The Birth of a Nation

I must admit, I have a few reservations about calling this flick a PURR. Mostly, that hesitation comes from something conceptual: filmmaker Nate Parker seems to credit Nat Turner's rebellion with more impact than it probably actually had. It may be easy to extrapolate that the enslaved firebrand preacher showed the way for hundreds more just like him--along with teaching white Southerners to fear slave uprisings even more than they already did--but I personally know of little evidence that very many followed in his footsteps and created an effective resistance. (Many certainly followed him to the gallows, in the name of injustices that it's hard to wrap one's mind around at this juncture.) I'm not sure that it led in a direct line to the Civil War, as Parker seems to suggest in his closing. What I am sure of is that this movie is challenging to watch, in a good way, and features very good performances by the principle cast members. And, in his depiction of the madness of slavery, Parker offers a strong and welcome reminder that vigilance against one's own corruption is as necessary as striving to overcome someone else's vice.