Revisiting 'Birth of a Nation' in Today's America [5min]

Author and film historian Donald Bogle talks to Robert Siegel about D.W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation. The Civil War epic from 1915 has been highly criticized for its celebration of the Ku Klux Klan and its representation of Southern blacks -- played by white actors in blackface -- as uncivilized rapists. At the same time, Griffith's film has earned praise for numerous technical achievements, such as its pioneering use of close-ups and tracking shots. Bogle is co-hosting a series on Turner Classic Movies about African Americans in Hollywood films that will include the controversial film.