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Birth of a Nation director addresses rape accusations

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dream

dream

Member
Really interesting story. Despite being acquitted, Parker is still in a position where he has to address these allegations. I think this story shows just how powerful the accusation of rape really is.

Nate Parker’s Cinderella story took a decidedly darker turn Friday morning with a Deadline piece in which the filmmaker behind “The Birth of a Nation” gave an extended interview acknowledging his role in a 1999 rape charge, when he was a student at Penn State.

You can read the details here, but the upshot is he and “The Birth of a Nation” co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin had sex with a fellow student — an incident that, they said, was consensual; she says she was passed-out drunk and unable to give consent. The case went to trial, and Parker was acquitted while Celestin’s conviction was overturned on appeal.
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http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/na...ation-controversy-rape-penn-state-1201716438/
 
ienjoyrawfish

ienjoyrawfish

Member
Saw thread title and was like "pretty sure DW Griffith must be dead by now".

Had never even heard of the 2016 film until now, but it's ballsy to give it that title given the controversy surrounding the 1915 version. Almost as ballsy as calling a game "Sonic the Hedgehog" 15 years later, and we all saw how that turned out!
 
W

WhiteRabbitEXE

Member
ienjoyrawfish said:
Had never even heard of the 2016 film until now, but it's ballsy to give it that title given the controversy surrounding the 1915 version. Almost as ballsy as calling a game "Sonic the Hedgehog" 15 years later, and we all saw how that turned out!
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Well, the idea is that it would be a huge middle finger to the original "classic".
 
D

Dr.Acula

Banned
Not ballsy to use a title when every film out there is a remake or a sequel.

The original is a classic more in terms of its technical achievements, it's not like Casablanca or anything.
 
V

Valhelm

contribute something
Semi-related -- I'm pretty conflicted about supporting the art of bad people. Really seems like Woody Allen, for instance, is a serial molester. He's also one of the best filmmakers in American history. A couple of my friends refuse to see any of his movies unless through piracy, because they don't want to support him in any way. One of my closest friends is actually mad at me because I asked if she wanted to see Cafe Society.

But is a $12 movie ticket really an endorsement of an artist's wrongdoing?
 
B

broncobuster

Banned
Valhelm said:
Semi-related -- I'm pretty conflicted about supporting the art of bad people. Really seems like Woody Allen, for instance, is a serial molester. He's also one of the best filmmakers in American history. A couple of my friends refuse to see any of his movies unless through piracy, because they don't want to support him in any way. One of my closest friends is actually mad at me because I asked if she wanted to see Cafe Society.

But is a $12 movie ticket really an endorsement of an artist's wrongdoing?
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My opinion is filmmaking is a collaborative art. 100% of my payment isn't going to the individual I don't want to support. But I believe everybody is entitled to choose whether or not they want even 1% supporting that individual. What I will say is the piracy clause is dumb. Either have enough integrity to avoid their work entirely or pay for it.
 
L

lightskintwin

Banned
Man, reading the actual incident sounds eerily similar to a situation I was in back in college.

Also the title is misleading, he's addressing a 17 year old rape charge where he went to trial and was acquitted.
 
D

Dr.Acula

Banned
WedgeX said:
Man that civil complaint against Penn State, which Jane Doe won, doesn't paint them in a good light.

Of course, had Penn State cared this would have led to Sandusky getting arrested much earlier.
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yipvEpX.png

HNzwWRs.png
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Ungh, even if you want to say it was a he-said/she-said situation involving the alleged rape, they hired an investigator to follower her around and dig up dirt, and they stalked her.
 
T

TimeEffect

Member
Valhelm said:
Semi-related -- I'm pretty conflicted about supporting the art of bad people. Really seems like Woody Allen, for instance, is a serial molester. He's also one of the best filmmakers in American history. A couple of my friends refuse to see any of his movies unless through piracy, because they don't want to support him in any way. One of my closest friends is actually mad at me because I asked if she wanted to see Cafe Society.

But is a $12 movie ticket really an endorsement of an artist's wrongdoing?
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Your friends are lame. They dont have to watch the movies at all. Hiding behind piracy when it hurts everybody in the industry is just selfish
 
L

lightskintwin

Banned
Dr.Acula said:
Ungh, even if you want to say it was a he-said/she-said situation involving the alleged rape, they hired an investigator to follower her around and dig up dirt, and they stalked her.
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True, but 17 years ago if I was charged with rape by somebody on the same campus; and I knew I was innocent, I honestly have no idea how I'd react to that other person I felt was falsely accusing me and could potentially ruin my life. Which is why we need to learn from these situations and protect the victim/accuser on college campuses where the accused has easy access to her on a college campus.
 
V

ViewtifulJC

Banned
“I’m not try, trying to be mean, but, I felt like you put yourself in that situation, you know what I mean?” said Parker. “I really felt like I didn’t do anything wrong.”

hm.gif


this nigga
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
Valhelm said:
Semi-related -- I'm pretty conflicted about supporting the art of bad people. Really seems like Woody Allen, for instance, is a serial molester. He's also one of the best filmmakers in American history. A couple of my friends refuse to see any of his movies unless through piracy, because they don't want to support him in any way. One of my closest friends is actually mad at me because I asked if she wanted to see Cafe Society.

