The Birth Of A Nation (1915) was a silent film that ran over three hours, directed by D.W. Griffith, and was the longest, most-profitable, and most artistically advanced film of its time. It secured the future of feature-length films and the reception of film as a serious medium. However, its effects on race relations were heavily damaged and are still felt to this day. The film is stated as being ‘three hours of racist propaganda’ – starting with the Civil War and ending with the Ku Klux Klan riding in to save white people from black rule during the Reconstruction era.