The Cast of 'Birth of a Nation' Talks About the Film's Relevance to Today's Racial Climate
The Birth of a Nation made a splashy arrival at Sundance, where it was hailed as an Oscar favorite and snapped up by Fox Searchlight for a whopping $17.5 million. However, in the months since, discussion around the film, about a historic slave uprising, has been dominated by a 1999 case in which Nate Parker, the film’s director, star, and co-writer, was accused — and ultimately acquitted — of raping a fellow student at Penn State University. Parker has made several high-profile appearances since the charges resurfaced in August, along with word that the woman involved had committed suicide in 2012; most recently, he appeared on Sunday’s 60 Minutes, where he declined to apologize about what he called “false” accusations and stressed that he hopes to move beyond the controversy and focus more on the content of the film.
He has been trying to reframe the narrative around the film as it nears release. At last month’s Toronto International Film Festival, Parker explained to Yahoo Movies that his story of slave rebellion leader Nat Turner is particularly relevant to issues facing the black community today, as a number of fatal police shootings have led to large-scale protests and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Parker sees Birth as a way to provoke more dialogue about race in America. “I want there to be a conversation,” he said (watch above). “Look at how Nat Turner and these people dealt with systems that were in place that were oppressive. Look at us — we have social media. Maybe we can join into that fight and change things for the better.”
Gabrielle Union, who has a small but potent role in the film as a rape victim, likened the oppression portrayed in Birth to the reaction some professional athletes, led by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have faced in recent protests of the national anthem. She pointed to U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who took to a knee during an anthem one game, then saw the National Women’s Soccer League preempt her protest the following game by playing the anthem before her team took the field. “What are we telling people who dare to speak against injustice, injustice that we all know is happening?” Union asked.
“We are constantly in a state of resistance in America,” said Colman Domingo (Lincoln), who plays Union’s husband in the film. “For everyone. Men, women, gays, lesbians, religious [people], to fight for one another. It’s our collective conscience, and we’re doing it together. So I think now is the time for Birth of a Nation, to continue to evoke conversation about these hard, hard things to talk about.”
The Birth of a Nation opens Friday.
