Film Studies Daily Log

Friday, March 13

We watched the exciting conclusion of Birth of a Nation, in which the Ku Klux Klan rescues Elsie, the town, and the people in the cabin from the "crazed negroes"; North and South (white edition) are reunited in the form of a double Yankee-Dixie wedding, and the Prince of Peace sings "The Star-Spangled Banner."

After our heartbeats subsided we discussed the film and compared it to the Reconstruction documentary we watched part of on Wednesday, outlining their similar facts and their opposing viewpoints.

The class concluded with a moving rendition of Stephen Foster's "Old Black Joe."


Thursday, March 12
Mr. Potratz was absent. Students took a short quiz over Birth of a Nation background and then watched more of the film.