Birth and Rebirth of a Nation: Sept 26

Birth and Rebirth of a Nation
Saturday, September 26, 10am-7:30pm
The New School
Tishman Auditorium, Johnson/Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th St
Free: reservations recommended

Birth and Rebirth of a Nation considers current issues of race and representation in the media and beyond. D.W. Griffith’s notorious white supremacist manifesto is discussed in the context of contemporary developments in an attempt to reconcile the racial imagination of the average American of today with that of the average American of less than a century ago, when The Birth of a Nation was the most popular film of the day. Speakers analyze recent scholarship on racism in the period of the film and examine the film’s legacy and continuing impact. How do we think critically about the contested notion of a “post-racial” America as we look back at history? How has the social, political, and cultural context that created The Birth of a Nation transformed over time? Organized on occasion of the Vera List Center's 2009–2010 program theme, Speculating on Change.

10:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.
Screening of D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915), b/w & color, silent, 180 minutes. Original sound score and live accompaniment by Michael Stein, introduced by New School Jazz faculty member Sonny Kompanek.

2:00—5:00 p.m.
Colloquium. Speakers include Douglas A. Blackmon, David Blight, Bill Gaskins, Margo Jefferson, Michelle Materre, Assistant Professor, Miriam J. Petty, and Michele Wallace.

6:00—7:30 p.m.
Screening of DJ Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation (2002), color, sound, 90 minutes. A critical revision of Griffith’s historic film, followed by Q & A with filmmaker Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid).

http://www.newschool.edu/eventDetail.aspx?id=30974