Review of The Birth of a Nation (2016) by Brandon E — 15 Oct 2016

What meant a lot for me was to see this film with my parents. My dad hasn't been inside a theater since Malcolm X at the Highland theater. So I felt that it would be a perfect return for him to see a film that's considered to be highly controversial much like X.

The film details the long awaited rebellion of the slave Nat Turner. I remember reading about Nat Turner from an old black history book my mother had and always wanted to see a film based off the incident. I recommend for people who want to see the history of Nat Turner's rebellion on film.

On another note, I respect the fact that this film was named Birth of a nation. An attempt to counter the idea from the D.W. Griffith film that this country will seek solace with White Supremacy. The idea that this film that depicts the wrongdoing of blacks and the revolt of slaves against there owners will forever be connected to the phrase "Birth of A Nation". I respect the film for its attempt of changing the ideologies of the original film. It is interesting that Nate Parker who's been acting for 10+ years all of the sudden has a past rape allegation and his interracial marriage brought up once it was announced that he was doing this film.

Overall I felt it was an okay film, I was looking forward to this film due to rumors of Oscar buzz, however a film of this nature will probably not be recognized or it will be snubbed. I do recommend to check this film out for the excellent directing debut of Nate Parker and the infamous revolt. However the film is not the epic that many intended it to be.