Who directed Birth of a Nation (1915) and why does the film continue to divide opinions among film critics, practitioners and theorists?

Birth of a Nation is a historical drama about the American Civil War and the rise of Ku Klux Klan. It depicts the tragedies of the Civil War beyond the battlefield. However, it’s effects on race relations were devastating, and reverberations are still felt to this day. The Birth of a Nation is three hours of racist propaganda – starting with the Civil War and ending with the Ku Klux Klan riding in to save the South from black rule during the Reconstruction era. The three-hour silent film The Birth of a Nation did “incalculable harm” to Black Americans by creating a justification for prejudice, racism, and discrimination for decades to follow.