Talk:D. W. Griffith
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[edit] mother
Any information available on his mother? If not, it seems awkward to say that he was "born to" his father alone. Southleft 05:22, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] comments
Ebert states that "As slavery is the great sin of America, so "The Birth of a Nation" is Griffith's sin, for which he tried to atone all the rest of his life. So instinctive were the prejudices he was raised with as a 19th century Southerner that the offenses in his film actually had to be explained to him." Griffith, just like Riefenstahl, was an outstanding director and a racist of the most genuine kind. Interestingly, DW is remembered for the former and Leni for the latter. This should also be stated in the article. Cheers.
Shouldn't this be at D. W. Griffith? I don't think I've ever heard him called "David" before. What's the reasoning in putting the page here? --Camembert 20:34 Nov 10, 2002 (UTC)
- Eclecticology removed this Q, with the comment it was "no longer applicable" in the edit summary. Why is it no longer applicable, pray tell? I still think the page should be at "D. W." rather than "David Wark". I know it's not a very big deal so long as there is a redirect, but if we're going to have naming conventions (use the most common name), we ought to follow them, surely? I'll wait a week, and then move the page myself if there are no objections. --Camembert 13:04 Nov 30, 2002 (UTC)
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- Ec also went about turning D. W. Griffith into an orphan redirect. Now the only links to D. W. Griffith are on talk pages. In fact if we failed to bring-up this point then D. W. Griffith would be invisible to external search engines! I don't see how using the full name for the page title is at all useful to either our writers or readers. The only "correct" name for something in English is what most English speakers who are aware of the subject use. David Wark Griffith is not as widely used as D. W. Griffith. --mav
Per the above talk I have moved this page. --mav
I have January 3 as his b-day. Does anyone have more information on this? Danny
[edit] Raised by blacks?
An unusual claim on the IMDB is that DW Griffith was raised by African Americans. Is this true? And if so, how did it affect his later views about them?
I'm unsure whether the phrase is a reference to being in a white household with black servants, or actually raised in a black family... a curious story, and if true, it should be included in this biography.
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- It just means that he was nursed by a black servant during his childhood. That was normal for the Southern gentry at the time and they would form close bonds with their nurses (look at Scarlett O'Hara and her nurse in Gone With the Wind). It didn't necessarily mean they would grow up without any racism (indeed, it might have made them see blacks as natural servants). That's my two cents, ayway. :) The Singing Badger 12:52, 12 May 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Does his film "Intolerance" provide evidence that he changed as a person?
Does his film "Intolerance" provide evidence that he changed as a person?
- No not really, he wasn't trying to make up for the racsim in Birth of a Nation as often claimed. MechBrowman 00:35, August 2, 2005 (UTC)
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- You are correct sir. It's a myth that Intolerance was some sort of atonement for Birth of a Nation. Intolerance was Griffith's defense of his right to have made Birth — the intolerant people, from his point of view, were those people who protested Birth of a Nation. I don't have a source handy, but that's the way I learned it in film school. --Kevin Myers | on Wheels! 15:33, 19 October 2005 (UTC)
[edit] NPOV notice
I inserted the NPOV notice as a result of some of the comments on his achievements. I also removed the following:
- "On December 15, 1999, declaring that Griffith "helped foster intolerable racial stereotypes," The Directors Guild of America's National Board announced it would rename the D.W. Griffith Award, the Guild's highest honor."
At the DGA website, I only found the May 2000 President's Report: Focus on Diversity that is about the Award's name change. If someone finds the source for this quote they can reinsert it. - Ted Wilkes 00:06, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
This article seems to be to be quite encyclopedic, unbiased and fact based. Where are the 'comments on his achievements' (except on this page)? Thane Eichenauer 08:04, 31 October 2005 (UTC)
Added Totally Disputed tag, really ought to check the applicable section. --Scienceman123 01:42, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] No Point of Veiw Shots?
Griffith did use point of veiw shots in Italic textThe Birth of a NationItalic text, they occur with the use of masking when the girl is looking at the squirrel and the also occur when the black soldier is watching her from the bushes.
[edit] Unsourced
I've added this tag because the article cites no scholarly source for its strong assertions. It may be true that D.W. Griffith was a racist. If so, then it should be easy to cite at least one film historian or other reputable source that says so. The contention that films such as Intolerance were attempts at atonement for Birth of a Nation deserves discussion with arguments from both sides. Durova 04:47, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] NOTICE!!
Griffith Park in L.A. was NOT named for D.W. Griffith, but for Col. Griffith (who owned the land originally). Source: Check the Wikipedia entry for Griffith Park!
I have deleted the false lines in this article pertaining to "Intolerance being a flop" which it certianly was not.
I have also delted the portion making the ridiculous statement that the film "Birth of a Nation" was responsible for the "resurgence of the KKK". This is totally fabricated and shows someone's idiotic imagination at work.
My sources are from the book that is the authoritative master work on this subject. The book is titled: "D.W. GRIFFITH - An American Life" by Richard Schickel (Limelight Editions Publishing 1996).
I suggest you read it objectively before fabricating trivial falsehoods about this subject.
According to Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics, the film "helped spark [the KKK's] rebirth".
[edit] "The Struggle" link
Where it talks about D.W. Griffith's 1931 film, "The Srugggle," it is linked to an album of the same name. Since this has nothing to do with the movie, I am taking away the brackets from it.
