DIFFER Entertainment: Undoing The First Blockbuster

Groundbreaking for its time, the first Hollywood blockbuster, "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) popularized techniques that shaped modern filmmaking, such as cross-cutting, close-ups, and large-scale battle scenes. It was one of the first feature-length films to become a huge financial success, showing commercial opportunity to build an industry around an effective artform.

Whether deliberately designed or coincidentally included, "The Birth of a Nation" promotes several prejudices that crystallized the public opinion of Black men as predatory, incompetent, unintelligent, subservient, and overall inferior. Inspired by the film’s depiction of the KKK, viewers joined the Klan in record numbers leading to a boom of domestic terrorism across the United States. The film exemplifies how storytelling can perpetuate thoughts and systems but also inspire ACTION IN THE REAL WORLD. Media shaped by unethical narratives underscore the urgent need for filmmakers who prioritize healing and empathy.

Our goal is to craft narratives that challenge prejudice, elevate perspectives, and promote understanding. Now, more than ever, the industry must commit to stories that build bridges rather than deepen divides. And in an age where A.I.(fueled by the available media) is poised to teach our children, we should prioritize creating media that undoes any narratives of fear & misinformation that hinder the evolution of our collective consciousness.

2 comments