In Part 1 of the season finale, Christine and Jessica watch and discuss the first half of Birth of a Nation (screenplay by D.W. Griffith and Frank E. Woods). The movie, which was the catalyst for the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1910s and early 1920s, is groundbreaking technically and cinematically; it is also a deeply offensive propaganda film. It was challenged and banned in eight states after its release. Roger Ebert famously said in his review that Birth of a Nation "is not a bad film because it argues for evil...it is a great film that argues for evil. To understand how it does so is to learn a great deal about film, and even something about evil."

Pre-order Jessica's next book We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration, coming June 18!

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"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jessica Goudeau and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @jessica_goudeau.

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Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald designed our logo. Jackson Rodriguez is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Join us next week for Part 2 of our season finale about Birth of a Nation!

Links for Episode 16:

• Link to Birth of a Nation on Youtube (it's in the public domain, so anyone can watch for free)
• Link to Roger Ebert's review
• Popular reactions to The Birth of a Nation from the Library of Congress
• "100 Years Later, What's the Legacy of 'Birth of a Nation'?" NPR, 2015