But is a $12 movie ticket really an endorsement of an artist's wrongdoing?
Click to expand...

We have people here won't support Gibson over the anti-semantic shit he said or Polaski for being a rapist and running. When it comes down to it, it is a bit about morals. It's not an endorsement, but it's about someone privileged enough to escape consequences of terrible fucking shit they did and choosing not to support their work. This is no different than not supporting a bakery that won't do a gay wedding or anything. You can at the very least vote with your dollar to send a message.

I looked over a bit... Holy fucking shit this guy is a piece of shit and a fucking psycho. Even if his ass was acquitted, he deserved to be locked up for harassment and stalking.
 
L

lightskintwin

Banned
shintoki said:
We have people here won't support Gibson over the anti-semantic shit he said or Polaski for being a rapist and running. When it comes down to it, it is a bit about morals. It's not an endorsement, but it's about someone privileged enough to escape consequences of terrible fucking shit they did and choosing not to support their work. This is no different than not supporting a bakery that won't do a gay wedding or anything. You can at the very least vote with your dollar to send a message.

I looked over a bit... Holy fucking shit this guy is a piece of shit and a fucking psycho. Even if his ass was acquitted, he deserved to be locked up for harassment and stalking.
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Do you think he raped her?
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
Valhelm said:
Semi-related -- I'm pretty conflicted about supporting the art of bad people. Really seems like Woody Allen, for instance, is a serial molester. He's also one of the best filmmakers in American history. A couple of my friends refuse to see any of his movies unless through piracy, because they don't want to support him in any way. One of my closest friends is actually mad at me because I asked if she wanted to see Cafe Society.

But is a $12 movie ticket really an endorsement of an artist's wrongdoing?
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"Serial" when he has only one rather dodgy accusation on his record? I would encourage you to look at the facts of the case more closely, as there's about a canyon's worth of reasonable doubt in this instance.
 
I

Imm0rt4l

Member
ViewtifulJC said:
“I’m not try, trying to be mean, but, I felt like you put yourself in that situation, you know what I mean?” said Parker. “I really felt like I didn’t do anything wrong.”

hm.gif


this nigga
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He had some fuckshit to say about never playing gay roles to preserve black men/masculinity as well.
 
V

Valhelm

contribute something
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
"Serial" when he has only one rather dodgy accusation on his record? I would encourage you to look at the facts of the case more closely, as there's about a canyon's worth of reasonable doubt in this instance.
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I think his relationship with Soon-Yi is inappropriate, even if not by law. While actual molestation might not have been involved (unlike the Dylan Farrow case), I think their dynamic was coercive to the point of abuse.
 
M

Madness

Member
Damn the stuff they did though. Stalking her, spreading rumors, standing outside her dorm so she couldn't leave, calling her sexual insults, basically spreading her name as the rape victim to the rest of the students, phoning and harassing her nonstop. Fuck this guy. What a hypocrite as well.
 
V

Volimar

Member
Valhelm said:
I think his relationship with Soon-Yi is inappropriate, even if not by law. While actual molestation might not have been involved (unlike the Dylan Farrow case), I think their dynamic was coercive to the point of abuse.
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While I think it was pretty icky myself, by most accounts he didn't have much of a hand in raising her.
 
S

Snowman Prophet of Doom

Member
Valhelm said:
I think his relationship with Soon-Yi is inappropriate, even if not by law. While actual molestation might not have been involved (unlike the Dylan Farrow case), I think their dynamic was coercive to the point of abuse.
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Woody's a scumbag for tearing his family apart over the Soon-Yi shit, but considering they're STILL together, and she laughs off all the stuff suggesting there was something wrong with her mentally or that Woody was anything remotely resembling a father figure to her, I don't think there's much of an argument to be made there.
 
W

watershed

Banned
Madness said:
Damn the stuff they did though. Stalking her, spreading rumors, standing outside her dorm so she couldn't leave, calling her sexual insults, basically spreading her name as the rape victim to the rest of the students, phoning and harassing her nonstop. Fuck this guy. What a hypocrite as well.
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Yeah the whole story is way worse than a case of he said she said alleged rape. Disgusting.
 
A

Ashby

Member
he and “The Birth of a Nation” co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin had sex with a fellow student
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Christ, so how far down the ladder do we got to go to get to a person who wasn't raping people?
 
E

Erevador

Member
Deadline's massive story about this (clearly initiated by Parker and the studio) is very uncomfortable. It's an attempt to "get ahead of the story," but also feels like Oscar campaigning.
 
