First of all - hats off to Gaffer for starting this interesting and thought-provoking discussion. Well done, sir.

There isn't much I can add to Gaffer's thoughts, his observations mirror my own. Birth of a Nation is a fascinating time capsule. A recorded look at the turn of the last century. Not necessarily the story within the film, but the fact that a major film was made depicting a common belief at the time, as well as how the film was made. Looking at it through today's intelligence and society, it's a shocker. Some parts are hard to watch because they're so wrong. Again, not so much for the story within the film, but that a film about it was OK. In fact, not just OK, but completely acceptable and lauded. To me, with those thoughts in mind, it's worth its weight in gold where preserving history - actual, perceived, or desired - is concerned.

For anyone who hasn't seen it, it's available for download here;

http://www.archive.org/details/dw_griffith_birth_of_a_nation