Episode 96 - The Birth of a Nation Pt. 2

[JulyDiaz 2797]

This week, Kevin and Kamau get into a whole bunch of business. They fondly recall Kevin's days making ethics videos for corporations before listening to a post-Emmy chat about the experience of winning the award. Then they get into a discussion about the Nate Parker film "The Birth of a Nation." They cover the importance of historical accuracies, what lessons the film could have taken from its own trailer, and the controversy surrounding the director.

[TaiEdwardFew 0]

I am a new listener and I loved this podcast. I want to discuss how history is used to make movies and what "sources" of history is used. Spike Lee pulled heavily from The Autobiography of Malcolm X as source material. Alex Haley and Malcolm X used that book as a way to craft a specific, often sanitized, narrative of Malcolm's life. Dr. Manning Marable published a well-researched biography of Malcolm X and explores the purpose of Haley's book. Marable's was well received by African American historians and hated by lots of Malcolmites.