" Thomas Dixon has a notorious reputation as the writer of the
source material for D.W. Griffith's groundbreaking and
controversial 1915 feature film The Birth of a Nation. Perhaps
unfairly, Dixon has been branded an arch-conservative and a racist
obsessed with what he viewed as "the Negro problem." As American
Racist makes clear, however, Dixon was a complex, multitalented
individual who, as well as writing some of the most popular novels
of the early twentieth century, was involved in the production of
some eighteen films. Dixon used the motion picture as a propaganda
tool for his often outrageous opinions on race, communism,
socialism, and feminism. His most spectacular production, The Fall
of a Nation (1916), argues for American preparedness in the face of
war and boasts a musical score by Victor Herbert, making it the
first American feature film to have an original score by a major
composer. Like the majority of Dixon's films, The Fall of a Nation
has been lost, but had it survived, it might well have taken its
place alongside The Birth of a Nation as a masterwork of silent
film. Anthony Slide examines each of Dixon's films and discusses
the novels from which they were adapted. Slide chronicles Dixon's
transformation from a major supporter of the original Ku Klux Klan
in his early novels to an ardent critic of the modern Klan in his
last film, Nation Aflame. American Racist is the first book to
discuss Dixon's work outside of literature and provide a wide
overview of the life and career of this highly controversial
twentieth-century southern populist. Anthony Slide is the author of
numerous books, including Silent Players: A Biographical and
Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses.
General
Imprint: |
The University Press of Kentucky
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
September 2004 |
First published: |
September 2004 |
Authors: |
Anthony Slide
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 26mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
264 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8131-2328-8 |
Categories: |
Books >
Language & Literature >
Biography & autobiography >
Film, television, music, theatre
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
Performing arts >
Films, cinema >
Film theory & criticism
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
Performing arts >
Films, cinema >
Individual film directors, film-makers
Books >
Language & Literature >
Literature: history & criticism >
Literary studies >
From 1900
Books >
Language & Literature >
Literature: history & criticism >
Novels, other prose & writers >
General
Books >
Biography >
Film, television, music, theatre
|
LSN: |
0-8131-2328-3 |
Barcode: |
9780813123288 |
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