The Ku Klux Klan and its racist doctrine have a long history. In his work "Backfire. How the Ku Klux Klan Helped the Civil Rights Movement", David Chalmers calls the Klan as “America’s only enduring political terrorist movement”. The following paper will mainly focus on the presentation of the Klan in Thomas Dixon’s Southern Reconstruction novel "The Clansman" and D. W. Griffith’s movie "The Birth of a Nation", as well as in contemporary American literature and films. In that context, the Klan’s prejudices against African Americans will be discussed – in connection with Karen Hesse’s children book one also has to take prejudices against Jews into account.
The analysis of Ku Klux Klan literature and films will cover three important Klan-eras beginning in 1887 until the 1960s. Different types of texts and films will be set in context with different cultural aspects of that time.
All together, one cannot directly speak of an influence of Dixon’s work on later Klan literature and films. But the presence of some similar motives in all novels and films which will be taken into account, shows an important aspect that will be the main point of this paper: Regardless of a pro-Klan or a political neutral work of fiction, one can recognise either a conscious or an unconscious hero worship of the Klan, or, at least a representation of the Klan’s immense political and social power. One has to assume that different books and films indeed help to create a Klan myth. Throughout the paper, different motives will be compared to strengthen this thesis.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- History or Fiction: Thomas Dixon's The Clansman in the Context of Reconstruction
- The Development from a Slave into a Political Threat: The Image of African Americans in Dixon's Novel
- Glorifying the Aryan Race: Dixon's Idea of White Supremacy
- The Rising of the Ku Klux Klan
- Dixon's Version of the Klan as the Saviour of the White South
- Dixon's Idolisation of the Klan and the Study of the 'Dunning School'
- Women in the Shadow of the Ku Klux Klan
- Women's Struggle during Reconstruction
- Devoted Klan Women and the Evil Female Radical
- The Birth of a Modern Klan: Dixon's and Griffith's Propaganda as a "Midwife to the Rebirth of the Klan"
- Dixon's The Clansman and Contemporary Klan Literature and Film
- Oppressed or Independent: Different Images of Female Characters and their Husbands in Witness, Fire in the Rock and Mississippi Burning
- The Klan's Function as God's Right Hand and its Double Standard
- Ignorance as a Small Town Phenomenon: People's Conscious and Unconscious Support of the Ku Klux Klan
- The Ku Klux Klan in Small Towns
- Social Structures of a Small Town: Nelson Wikstrom's Political Analysis
- Small Town Characters in Contemporary Klan Literature and Film
- The Klan Takes Over Politics
- The Ku Klux Klan in Moving Pictures
- The Birth of a Nation
- Klan Power in Contemporary Movies: an Analysis of Mississippi Burning and a Short Look at The Chamber
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This study aims to explore the portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan in American literature and film, focusing on Thomas Dixon's novel *The Clansman* and its relationship to contemporary works. The analysis will examine Dixon's portrayal of African Americans and his glorification of the Klan in the context of Reconstruction. It will then explore the evolution of Klan representation in modern literature and film, analyzing themes of female roles, social structures, and the persistence of Klan influence.- The portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan in literature and film
- Thomas Dixon's *The Clansman* as a depiction of the Klan during Reconstruction
- The evolution of Klan representation in contemporary works
- The role of women and their relationships to the Klan
- The impact of social structures on the persistence of Klan ideology
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter introduces the topic of the Ku Klux Klan and its enduring presence in American history and culture. It provides an overview of the study's focus on Thomas Dixon's *The Clansman* and its connection to contemporary Klan literature and film.
- History or Fiction: Thomas Dixon's *The Clansman* in the Context of Reconstruction: This chapter analyzes Dixon's novel within the historical context of Reconstruction, exploring his portrayal of African Americans, his glorification of the Klan, and his view of white supremacy. It examines Dixon's use of the Klan as a symbol of Southern redemption and its connection to the "Dunning School" of historical interpretation.
- The Birth of a Modern Klan: Dixon's and Griffith's Propaganda as a "Midwife to the Rebirth of the Klan": This chapter examines the influence of Dixon's *The Clansman* and D.W. Griffith's film adaptation, *The Birth of a Nation*, on the resurgence of the Klan in the early 20th century.
- Dixon's *The Clansman* and Contemporary Klan Literature and Film: This chapter compares Dixon's work to contemporary novels and films that portray the Klan, exploring themes of female roles, the Klan's double standard, and the impact of social structures in small towns on the Klan's influence.
- The Ku Klux Klan in Moving Pictures: This chapter examines the portrayal of the Klan in contemporary films, focusing on *Mississippi Burning* and briefly discussing *The Chamber*. It analyzes how these films depict Klan power and its impact on society.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The study focuses on key terms and concepts surrounding the Ku Klux Klan, Reconstruction, American literature and film, Southern culture, white supremacy, racism, gender roles, social structures, small towns, and the impact of propaganda and media on the Klan's influence.- Quote paper
- M. A. Alexandra Mohr (Author), 2005, The Ku Klux Klan in American literature and films: From Thomas Dixon’s "The Clansman" to contemporary KKK novels and movies, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/52201
