# Remake of Birth of a Nation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2010, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133 "2010-12-06T10:46:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/1 "2010-12-06T10:46:38Z")
Considering DW Griffith’s film _Birth of a Nation_ is close to its 100th anniversary of production what if some film company decided to remake it using the same characters but at the same time historically accurate rather than KKK apologetica? How would the plot turn out and who would get casted? ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/2 "2010-12-06T10:54:22Z")
Mel Gibson should direct it. He’s a great American. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/3 "2010-12-06T10:59:37Z")
Sounds like a great idea. As a follow-up, we could print a special edition of \*Mein Kampf \*without the antisemitism. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/4 "2010-12-06T11:08:01Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Sounds like a great idea. As a follow-up, we could print a special edition of \*Mein Kampf \*without the antisemitism. The antisemitism will be available to real fans through the Deluxe edition, off course. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/5 "2010-12-06T11:56:58Z")
I remember reading in the 1970s that Roger Corman (of all people) wanted to do a remake but the rights to the novel/film were too tangled. I don’t know if it would be easier today or not. Casting: Miley Cyrus as the Lillian Gish character Russell Crowe as “The Little Colonel” Fred Thompson as Senator Stoneman Barack Obama in drag as Stoneman’s mistress ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/6 "2010-12-06T12:15:20Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > The antisemitism will be available to real fans through the Deluxe edition, off course. I’m saving up for the boxed set myself! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/7 "2010-12-06T12:20:29Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m saving up for the boxed set myself! The one with the reproduction hood and noose? ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/8 "2010-12-06T12:47:02Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The one with the reproduction hood and noose? No, the one with the inflammable cross. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/9 "2010-12-06T13:32:36Z")
_Birth of a Nation_ was based in large part off of a novel called _The Clansman_ which was also made into a play of the same name. The movie is currently in the public domain so I would imagine anyone is free to do whatever they want with it. [http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/dixonclan/](http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/dixonclan/) You can find a complete copy of _The Clansman_ here. (Site make you fill out a survey that takes 1 minute to complete) I honestly don’t think you could really remake the movie these days regardless of injecting any historic accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/10 "2010-12-06T13:46:29Z")
The problem is that **The Birth of a Nation** is a movie about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force that protected the South from the blacks who were (insert every bad stereotype of Blacks ever used\*). It could never be made straight. The film was considered racist even when it first opened. The only way it could be done would be the make the Klan the bad guys, which isn’t a remake. You might be able to do a dark comedy version, I suppose. \*Film historian Charles Bogle pointed out that the major film stereotypes of blacks – even today – can be traced back to **The Birth of a Nation**. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/11 "2010-12-06T14:00:12Z")
I’m sad because I thought this thread was going to be about DJ Spooky’s brilliant “remix” of **Birth of a Nation** … > **[Amazon.com: Rebirth of a Nation (Starz Inside) : DJ Spooky: Movies & TV](https://www.amazon.com/Rebirth-Nation-Starz-Inside-Stien/dp/B001DHXSYE)** > > First released in 1915, D.W. Griffith’s BIRTH OF A NATION ignited worldwide controversy with its graphic depictions of racism and white supremacy in the post-Civil War south. Nearly 100 years later, Paul D. Miller - also known as conceptual... ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/12 "2010-12-06T16:01:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The only way it could be done would be the make the Klan the bad guys, which isn’t a remake. You might be able to do a dark comedy version, I suppose. This is the \*\*PERFECT \*\*project for Paul Verhoeven! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/13 "2010-12-06T16:16:54Z")
Hijack: The OP was posted at what appears to be 2:46am Pacific Time. Curtis, don’t you have school today? How can you be up at almost 3am and be alert at school? But back to your question, as everyone else said, the movie is really racist and I doubt there would be any interest in a remake, so I’m not sure why you’re even asking. (FYI, you can download [the whole thing](http://www.archive.org/details/dw_griffith_birth_of_a_nation) quite legally from [Archive.org](http://Archive.org).) It was significant at the time because it pioneered all sorts of camera techniques that are really common now. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/14 "2010-12-06T16:18:22Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > You might be able to do a dark comedy version, I suppose. In my head this is starring Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little, fresh from filming _Blazing Saddles_. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/15 "2010-12-06T17:48:53Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Considering DW Griffith’s film _Birth of a Nation_ is close to its 100th anniversary of production what if some film company decided to remake it using the same characters but at the same time historically accurate rather than KKK apologetica? How would the plot turn out and who would get casted? The same characters, but historically accurate? How would that work? The _characters_ aren’t historically accurate. “Evil Senator Stoneman” never really existed – the name was swiped from [George Stoneman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stoneman), but based on [Thaddeus Stevens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaddeus_Stevens), I believe. The Stoneman name was probably being maligned for his being part of Sherman’s command, although ironically he opposed Reconstruction. Nonetheless, the fictional characters named sorta after real people really wrecks any attempt at historical accuracy. Although, it was kinda awesome being “Evil Senator Stoneman” after we had to watch BoaN in high school, 'cause I had the same last name. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/16 "2010-12-06T17:49:19Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/17 "2010-12-06T20:49:59Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Hijack: The OP was posted at what appears to be 2:46am Pacific Time. Curtis, don’t you have school today? How can you be up at almost 3am and be alert at school? I was staying up home late. And if Robert Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_ could be made into anti military/war movie why not this into an anti-racist movie? Thus the KKK would be depicted as a racist organization who murders blacks, Reconstruction would be portrayed more sympathetically and accurately. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/18 "2010-12-06T20:54:58Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I was staying up home late. > > And if Robert Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_ could be made into anti military/war movie why not this into an anti-racist movie? Thus the KKK would be depicted as a racist organization who murders blacks, Reconstruction would be portrayed more sympathetically and accurately. I would argue that such a radical change in POV would make the new movie _Birth of a Nation_ only in name. It would be like redoing _Casablanca_ with the Nazis as heros and having Ilsa escape by shooting Rick in the back of the head. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/19 "2010-12-06T21:43:02Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Considering DW Griffith’s film _Birth of a Nation_ is close to its 100th anniversary of production what if some film company decided to remake it using the same characters but at the same time historically accurate rather than KKK apologetica? How would the plot turn out and who would get casted? Well, you can’t. I mean, the movie was based on a [novel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clansman) that assumes the White-Southern version of the history of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, and which glorifies the Klan, or Clan. That’s the story. It would be possible to make a more realistic film about Reconstruction, but it would be a completely different story, not a rebooting/revisioning of _Birth of a Nation._ ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133/20 "2010-12-06T22:09:03Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I would argue that such a radical change in POV would make the new movie _Birth of a Nation_ only in name. Exactly as with Verhoeven’s _Starship Troopers_. Not a great idea either way ;). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-of-birth-of-a-nation/563133.md?page=2)