Elsie’s knight in shining armor is dressed in a white robe and pointy hat. “The Little Colonel,†who also typifies a classic hero in the way that he is the victim’s love interest, comes to save the day in Birth of a Nation. “The Little Colonel’s†courage and conviction set him up for praise and applause from the audience. By creating a white hero, Griffith further polarizes the African-American population. Not only are the black people the monsters, but now the white people are put on a pedestal as the women’s only saviors.
[5] When reflecting upon classic horror film monsters, it is easy to notice that they all have some inhuman quality. Griffith follows true to this trend by giving his monster animalistic qualities. Lynch’s lack of moral guidelines can be compared to an animal. Unlike a normal human being, Lynch does not appear to use ethics to determine his course of action. Ethical values are thrown aside as Lynch acts on instinct. Even Lynch’s physical characteristics take on an inhuman form. While chasing Elsie Stoneman around his office, Lynch’s eyes bulge from their sockets like a paranoid animal protecting its prey. Lynch pulls his shoulders back and elbows upward like he is preparing himself to leap at her. In the excitement of the moment he pounds on his chest, a motion that is usually associated with gorillas. The mulatto lieutenant-governor goes as far as grabbing the hem of Elsie’s dress to smell it, while his mouth practically unhinges and his eyes widen further. His enthrallment with Elsie’s scent makes Lynch comparable to a common dog.
[6] Another important aspect to consider is Silas Lynch’s status in his community. Griffith did not choose a lower-class, cotton-field worker to play the role of the monster. By selecting Lynch as one of the film’s rapists, Griffith targets the entire black community not just the uneducated laborers. As Charlene Regester writes, Griffith portrays that “Blacks, despite their sophistication, cannot disconnect themselves from beastliness; being black renders them beastly attackers, desirous of white women.†Griffith makes sure to demonstrate Lynch’s sophistication through formal coats and ties, many servants, and an extravagant office.
[7] In this scene in which Elsie Stoneman is chased around a room by a sexually ravenous Lynch, there are a few subtle filming techniques that add to the intensity of the scene. One small but notable aspect of the scene are the characters’ wardrobes. While Lynch and all of his servants are dressed in dark, dull colors, Elsie is wearing a brilliantly white gown. Her white dress contributes to her image of innocence and purity. This furthermore establishes Elsie as the faultless victim. Another detail not to overlook is the music accompanying the scene. As Lynch becomes more excited with his pursuit, the instruments are played faster, creating uneasiness within the viewer.
[8] Although the camera angle in this scene remains fairly constant, it does alternate from a zoomed-out perspective of Lynch’s office to a close-up of Lynch and Elsie individually. Once the lieutenant-governor proposes to Elsie, the camera zooms in on each of their reactions. The focus is put on Elsie as she appears completely shocked and appalled by Lynch’s intentions. Then Lynch’s anger, mainly demonstrated by a protruding lower lip, calls the attention of the camera. The close-up at these times makes their emotions unmistakable. It is crucial that the emotion is captured in order for the audience to become fearful of Lynch and concerned for his victim.
[9] In his highest-acclaimed motion picture, Birth of a Nation, Griffith not only portrays the Ku Klux Klan as heroes of reconstruction, but he also uses fear as a tool to control his audience. One of Griffith’s goals appears to be the establishment of fear of miscegenation within his film’s viewers. To ensure his goal is achieved, Griffith creates Silas Lynch to deliver his message. With Griffith’s use of classic horror film archetypes, animalistic mannerisms, the polarization of all classes of African-Americans, and filmic techniques that add intensity to the scene, it would require great personal effort to view the movie without establishing some bias toward black people. In the eyes of many men, women, and children who did not know fact from myth, Birth of a Nation helped to build a fear of miscegenation that spread throughout white America.
Comments
Griffith’s victim selection is critical to the viewer’s understanding that anyone can fall prey to the voracious sexual monster that is the African American. In addition to being a woman of high social standing, Elsie is the daughter of a politician who sympathizes with the African American cause. Griffith’s decision to make Elsie the victim in this situation insinuates that even those who choose to befriend the African Americans will experience betrayal, as the Stoneman family learns. Though Elsie’s social standing and personality traits are important characteristics that make her an easy target, it is critical to Griffith that she is victimized by a member of the race of people her family so fervently supports. This helps to incite further hate, for Elsie Stoneman is an innocent in more than just her pure sense, but also in that she and her family have campaigned for the rights of her unwanted pursuer and warrant no ill treatment as a result. (see comment by Karen Haberland)
The main role Elsie and her father play in the film is to portray the northern population that is more accepting of blacks. At first, one wonders why Griffith would include these more kind-hearted souls. But then Elsie is attacked by a vicious black man and is saved by the heroic clansmen. Lo and behold, the brain-washed whites have seen the light and are converted to the clan's views. This ability to alter people's views is exactly what Griffith is trying to portray. He hopes that, once seen, this idea will lead others to re-evaluate their positions and further his agenda of white superiority.
