Revisiting 'Birth of a Nation' in Today's America

Published May 2, 2006 at 1:53 PM MDT

Actors wearing Ku Klux Klan regalia chase down a white actor in blackface in <em>The Birth of a Nation</em>. — Actors wearing Ku Klux Klan regalia chase down a white actor in blackface in *The Birth of a Nation*.

Author and film historian Donald Bogle talks to Robert Siegel about D.W. Griffith's film, The Birth of a Nation. The Civil War epic from 1915 has been highly criticized for its celebration of the Ku Klux Klan and its representation of Southern blacks -- played by white actors in blackface -- as uncivilized rapists.

At the same time, Griffith's film has earned praise for numerous technical achievements, such as its pioneering use of close-ups and tracking shots.

Bogle is co-hosting a series on Turner Classic Movies about African Americans in Hollywood films that will include the controversial film.