Nate Parker isn’t here for the oppressor. The actor and director’s upcoming film, The Birth of a Nation, pulls no punches. It’s a brutally honest retelling of the Nat Turner slave rebellion of 1831.
Friday, Fox Searchlight released the film’s newest poster.
They also gave a shout out to the artist behind this striking concept.
@LeftSentThis – truly inspired by the work of Laurie Cooper! Check out more of her amazing work: https://t.co/mWsIQ137jQ
— #TheBirthofaNation (@NatTurnerFilm) July 16, 2016
The Birth of a Nation isn’t told through the white gaze. It gives slaves, particularly Turner, an independent perspective. The marketing team at Fox Searchlight seems to be 100 percent on board with Parker’s vision and intent. Will it make some people uncomfortable? Yes. But this movie wasn’t made to appease.
Set against the antebellum South, The Birth of a Nation follows Nat Turner (Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
