Respond Two Colleagues' Postings About Micheaux And Griffith

Some of the information needed for this assignment. (last student assignment)
Essay 1. Oscar Micheaux, in Within Our Gates (1919) shows the cultural struggle between racial equality and equal rights during a post-civil war America. This film exploited the ongoing discussion regarding “written Law”, and actions that are taken to abide the legislation. Regardless of being “free”, the African American race suffered from the same discrimination. Micheaux does a fine job showing both sides of the situation, depicting African American characters as typical, kindhearted and able members of society. He also shows the false perception that the whites placed on the group, clearly emphasizing the uphill fight for recognition and true equality. By bringing these tough conversations and realities to light, I feel that Micheaux fairly educated the viewer on all aspects of the social issue, including the lack of opportunity in education, lynching, false perception, bullying of power, and exceptions to breaking the law. As a viewer, you begin to develop an understanding of how complex the issue was, and sense the frustration that an African American such as Micheaux must have been feeling regarding the situation, as you witness the film unfold in this local community.
Aspects of this film can definitely be tied in with The Birth of a Nation, particularly regarding ongoing problems that overlay both works. Griffith depicts the characters differently in his film, drawing out a cynical, false understanding of the average African American. The film does not provide the viewer similar inside interaction with characters, and allow for emotional ties to be developed like in Micheaux film. Both films touch on similar conversations, in such different ways, although I do feel that Within Our Gates, can be interpreted as a valid response to The Birth of a Nation. These films show the power of opinion, by allowing the viewer to see both extreme sides to a situation. Micheaux combats the inaccurate representation addressed in The Birth of a Nation, by exploiting the issue as something much more than simply black versus white. Griffith's film comes from a white dominant viewpoint, depicting the African American characters as the enemy, and Ku Klux Klan as the hero's. In conclusion, Griffith's film does touch on similar topics, although Micheaux response shows a different side to the story, allowing for the reader to come to their own interpretation, and more accurately portray the social issue for what it was.
Essay 2. Oscar Micheaux's Within Our Gates faced issues that were rampant at the time, mostly focusing on racism and the idea f shattering, or simply crossing, social boundaries. Within Our Gates was a story about Sylvia Landry, a young black woman from the South that had the opportunity to be educated due to her past and where she grew up. In the movie, she attempts to keep a school for young black individuals from closing and throughout the story, she was confronted with instances of racial segregation, for most parts. She was a fairly strong woman in her beliefs that young African Americans deserved an education above all else while characters such as Mrs. Stratton see young black men as nothing but lumberjacks and field hands. After watching this film, I could only think of last week's which was Birth of a Nation. The common similarities of racial segregation and perspective were something that both films accurately portrayed. They demonstrated the ability to see things from both perspectives whether someone believed in slavery or not and the way it was directed was something that brought strong emphasis to such a case although. I would say that the only difference that I see in the two is the extent to which they segregate African Americans, either by the rank of social status or by education and mental capabilities, which was fascinating.
The title of this essay is "Respond to at least two colleagues' postings about Micheaux and Griffith from last week."
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