So tonight I just saw a 7:10 showing of the new movie by first-time director Nate Parker called "The Birth of a Nation" and I wanted to give my two cents on it. I had learned about Nat Turner and his ultimately futile slave revolt in U.S. History class during elementary school, and I'm surprised a movie was never made about it until now. Now that we have Nat Turner's story on the big screen, I thought I'd discuss my thoughts about what I saw.
For those of you who don't know the story, Nat Turner was a slave who was born innately intelligent and knew how to read and write from a young age. He was also very devout and through his skills developed into a charismatic preacher. Over time he became disillusioned with the institution of slavery itself and plotted to strike back at his oppressors, like Spartacus from millennia before. Using his personal influence, he gathered many supporters to help fight for his cause, invoking religious symbolism as a rallying cry. Also like Spartacus however, Turner's revolt against the slave-holding class proved to be a failure, as he and his followers were ultimately executed for their transgressions. It would not be until the aftermath of the Civil War three decades later that Turner's dream of abolishing slavery would finally be realized.
I must say that I like the purposeful irony of the title itself. There was another movie called "The Birth of a Nation" that came out a century ago that is much different from this one. The old movie pretty much glorified the Ku Klux Klan and demonized black people (with some white actors even wearing blackface), while the new movie challenges the racism propagated from that earlier era and retools the name for a greater purpose.
Nate Parker stars as the leading role in this movie and he does a great job in capturing Turner's magnetic charisma and presence, making it believable when he's able to rally disparate slaves together for a united cause. The build-up overall is solid and as you see what Turner suffers through as a slave, you can at least gain an understanding for why he commits some of his more reprehensible crimes.
You don't really get the tear-jerking, bone-crushing experience of slavery in all its horror like you do with "12 Years A Slave," but there still is some very potent imagery that gives you an idea of just how bad it was to be a slave in 19th-century America. This is definitely a movie that I recommend people see in theaters right now while it's out.
Even though the main character is ultimately unable to accomplish his goal in the movie, he does become a martyr for a cause that more people would see to its end. The title of the film is quite apt because you could say that the more diverse and accepting America we see today (and are fighting to maintain) came about as a result of people like Nat Turner challenging the status quo of his day and inspiring countless followers to continue the fight for freedom and a recognition of their human rights into the present day.
Rating: 4/5
