CL 03/31

Background on Flora and Gus

• Gus is a Union soldier stationed in the Piedmont during Reconstruction
• Flora is the “little sister” of the Cameron family
• Gus has been lurking on the edges of a few scenes where Flora has been either the focal point of part of the ensemble
• Gus is eventually lynched by the Klan

Birth of a Nation 2:13:00 mins – 2:24:00 mins

• Notes:
  • Flora is the “little sister” stereotype, and like usual, she is rebellious of a potentially overprotective brother shielding her from the world
  • She is careless, a classic stereotype
  • Gus is cautious; he backed away from the white woman that can get him killed
  • Iris editing, to focus on a squirrel…is this showcasing how clueless and naive she is? Focusing on a squirrel instead of her surroundings?
  • The coloring of Flora’s outside wanderings..it is almost pink, and innocent color.
  • Iris focus on Gus and Flora discussing Gus wanting to marry. She runs from him, off a cliff, begging for help.
  • She won’t listen to his pleas, she kills herself. But why? Has her younger naivety shunned her from understanding that he means no harm? Has the older brother taught her to fear all colored men no matter what? Is the society quick to judge that every colored man is dangerous to an alone white woman?
  • Gus seems almost trying to save her naive self from dying…but to the brother it looks like Gus is intentionally trying to kill his sister.
  • And there it is, she dies.
• Questions:
  1. How is the actor playing Gus costumed? What does this tell us that we should feel about Gus?
     • Gus is a white man playing a black man in the film so he is in obvious blackface. His clothing is tattered and old, obviously meant to represent is lower class. He is portrayed as sneaking around and maybe even following Flora into the forest. This is supposed to entice the audience into fulfilling their public portrayal of heathens; the public thinks badly of them, and they respond well to a satisfied image of that thought.
  2. How is the actor playing Flora costumed? What does this tell us that we should feel about Flora?
     • Flora has on a nice dress, conservative makeup, pinned back hair; and most importantly to this film, she is white. Paler than a pile of flour. She is the picturesque view of the carefree, pure, innocent white woman that the public identities with. Society is a clear painting of white=good and black=bad, relating that back to a film the public will identify with and spark discussion; Flora is simply the perfect stereotype.
  3. How is lighting used to make Gus seem menacing?
     • The lighting focused on Gus is dim, yellowish, and highly shadowed. The dark patches seem immensely deeper and darker with the yellow tint added to the screen. The darker tint to this character’s screen, in stark contrast to Flora’s, makes an unconscious comparison in the mind that the darker color=evil.
  4. How is the lighting used to make Flora seem innocent?
     • Compared to the opposite of Gus’ lighting, Flora is silhouetted in pink, bright light. Just short of a halo, Flora was a painted angel in the film, the pink light reflects on her skin making it even more pale and white. The painted public image of “good” by the white man’s society.
  5. How does the actor walk and what types of actions does he perform as he follows Flora? How does this tell us he’s–for lack of a better term–a predator?
     • Gus is seen as walking low to the ground, creeping, and peeping on Flora. Reminiscent of a wolf stalking its prey.
  6. What actions and interactions do we see Flora engaged in while she’s being followed by Gus that tells us Flora is childlike?
     • She is seen abandoning her bucket, chasing after a squirrel, frolicking through the woods, and most importantly, she isn’t paying attention to her surroundings. She has her head in the clouds.
  7. How is the music associated with Gus different than the music associated with Flora?
     • Gus’ music is deep, in the chest, with a steady rhythm like a shark closing in on its prey. Flora’s music is upbeat, in the higher scale, almost muscial-ish in the way that it matches her dancing in the woods carelessly.
  8. How does cross-cut editing between the Flora-Gus chase scene with Ben, Flora’s older brother, communicate to us the danger that Flora is in?
     • The music picks up, and the cross cutting between the two shows the panic on Flora’s brother’s face and how hopeless her chase with Gus really is. Her continuous unfortunate mistakes in running blindly into the forest from an unknown enemy.
  9. Thinking back and using the theories of discourse and multiliteracies, how would you say the work of writers like John Tyler Morgan and Frederick Hoffman shaped a viewing public that would accept this sequence with few to no reservations?
     • Morgan and Hoffman paint the colored people of this society and time piece with such evil that the modern public of this society easily accepts that every non-white person is a predator and nothing more than an obvious wolf in sheep’s clothing.