THE BIRTH OF A NATION CELEBRATES FREEDOM FOR SLAVES—FOR A TIME
A biopic of Nat Turner (played by director Ned Parker), The Birth of a Nation sets the framework for the famous Turner Rebellion of slaves in Southhampton County, Virginia (though filming is in Savannah, Georgia), who killed 60 Whites in two days before being gunned down by the naval officers in 1831. Turner leads the rebellion for several reasons. At an early age (played by Tony Espinosa), he teaches himself to read and thus has the intelligence not only to perfect his command of the English language and the Bible but also is used by his master and boyhood playmate, Sam Turner (Armie Hammer), to preach at several cotton plantations, with a view to “civilizing” slaves into accepting their fate. The second reason is what he sees with his own eyes—the barbarities of slavery, though much is fictional due to lack of a complete historical record: As a boy, he witnesses his father’s brutal murder. As a preacher, he views whippings, forced feedings of chained prisoners, and much more. Some of the story revolves around the love of his life, Cherry (Aja Naomi King), who is later gang raped. And when he baptizes a White man, Sam Turner puts him in stocks and orders a whipping that leaves his body lacerated. The gang rape of his wife and his own punishment for baptizing a White man evidently serve as the basis for a plan to mobilize slaves, who are more numerous than their masters. Nat Turner views a solar eclipse and an apparition as signs to rebel. The film shows how the rebellion was conducted and the backlash. Titles reveal that more than 200 Blacks were slaughtered, including the hanging of Nat Turner. Much of the film involves calm whispering by the good people, intemperate yelling by the bad. The Political Film Society has nominated The Birth of a Nation as best film on human rights of 2016. MH