CR 2: Social Issues in Film by Xinyan Tan

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 09:09:18 UTC

Progressivism was a reform movement that emerged in the early 20th century to improve American society. Progressives believed that rapid industrialization and some unregulated capitalism had created serious social problems such as poverty, corruption, unsafe working conditions, and social inequality. Therefore, their main goals were to remove corruption from public life, expand democratic participation, and make government more accountable for solving social and economic problems. Reformers sought to promote social justice by regulating large corporations and enhancing the lives of workers and immigrants. As Kennedy notes, "Progressivism embraced three broad goals: the elimination of corruption in public life, the expansion of popular participation in government, and the belief that the functions of government ...... must be increased and expanded to alleviate social and economic distress" (Kennedy 454).

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 09:21:35 UTC

While DeWitt sees progressivism as primarily about democratic reform, Hofstadter argues that it is more about "status anxiety." He argues that middle-class leaders supported progressivism not because of poverty, but because they felt their cultural authority was threatened by immigration, urbanization, and social change. As Hofstadter writes, "Progressive leaders ......became progressives not because of economic deprivation but primarily because they were victims of status turmoil" (Kennedy 456). This suggests that progressivism is not only about economics, but also about maintaining power and social influence.

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 10:08:14 UTC

D.W. Griffith's A Corner in Wheat uses the stark contrast between the hard work of farmers and the price manipulation of the "King of Wheat" to expose the injustices caused by capitalist speculation. The film is not only a social critique, but also embodies the values of progressivism, turning cinema into a means of educating the public and calling for reform. As Luckett puts it, "Exploring signature issues from the period, such as financial regulation, welfare, and urban poverty, films like A Corner in Wheat "（Luckett）.

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 10:16:23 UTC

Griffith also addressed urban issues in A Child of the Ghetto (1910). This movie is about the survival of immigrants in crowded urban neighborhoods and shows that society can address a number of urban problems that existed at the time through aspects such as political reform. Wiedenfeld writes, "Child of the Ghetto (1910) epitomizes the Progressive idea that political life can solve urban congestion" (Wiedenfeld). This is consistent with the progressive call to improve urban problems and public services, thus going on to improve the living conditions of the poor.

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 11:01:33 UTC

In The Birth of a Nation, the film reinforces the audience's fear of interracial relations by amplifying the "threat" that blacks pose to white society. Meanwhile, the Ku Klux Klan, which represents whites, is portrayed as the "guardians of civilization" and even as heroes (Griffith 03:11:51-03:15:30), as they make a powerful entrance to save white women from harassment by blacks. The scene that struck me the most was that of a white woman out on the town who is portrayed as innocent and helpless, while the black male who follows her is portrayed as lewd, greedy, and dangerous, ultimately causing harm to the white woman (Griffith 02:23:59-02:28:37). This representation reveals how Griffith disseminates racist ideology through film. Although he packages the movie as "historically accurate," it actually reinforces society's biased perception of history.

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 11:01:41 UTC

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 11:10:06 UTC

When The Birth of a Nation was released, the NAACP came out against it, saying that the film was an incitement to racial hatred, portraying blacks as dangerous villains and glorifying the Ku Klux Klan as "heroes". Mary Childs Nerney wrote a letter to call for a boycott, saying that the film not only distorted history but also stimulated racial violence in the real world. Social activist Jane Addams also criticized the film as a bluff on outdated prejudices and a disservice to black people and society as a whole.

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 11:10:18 UTC

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 11:34:25 UTC

The fact that cinema was born in a time of accelerated industrialization and urbanization is in itself a sign that it represents progress and reflects the ideas of the time. It is clear from the films that people have become concerned with progress, technology, and social reform, and the films have become part of the presentation of this modern consciousness. For example, A Corner in Wheat is more than just entertainment, it exposes how capitalist speculation harms ordinary people through graphic comparisons; and then there is The Birth of a Nation, which, although it utilizes emerging cinematic technology to present history, has a slightly biased viewpoint that affects the public's understanding of history and social understanding, sparking protests from the NAACP, as well as inciting racial hatred. This shows that movies can shape people's minds in powerful and even destructive ways. For me, movies are both a product of new technology and a tool for the dissemination of ideas and values. So when we watch a movie, we need to think and understand it with a critical eye.

t1745825098 — 2025-08-31 12:07:59 UTC

Kennedy, David M. “Overview: The Progressive Era.” The Historian, vol. 37, no. 3, May 1975, pp. 453–468. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2444043.

Luckett, Moya. “Space, Gender, Oversight, and Social Change: Progressivism and the Films of D.W. Griffith, 1909–1916.” A Companion to D.W. Griffith, edited by Charlie Keil, Wiley-Blackwell, 2017, pp. 309–312.

Wiedenfeld, Grant. “Progressive Pastoral.” A Companion to D.W. Griffith, edited by Charlie Keil, Wiley-Blackwell, 2017, pp. 341–343.

The Birth of a Nation. Directed by D. W. Griffith, performances by Lillian Gish, Henry B. Walthall, and Mae Marsh, David W. Griffith Corp., 1915.

NAACP. Memorandum to Moving Picture Firms. 11 Mar. 1915. NAACP Papers, Box C-299.

Nerney, Mary Childs. To Our Branches and Locals. 7 Apr. 1915. NAACP Papers, Box C-299.