In the fall of 1915, D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation was booked to play at the Forrest Theatre - a "legitimate house," not a movie theater - but would Philadelphia's city authorities allow it to be shown?
After all, the film's racist source material, Thomas Dixon's play The Clansman, had been officially banned in the city back in 1906. But was this a "movie" or a "photo-play"? Could it be legally censored at all? How did this controversy result in plays and movies being regarded as two different types of entertainment?
There is a blog post on our website ("Birth of A Nation in the Birthplace of the Nation") to accompany this episode, which examines a 1915 newspaper ad for the film, and how the film was marketed to Philadelphians at the time.
Link is here: https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/birth-of-a-nation-in-the-birthplace-of-the-nation/
For earlier episodes about Thomas Dixon and his play The Clansman - and how the Philadelphia African-American community organized against it in 1906 see our series "The Fight Against the Clansman" - Episodes 42, 43, and 45.
"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now!
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© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.
℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.
℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.
