"Birth of a Nation"

In today’s society no one can escape stereotypes; even white men are represented in a certain way. But it hasn’t just been like that in the past 10 years; stereotypes have been following us for much longer. In the film “Birth of a Nation,” white men were represented as an authority figure. They were the alpha dog of the family and women were less important then them. When the household got mail, the women gave it to the man to be responsible and open it. Also men were the only important characters in the film. Only men surrounded Abraham Lincoln, men were also the only people in the film to have guns and fight. The film made it seem like white men were the only important characters in the movie. The fact that white men were only responsible for high positions and how they were the only ones fighting in the war put off an image to say that if you aren’t a white male, then you aren’t good enough.

Stereotypes that I saw in the film were father figure, typical jobs, warrior, and strong headed. I feel like these stereotypes to show some truth, but there are many men who don’t fit these stereotypes. There are men who are very passive and not strong, there are also men who don’t have the typical lead jobs and do amazing work while being a nurse or teacher. Also the way that the men responded to the women is not how it is at all today. Women are not as passive and do things without a male. A women’s job isn’t only to clean and be at the will of a man like the movie portrayed it.

In todays society I do think that the movies representation set a standard for how white men are portrayed in movies today. Men are still supposed to be the lead in the relationship, they also need to be the breadwinners and make all the money. They need to be stronger than a woman and rescue her if needed. In the movie “The notebook” Allie has to choose between Noah and Lon who is a very successful stereotypical white male. This movie emphasizes the importance of money and social status in a man because without that distraction, Allie would have chosen Noah without a thought.

Another movie that is at fault in this stereotype is taken. A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris. In this film the role of the male is to take care of things. He is the alpha and is fighting to get his daughter back. Basically fighting for a damsel in distress. This also adds a stereotypical image to men because it shows that they need to be the provider and be strong.

In conclusion, “Birth of a Nation” is very stereotypical of white men. It has many stereotypes that have grown into other stereotypes today and put white men into a box of how they should act.