Remixing the Archive

    In his film Rebirth of a Nation, DJ Spooky deconstructs D.W. Griffiths Birth of a Nation, into a thought provoking commentary on the power and influence of cinematic imagery.

    Reinterpreted through his own modern lens, D.J. Spooky goes into the archive, to remix the soundtrack for Griffiths original. He uses a very ambient, low-fi, ethereal, almost dystopian sound which, even though the images we are watching are in black and white, transports the film into the narratives of our modern context. This departure from the original epic classical score, adds a critical distance between us and the original to help open up new avenues of understanding. 

    Paul D. Miller, a.k.a. D.J. Spooky, explores how Griffiths original film started a new era and lasting legacy of using mass media in a partisan way, while purporting under the guise of impartiality. Miller highlights and disrupts this in many ways with his futuristic sounds, as well as his narration. Additionally, he takes Griffiths intertitles and adds his name and initials, PM to every card. This calls attention to the authoritative voice and personal influence Griffith had on the narrative while claiming that the film was impartial. By calling this out, he is showing just how manipulative and subliminal the original tone of the film was. 

    The legacy of showing history and talking about truth through an extremely biased lens makes it very difficult to find the real truth and impartiality. When dealing with history like this, Paul Miller shows that you are bound to run up against one’s own biases, and that it is better to acknowledge these than to try to hide / disguise/ or manipulate people to believe otherwise.