D.W. Griffith

D.W. Griffith is often referred to as the father of film. Although he did not invent things like the close-up and parallel editing, he synthesized them in the numerous films he started directing in 1908. By the time he made his controversial epic "The Birth of a Nation" in 1915, he was the most famous filmmaker within what was rapidly becoming the Hollywood studio system. He was also the most infamous filmmaker of that era, because the racism in "The Birth of a Nation" has always made it a disturbing film to watch and discuss. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano talk about his career in this podcast episode. They explain how Griffith's upbringing in Kentucky in the late 19th century shaped his social beliefs and also how his early career as a playwright and actor shaped the melodramatic stories he would tell on screen.