Griffith's “innovations
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Just as Americans typically laud Thomas Edison as the sole inventor of cinema, they credit Griffith with innovations such as the introduction of narrative film, the production of the first American feature film, the discovery of the close-up, and the evolution of other film techniques which were in place for years by the time he began directing. Griffith's “innovations” were, in most cases, somewhat more effective uses of techniques already developed by others. He never graduated from primitive, full frontal framing in interior scenes and never employed a point-of-view shot in any of his films.
Griffith is judged today primarily from a political, not an aesthetic, standpoint. If we judge Griffith politically on the basis of one film, then it is only fair that we look at his entire oeuvre to see if it reflects any kind of coherent political viewpoint. And we can only do that if we view it in the light of the prevailing political points of view in early twentieth century America. In viewing Griffith's films, we can see traces of William Jennings Bryan's Populism in the nostalgia for a vanishing, small-town America, resentment of the wealthy and powerful, a pacifist viewpoint, prejudice and fear of African-Americans, and sympathy for the working class.
But there is no strong political position such as John Ford's pro-New Deal stance in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) or King Vidor's socialist vision in Our Daily Bread (1934). Even in The Birth of a Nation (1915), the South's conqueror, Abraham Lincoln, is portrayed sympathetically as The Great Heart, while his greatest achievement – the emancipation of the slaves – is shown sowing hatred and devastation. When Griffith takes a political position, as in Intolerance (1916), it is usually directed against busybody reformers who create more problems than they solve.
Intolerance is directed against busybody reformers who create more problems than they solve
Just as Americans typically laud Thomas Edison as the sole inventor of cinema, they credit Griffith with innovations such as the introduction of narrative film, the production of the first American feature film, the discovery of the close-up, and the evolution of other film techniques which were in place for years by the time he began directing. Griffith's “innovations” were, in most cases, somewhat more effective uses of techniques already developed by others. He never graduated from primitive, full frontal framing in interior scenes and never employed a point-of-view shot in any of his films.
Political position
But there is no strong political position such as John Ford's pro-New Deal stance in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) or King Vidor's socialist vision in Our Daily Bread (1934). Even in The Birth of a Nation (1915), the South's conqueror, Abraham Lincoln, is portrayed sympathetically as The Great Heart, while his greatest achievement – the emancipation of the slaves – is shown sowing hatred and devastation. When Griffith takes a political position, as in Intolerance (1916), it is usually directed against busybody reformers who create more problems than they solve.