And so 2020 - notable mostly for being IDSG's second year - comes to an end.  This time, in a change to the advertised program, and with apologies for our absence throughout most of this last month, we return with another of our period movie discussion episodes, this time looking at D. W. Griffith's epic, lauded, infamous, three-hour, silent-era blockbuster of hate, prejudice, and bigotry, Birth of a Nation. Content warnings very much apply. The promised Part 2 of our coverage of Tom Metzger should be along as the first IDSG of the new year.  Thank you all for sticking with us through thick and thin, sending us words of encouragement... and special thanks to those of you who helped us out financially.  Let's hope we all have a better one in 2021.  We have plans for the show in the new year, so stay tuned and stay safe. Links/Notes: Notes: Birth of a Nation (1915) Full Movie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGQaAddwjxg The Clansman (1905) Full Text: https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/dixonclan/menu.html Birth of a Nation at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_a_Nation Dan Olson "Triumph of the Will and the Cinematic Language of Propaganda." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ1Qm1Z_D7w DJ Spooky's Rebirth of a Nation at Millennium Park (6/20/16): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQNp-VHAueE Within Our Gates (1920) Library of Congress (no score): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtwrCto9az0 Within Our Gates (1920) (lower quality, but with a score): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1E0NrcnwAE Movies Silently debunks myths about Birth of a Nation: https://moviessilently.com/2015/09/07/silent-movie-myth-the-birth-of-a-nation-was-the-first-feature-and-the-first-film-shown-at-the-white-house/ Wikipedia, Timeline of Highest-Grossing Films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films#Timeline_of_highest-grossing_films Behind the Mask of Chivalry, Nancy Maclean: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Behind_the_Mask_of_Chivalry/xOamVVhPQ6UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mask+of+chivalry+nancy+maclean&printsec=frontcover