Birth of a Nation *movie review*

Birth of a Nation straight up rocked my soul. I literally left the movie theatre in a trance and for some reason had to control my breathing because I was so emotional. I’m writing this review while listening to Nina Simone’s Strange Fruit because it was the song that touched me the most from the film. Honestly no movie has had this effect on me. Besides after I watch 12 years a slave while in DC and left the movie theatre simply pissed at the ancestors of white people for enslaving and oppressing and beating my people.

Now going to watch this movie was controversial in itself but I would not let anything stop me from hearing the story of Nat Turner. Growing up the history books always grazed over the Nat Turner slave rebellions and I personally think its because society did not want African Americans to actually believe that their people had the ability to rise up and FIGHT. Back in the day BLACK UNITY was feared and to this day in modern day society BLACK UNITY is still feared. This fear can be seen in the fact that Black Lives Matter has been called a hate/terrorist group and other derogatory statements made about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Birth of a Nation is set in the southern part of America during the slavery era. The main character Nathaniel Turner aka Nat Turner somehow acquires the ability to read a young age. The slave owner’s wife finds out about it and decides to take him in and teaches him specifically how to read the Holy Bible. This is done so that when Nat gets older he is able to preach the word and most importantly preach to the slaves and tell them how God wants them to obey their master. When black people were stolen from Africa they were not practicing christianity. Upon arrival to the states White people used Christianity as a brain washing mechanism or as an excuse to enslave the Black race.

As Nat got older and his owner began to struggle to support his farm. He and Nat went around to Slave Plantations in his area and had Nat preach to the slaves that God wanted the slaves to obey their masters. I honestly don’t know how Nat tolerated doing that BS for so long when we all know that passages like those in the Bible are ridiculous to even preach. During all these trips Nat got to see first hand the mistreatment of his people day in and day out. It eventually takes a toll on him mentally.

The final straw is when Nat is beaten for baptizing a white man. This was the final breaking point that led Nat to gathering his fellow brothers to take action and rebel against the White man and his family.

This is the part of the movie that is unlike the average slave movie. The slaves started murdering the whites. Eventually the slaves lost and won all at the same time. They were over powered by guns and cannons. Nat survived the last battle but in the end turned himself in. The movie ended with the viewing of numerous slaves lynched and Nat himself being lynched as he looked upon the sky with tears in his eyes with a vision of his wife as an Angel.

The Nat Turner Slave Rebellion led to the death of around 60 whites and their family while in return hundreds of slaves were lynched due to the fear that they could possibly rebel once again. This rebellion instilled fear within the White People and they were caught off guard because like with everything they underestimated the ability of the black people most importantly the Black Man.

Honestly I’m surprised a massive slave rebellion had not happened sooner. I mean majority of the time the slaves on a plantation outnumbered those of white descent on the land. What prevented the rebellion was the fact that the White man not only enslaved Black People physically but it was also done mentally and the effects can still be felt in the Black family to this day. Yes we are still feeling the effects of slavery.

After having time to reflect back on the movie and my own emotions I determined that what bothered me the most was that the slaves were oppressed and BLACK PEOPLE in present day America are currently oppressed now in America. I somewhat feel like we are currently having our own rebellion or somewhere its brewing because you can only oppress a group of people for so long before the chains are broken and all HELL breaks lose.

I think overall just seeing the moving and thinking about present day society in America just deeply sadden me that almost 200 years later my people are still not free or seen as equals and it truly hurts. When the movie ended THEIR WAS COMPLETE SILENCE and all the BLACK PEOPLE just sat there because the ending was sad yet powerful yet overwhelming. This film is a must see and whether you want to admit it or not regardless of Nate Parkers past he excelled in the role of Nate Turner.