Battleship Potemkin versus the Birth of a Nation Essay

Aside from the similar visual styles of Battleship Potemkin and The Birth of a Nation, both films are examples of civil unrest during periods of political instability in a historical setting. Both movies take place during a national revolution and involve several instances of social turmoil and disturbance. The styles of these films can be contrasted by viewing their use of montage, focus, and basic film techniques in relation to thematic and constructive plot elements. The Birth of a Nation is a story about the consequences of the Civil War on the friendship of a northern and southern family. It expresses the effects of the war on their lives in relation to major historical and political events. This movie is directed by D.W.†¦show more content†¦An intense fascination with the editing style of D.W. Griffith led the director, Sergei Eisenstein, to create this film in the style that he did, and to transform the dynamic tension created by cross-cutting and parallel editing into the modern idea of the montage. This film employs the revolutionary use of montage as a furtherance of the collisions of ideas as symbolic representation. Historically, these films were reflections of true events that happened in the not so distant past. Both are propagandistic in nature, although only Potemkin was made to intentionally draw on the events it portrayed as a glorification of the past. Eisenstein felt that he could realistically commemorate the 1905 revolution in film form. Griffith, however, simply wanted to create a film that was a reflection on history. Although he did not intend for his film to be considered racist or condone the actions of the KKK, he does expressly cite his right to examine the ?dark side of wrong? in a plea on the opening title card of the film. (Dirks, ?The Birth of a Nation?) There is a scene in both films that is used as a representation to foreshadow the impending events. In Griffith?s work, the shot that is used to establish the premise of the film comes during a scene of a kitten being dropped in between two puppies on the southern plantation and the subtitle ?Hostilities.? This is an allusion to the ominous polarity