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View Full Version : The Birth of a Nation (Nate Parker)



Ezee E
10-22-2016, 04:59 AM
http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2016/05/16/birth-of-a-nation_0.jpg?itok=KYlcfF5J

IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4196450/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

TGM
10-22-2016, 05:01 AM
I really do wish you'd include the "The" in the title for these threads. Makes searching for them easier, plus, the lack of it just feels wrong (because it is wrong :p ).

Ezee E
10-22-2016, 10:46 PM
I really do wish you'd include the "The" in the title for these threads. Makes searching for them easier, plus, the lack of it just feels wrong (because it is wrong :p ).

Now that's it is updated, I can only home you have some commentary about the movie.

With that, the imagery of the posters is stronger than any image in the movie, as it almost seems like things we've all seen before (and possibly better). What is interesting in this movie is the power of religion and education. Without it, there is no uprising most likely. Heck, even as Nat Turner is professing against slavery, some of the uneducated whites have no idea what is even going on. As the violence towards slaves escalates with Turner's visits, the angrier his sermons get.

12 Years a Slave seems to approach this more artistically and the path of Solomon Northup is just far more interesting as he gets deeper and deeper down south. There's more sense of the types of slaves, the types of owners and houses, and overall culture. Nat Turner's visions could make it something different, but I feel it kind of speeds to getting to the action a little too quickly, without showing the strength of religion.

TGM
10-23-2016, 03:58 AM
Now that's it is updated, I can only home you have some commentary about the movie.

Thank you. I know it's a small thing, but that really is just a pet peeve of mine that drives me nuts, so I do appreciate it. :)

As for the movie itself, I'll agree that the marketing is largely stronger than the movie itself. I remember the trailer for this thing giving me chills, which is more than can be said for any moment in the movie itself. (That teeth scene was really freaking haunting, though.) Not that it was bad, but the whole "revolution" aspect almost comes across like an afterthought, where as it felt like that was going to be at least half the movie based on trailers. Instead, it's just like the last 15 minutes or so, starting up a bit too late, and ending rather abrubtly without leaving too much of an impact. In fact, the battle sequence at the end is shot in such an underwhelming manner, it honestly feels like they ran out of budget before they got around to it, which might also explain why the revolution as a whole typically makes up such a small portion of the film.

That said, I thought the movie was still pretty decent. Seeing as its more a biopic about Nat Turner in general, I'm not sure that the movie earns its "birth of a nation" title, but as a biopic, it was definitely an interesting way to do this movie. I agree that the movie's use of religion to both try and maintain order and later stir up the uprising was pretty telling, and mirrors how religion continues to be used in similar manners to push agendas this very day.

I do also like how, despite the similarities to 12 Years A Slave, this movie shows us similar horrifying images, but from a different perspective. Where as Solomon Northup was a free man captured into slavery, experiencing things as an outsider, Nat is born and raised in this environment, and honestly just thinks of it as being normal (largely in part due to his master treating them relatively decently, compared to the norm). And it's not until he starts visiting other slaves and seeing how harshly their masters treat them that the severity of his situation begins to dawn on him, and similarly, his own master, as the other slave owners' harsher tendencies begin to rub more and more off on him as the movie progresses.

So no, it's not bad, but it should have been great. And had more of an emphasis been placed on the actual uprising, I think the movie could have been far more effective overall.