The Birth of a Nation (1915)

D.W. Griffith's epic was a technical masterpiece that invented modern film grammar — and a virulently racist propaganda film that glorified the Ku Klux Klan and depicted Black people (played by white actors in blackface) as savage threats. The film directly led to the revival of the KKK, which grew to 4 million members by the 1920s. It remains the most consequential example of cinema's power to shape public opinion for evil, and the ongoing debate about separating art from ideology.