Sometimes people create amazing works of art. Art that they are proud of and bring them joy. Art that they can point at and say “hey, I made that.” Whether this art is a painting, a song, a play, or a movie, they are all works of art. There comes a time in every person's life when they make a mistake. The significance of these mistakes varies between forgivable and absolutely unforgivable. Some mistakes we can't ever take back. There is a cause and effect process to everything that you do. Furthermore if you make one really big mistake, it could have a really big affect on your life, and someone else's life. Nate Parker is an actor (who has directed, written a screenplay, and produced Birth of a Nation) who made an prodigious movie and a terrible mistake. It is our job as the public to acknowledge these mistakes and use our power to make a decision on how we should handle it. The public abuses their power by making snap judgements about someone without getting a full understanding of the situation. We need to notice this movie and this mistake and realize how our opinion affects everyone around us before we make a mistake of our own.

On October 7th 2016 the 2 hour long drama film/history movie Birth of a Nation was released. According to IMB Birth of a Nation is about a preacher named Nat Turner who is enslaved by a plantation owner named Samuel Turner. Samuel Turner then tells him to preach to the other slaves about not rebelling against their owners. When Nat sees all the terrible tragedies that happen to his fellow slaves and how they are all oppressed he decides to revolt. He then rebels and searches for freedom which leads to a historic uproar creating violence and the constant search for justice. Variety said that the movie was “A biographical drama steeped equally in grace and horror, it builds to a brutal finale that will stir deep emotion and inevitable unease”. This connects to how we as the public need to recognize this movie and as a work of art before we make an opinion about it.

After seeing such a powerful movie the public generally wonders who the creator is? The mastermind behind Birth of a Nation is a man named Nate Parker. He has recently come into the public eye and with this new found fame comes his horrific past. According to Vulture in the late 1990s Nate Parker and his friend Jean Celestin were tried for rape. While Parker was found not guilty Celestin was found guilty but his conviction ended up getting changed. It was a very long trial with many twists and turns in between. However, in 2012 the woman that they raped (she will be called Jane Doe) committed suicide. Her brother said that the trial was definitely a turning point for her and that's when her life started to go downhill. According to The Daily Beast Parker and his friend were on the wrestling team at the time. Therefore if he did rape her, he and Celestin would have been very strong therefore making it difficult for her to fight back. There was also two of them and only one of her. This just further proves that the cards were stacked against her. Additionally this an example of how we need to notice this movie before we judge it and the creator of it.

There has been a lot of controversy over whether his movie should be seen and praised or completely ignored. Many people have been boycotting the movie due to this new information. I interviewed girls in the 8th grade for their opinion on the matter. Overall, many of the girls I asked said that they would see it due to its educational value, however they still don't agree with the entire situation. I explained what happened with Nate Parker to the interviewee and asked them how this made them feel in relation to growing up and going to college. One 8th grade girl at my school who I interviewed said: “I feel worried because it seems as though we just grow up and then anything can happen, whether it's good or bad, and that's kind of scary to think of things that you've never experienced happening to you.” She also felt as though she would be traumatized forever. Another interviewee said: “It makes me feel scared and sad.” When I asked another interviewee about how being exposed to this could affect young girls she said: “It could have a bad impact because they'll think that no matter what happens to them the public will always believe the guy and their voice won't really be trusted.”Finally, I asked my interviewees if they thought it was fair that his movie (that might be very good and educational) won't win an Oscar or even get seen because of one mistake he made 17 years ago? Lily (being the only girl that replied no to seeing the movie) said that “assuming that he did make the mistake I think if he had apologized for his actions then I would want to see the movie, but because he didn't own up to it and apologize then I think people should still boycott.” Anna said that it was fair because it wasn't just one little mistake. Although he may have been drunk it still was not ok because now this girl is dead. She was traumatized and now this man gets to go on and be praised for everything that he does while this girl was traumatized physically and mentally. I think that is not ok because in a way what happened to her was a cause of why she might have killed herself. To me that makes me feel that he and his friend were the ones that killed her.” This connect to how us as the public need to notice Birth of a Nation and recognize how it affects the people around us before we make an opinion on it. The girls that were interviewed had a deep understanding of this and explained how they felt when they heard about the situation, and how it affects young girls when they hear about it.  

In summary, it is our job as the public to notice these mistakes and use our power to make a decision on how we should handle it. We need to notice this movie and this mistake and realize how our opinion affects everyone around us before we make a mistake of our own. Nate Parker is now perceived as a rapist and the movie (that brought the case back into the public) has gone to waste. While he might not be guilty, as the public we have created this new image for him, one that he can not erase and will have a lot of trouble liberating himself from it. As the public it is inevitable for us to not judge, however we need to fully look into the situation before we make our opinion. As I stated before it is ironic that Nate Parker made a movie about how the slaves were being victimized by their slave owner, then Nate Parker victimizes a girl and finally he gets victimized by the public.

Works Cited

"Boycott 'Birth Of A Nation'? Nate Parker's Rape Case Has People Divided And Confused (PHOTOS)." Hollywood Take. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Forman, Lily. “Nate Parker rape trial opinion.” December 19 2016

IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.

Nestel, Kate BriqueletM.L. The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast Company, n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.

Oliver, Charlotte. “Nate Parker rape trial opinion.” December 19 2016

Pettigrew, Anna. “Nate Parker rape trial opinion.” December 16 2016

Setoodeh, Ramin. "The Nate Parker Interview: What’s Next for ‘The Birth of a Nation’."Variety. N.p., 29 Aug. 2016. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.

"A Timeline of the Nate Parker Rape Scandal, and the Damage Control That Has Followed." Vulture. N.p., 03 Oct. 2016. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.m