Thread by @JYSexton

Something we have to come to terms with is that media has an unbelievable and often poisonous effect on us, especially when it’s used by powerful, racist forces determined to alter reality to their favor.

Let’s talk about Birth of a Nation and what it did. 1/

https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1375092040325861378

Birth of a Nation was based in part on the work of Woodrow Wilson who, before he became president, was determined to alter history in order to reform perceptions of the Confederacy and white supremacy.

His “histories” helped create the Lost Cause mythology we’re still fighting.

Wilson completely propagandized the Civil War, giving the South a new story and mythology, painting slave owners as paternal and moral guardians and slaves as grateful workers. He portrayed paramilitary proto-fascists the KKK as a whimsical but heroic, necessary group.

Wilson’s racist mythology found purchase in Birth of a Nation, based on books by his college friend, and changed how America viewed the Confederacy, allowing white supremacy an avenue to continue in our politics and society.

This is, in part, why we saw a resurgence of the KKK (which came to power and to control even northern states like Indiana) and a rash of Confederate monuments that we’re still dealing with to this very day.

It altered our history, morphed it into mythology.

What’s more, Wilson pushed for American reality to be whitewashed by marketers and propagandists so we could gain power as the “heroes” of World War I. His efforts hid white supremacy for economic and political power, ensuring white Americans would live in denial/delusion.

Americans are determined to believe they’re above influence or manipulation, but the powerful have been altering our perceptions through avenues like mass media for as long as mass media has existed.

If we’re going to get better we have to understand this and work against it.