Birth of a Nation Research
Birth of a Nation is based on a book titled The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Klu Klux Klan, Written by Thomas Dixon Jr. The 1915 film Birth of a Nation gained controversy by portraying the KKK as the heroes of the film, leading a righteous crusade against the newly-freed (and riotous) former slaves in the southern US. The KKK used this film and its imagery as a recruiting tool to bolster their numbers, due to its portrayal of the KKK as righteous heroes and black men (white actors in blackface) as primitive savages who want to rape white woman.
Oscar Micheaux
In response to Birth of a Nation, Oscar Micheaux wrote Within our Gates, which provided a different (African-American) perspective of similar themes present in Birth of a Nation. The film encourages sympathy of the individuals being lynched rather than the lynchers.
As a result of Birth of a Nation's controversy, D. W. Griffith made a follow-up film, called Intolerance, in 1916.
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