Audience Reactions to “The Birth of a Nation”

Oct 7, 2016

The Birth of a Nation

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Directed by: Nate Parker
Produced by: Nate Parker, Kevin Turen, Jason Michael Berman, Aaron L. Gilbert, Preston L. Holmes
Screenplay by: Nate Parker
Starring: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Penelope Ann Miller, Gabrielle Union

 

Warning spoilers will follow!

I had the opportunity to see two different screenings of The Birth of a Nation at two different locations. The first location (let’s call it Location AA) was a predominately, if not entirely, African American audience. The second location (we’ll call it Location D) had a more diverse audience. I was quite surprised when certain scenes occurred in the film and the audiences had either similar or completely different reactions altogether. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I do have a review you can check out as well. So, let’s explore a few of those reactions to various scenes and characters.

The Same Reactions

I noticed that in both locations, everyone took kindly to the cute and romantic scenes between Nat Turner and Cherry. Subtle “awws” and gentle laughter could be heard as we saw both Nat and Cherry’s relationship grow and flourish. It was almost reminiscent of the reaction you would hear during a romantic comedy during some of those specific scenes.

tbon5

Without question, during some of the brutal and graphic scenes of slaves being tortured, sexually abused, or hanged from trees, both audiences had the same reactions. It would range from being silent, shaken, or visibly disturbed.

The Similar Reactions

Whenever there was some sort of scene that showed the slaves being subjected to verbal abuse or casual racist situations (such as when the slave catchers would appear), there would be a collective groan from Location AA. In Location D, there was a bit more silence though you could sense a level of discomfort as well.

tbon6

Probably one of the more interesting reactions I noticed was the reaction to Isaiah (played by Roger Guenveur Smith). At Location AA, for whatever reason, there was an instantaneous roar of laughter every single time he came on the screen. Now there were also a few laughs in Location D as well.

Such as during Nat’s prayer during dinner, and Isaiah staring at him intensely.

My only guess would be that more African Americans are probably familiar with Smith’s previous roles as being a dubious character, and possibly the stereotypical caricature of “house slaves.”

The Different Reactions

During some of the religious scenes that involved Nat having to preach his supervised and selective sermon, Location AA would also collectively groan as very familiar scriptures were preached to the slaves. (such as “Slaves obey your masters . . .”). In Location D, on the other hand, there was silence.

During the film, there were some scenes when we began to see Nat evolve in his preaching that would not only challenge the supervised, cherry-picked sermons he was supposed to preach, but his preaching began to also incite a fire within the slaves. He would also go back and forth using scripture to counter many of the cherry-picked verses that were used against the slaves (fighting fire with fire). During these moments, Location AA cheered, with shouts of “Amen” and pockets of applause. Location D was more so silent.

tbon7

During the actual revolt, the difference in the audience reactions probably struck me the hardest. While Location D was routinely silent, Location AA had almost a roar of cheer and exuberance as the killings began.

There was an especially loud response when the overseer who was found to be sleeping with children was killed, and the other slave master (who forcibly knocked out the teeth of his slave) was beheaded.

Lastly, the ending of the movie appeared to be the other biggest difference in the audiences. If you’ve been tracking the common theme, the audience of Location D was silent as the credits rolled. However, when the film was finished, there was a standing ovation in Location AA.

Final Thoughts

I really appreciated being able to see these different reactions. While all I can do is just speculate, I think that the reactions from both audiences were rather telling. Location AA clearly was more connected, and maybe invested, in the film overall. There was laughing, crying, groans, and cheers. The wide array of emotions and reactions I saw, in my opinion, validated just how good The Birth of a Nation actually is. Because, as we know, movies are supposed to move us. This movie pushed and pulled at your emotions one way or another.

I should probably also mention here that I do not believe that the African Americans who were cheering during the violent revolt are necessarily looking forward to enacting the same on our white counterparts in America. Rather, I think it was really more so a matter of seeing evil being conquered. I would probably compare it to when you watch a movie like Schindler’s List or some other film based on the Nazi acts, and the feeling of joy when that evil is either challenged or stopped. So hopefully no one walks away from this thinking about “reverse racism” (whatever that means) or anything of the sort.

tbon4

On the other hand, when I reflect on Location D, for the most part there was a lot of uncomfortable uneasiness. I think that’s primarily due to more of a reality shock. Movies and media, unfortunately, serve as our new means of historical references. (Even if they are not historically accurate.) So for some, who may have more of a selective memory of the ugly past in this country, seeing such images may be truly discomforting, and I could definitely understand the overall silence. Also, while Location D did have a diverse crowd, there may have been a bit more feelings of awkwardness because of that same diversity. Maybe some people didn’t feel comfortable reacting a certain way, as a means not to offend other people of different ethnic groups. Either way, it was quite fascinating to experience.

Have you seen The Birth of a Nation? What do you think about these different reactions? What was your reaction to the film? Share in the comments below.