Austin Stoneman
The Birth of a Nation's American tragic hero
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12895815 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stephen Weinberger (Dickinson College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 211-225 |
| Publication date | 2012-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Early Popular Visual Culture (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1746-0654 • E-ISSN: 1746-0662 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17460654.2012.694690 |
| OpenAlex | W2006765974 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
For both artistic and personal reasons, D.W. Griffith was drawn to melodrama, and his most influential work, The Birth of a Nation, is, in almost every way, a fully realized melodramatic work. As is typical of this style, the story is presented as a clearly delineated struggle between, on the one side, the good and right and, on the other, the wicked and wrong. In the end, of course, the former triumphs over the latter. With but one exception, all of the film's characters fit neatly into one category or the other. Only Austin Stoneman, arguably Birth's most important figure, seems to defy easy characterization. While he is arrogant, scowling, dismissive of others, and specified to be wrong on the issue of race, he is also principled, forthright, and a loving father. The purpose of this study is to show that Stoneman has the essential characteristics of a tragic Greek hero, albeit one with the good fortune to live in nineteenth-century America rather than ancient Thebes. Keywords: D.W. GriffithThomas Dixon The Clansman Thaddeus StevensmelodramaAustin Stoneman Notes 1. The original manuscript of this play can be found in Griffith's papers at the Museum of Modern Art. There are also copies at the Harvard Theater Collection and the Library of Congress
Art · HERO · Literature · Style (visual arts · Classics · History · Philippine History and Culture · Theater, Performance, and Music History
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |