Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | T | Textual Studies in Canada

In search of truth: deconstructing authenticity in cinematic arts.

Article Excerpt
Our perception, understanding and recording of history often tell us less about an actual event than about the mindset and perception of the society and era in which it was recorded. At no time have we understood this concept more than we do now. Nevertheless, most historical film critics continue either to neglect this concept or to assign it minor importance. As a result we are developing a tendency to focus more on the messenger than on the message itself. This paper examines the paradox of societal norms that are justified as historicities and the controversial aspects of cinematic historicities.

I will first argue against the legitimacy of attempting to formulate criteria; I will then offer the controversial Birth of a Nation as an authentic representation of the mindset of its era. The concept of authenticity is the product of an enlightened world that has substituted its cosmology for the virtues of scientific examination. Examining objects, people and events is a relatively objective practice; however, using the accuracy of each--together or in part--to authenticate the film is simply illogical. Ironically, the accuracy of one does not necessarily impact the other.

The concept of historicity or authenticity, as supported by historical facts, is in a constant state of flux. History is being rewritten at this very minute, despite the fact that except for unproven fields of psychic phenomena--we are talking Back to the Future--there has been no scientifically proven process whereby the order of historical events may be changed. In order to draw out these issues, I will begin with a sketch of the American Civil War and Reconstruction period. I will then examine the constructs of perception and authenticity, and apply them to the film, Birth of a Nation and that film's maker, D.W. Griffith.

History: Making Hatred and Romance

To understand Griffith's inspiration for this motion picture and the sentiment that shaped his perception, we must examine the historical events that shaped his life. John Kehoe states, "There is no area of our life about which we don't have a set of beliefs and assumptions, some of which we accepted way back in early childhood and have defended ever since. Once acquired we rarely question these beliefs ... we assume that they are all true; why else would we have them" (75). In the two decades prior to the Civil War, the American economy had grown by 50 to 60 per cent. During the 1860s, its growth--although a mere 22 per cent--was attributed solely to the North. The economic costs of the war were drastic, but primarily for the South, whose economy had relied on its four million slaves (Boyer 429). McPherson claims that the majority of southerners felt that "their country without slave labor, would be completely worthless" (317), and it was very close to the truth. The Civil War produced more than financial hardship. It created hatred within the heart of Southern society--a hatred that was directed at the population held responsible by this society itself, for its emotional and financial decline.

Neither...