A Few Words about D. W. Griffith

Was D. W. Griffith a visionary? Some might say so. In addition to being an artist, he fancied himself something of a historian - or at the very least a provider of history by particular means. The means, of course, was the relatively new medium: the motion picture. Especially after the smashing success of The Birth of a Nation, Griffith liked to think of film as more than entertainment, but as a conveyor of historical truth (as he saw it...more on this later). Recognizing the significance of film-as-teacher and the profound potential to reach millions of people worldwide, Griffith predicted that one day, in the not too distant future, if someone wanted to learn about a particular historical event, one could simply visit some sort of repository and select a film on that subject. One could then watch at their leisure and absorb the information visually - as many times as they liked. Sound familiar? 

With compliments,

Keith