H

hodayathink

Member
Erevador said:
Deadline's massive story about this (clearly initiated by Parker and the studio) is very uncomfortable. It's an attempt to "get ahead of the story," but also feels like Oscar campaigning.
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It feels like it because that's exactly what it is. They'd rather this story blow up, as it were, in August than in November.
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
Erevador said:
Deadline's massive story about this (clearly initiated by Parker and the studio) is very uncomfortable. It's an attempt to "get ahead of the story," but also feels like Oscar campaigning.
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I'm sure they were expecting this and already had everything prepared. It's pretty disgusting reading the Civil lawsuit.
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
hodayathink said:
It feels like it because that's exactly what it is. They'd rather this story blow up, as it were, in August than in November.
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I mean, the Deadline story explicitly says this.
A brewing controversy threatens to challenge the trajectory of that inspiring narrative. Memories of 17-year-old rape charges waged against both Parker and Jean McGianni Celestin (who shares co-story credit with Parker) while they were roommates at Penn State in 1999 left Fox Searchlight in full crisis mode these past weeks, scrambling to figure out how best to protect its sizable investment and Oscar chances by getting in front of a disclosure that is bubbling up in the mainstream press. [...] Oscar history tells us there are no secrets during awards season. Having become fully aware of those old charges in the months since it bought the film, Fox Searchlight has been looking to pre-empt any late-season bombshells that might land while voters have ballots in hand. Also, one of the flash points for the uprising in The Birth of a Nation is the brutal rape of Turner’s wife Cherry, which strikes a match that flares into murderous rebellion against white slave-holders and the institutionalized cruelty that has never been exposed to this level in a major film.
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Also, I've never heard a rape being called the reason for Turner's rebellion. Making me worried this is going to be more film adaptation bullshit.

The way he talks about the incident, complete with the "nothing happened, but I've grown as a man and a father" lines, certainly lead me to believe he thinks he's culpable.
 
H

Hagi

Member
Real Hero said:
Could you say anything more rapist sounding?
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It's the old "well maybe I fucked you without your consent but you came to my house in the first place so we're even stevens" defence. There's a sense of entitlement you see in these kind of rape cases where the attacker thinks your mere presence validates their actions. See that college swimmer kid and the type of shit he's said regarding the victim and how he didn't think about how raping her would effect her.
 
E

EmiPrime

Member
I believe his victim. An innocent man wouldn't have hired a PI to intimidate her and stalked and harassed her around campus after what happened if it really was some misunderstanding (lol) re consent. Nate Parker is a rapist and an entitled, remorseless bully.
 
B

Bebpo

Banned
It's scary how people take lawsuit complaints as facts. Schools really need to teach some American law classes so people can understand how the system works. Often complaints are full of completely made up stuff or exaggerations by the side filing it as unless they're verified or federal, they're not under penalty of perjury. Depositions are way more truthful, although at the end of the day some/most people lie anyways.

No idea about the truth of this thread either way, but so many people using a page of the complaint as hard facts is frightening .
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
EmiPrime said:
I believe his victim. An innocent man wouldn't have hired a PI to intimidate her and stalked and harassed her around campus after what happened if it really was some misunderstanding re consent. Nate Parker is a rapist and an entitled, remorseless bully.
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Eh, he might have panicked; doing stupid or even horrible things has no bearing on innocence. Upgrades him from "possible rapist" to "definite jackass" though. Didn't have any apology for that stuff in the Deadline article.
 
E

EmiPrime

Member
Fuchsdh said:
Eh, he might have panicked; doing stupid or even horrible things has no bearing on innocence. Upgrades him from "possible rapist" to "definite jackass" though. Didn't have any apology for that stuff in the Deadline article.
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Panicked into raping an unconscious woman or panicked into launching a sustained campaign of intimidation and harassment on campus that resulted in his victim making multiple suicide attempts? These are deliberate, considered actions not sudden reactions.
 
SaviourMK2

SaviourMK2

Member
WhiteRabbitEXE said:
Well, the idea is that it would be a huge middle finger to the original "classic".
Click to expand...

Very few people know of that film's existence. I watched it once out of morbid curiosity yeeeeeears ago when it was brought up in a film class, but after watching it, I have never referred to it as "Birth of a Nation", I've always referred to it by it's original title "The Clansman" since it's purely fiction.
 
M

Madness

Member
Fuchsdh said:
Eh, he might have panicked; doing stupid or even horrible things has no bearing on innocence. Upgrades him from "possible rapist" to "definite jackass" though. Didn't have any apology for that stuff in the Deadline article.
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http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_9f468e13-0181-56ae-91d7-439b1b84f0ee.html

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/pa-superior-court/1186487.html

In case you want to read up more on his rape. His actions after are not consistent with someone who is innocent, nor are the comments by the attorney trying to shame the victim by saying she only claimed rape because people found out she had sex with black men as a white woman. Parker and his friend are the ones who gave her identity away as did the lawyer and then committed a sustained harassment of her as did their other wrestler friends.
 
W

WedgeX

Banned
Erevador said:
Deadline's massive story about this (clearly initiated by Parker and the studio) is very uncomfortable. It's an attempt to "get ahead of the story," but also feels like Oscar campaigning.
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Seems to have worked, as well.

With how prosecutors and universities have generally treated victims of sexual assault along with how rabidly Penn State has protected its sports programs in the past I have very little trust in the outcome of the past criminal trial.
 
G

Goodstyle

Member
This guy seems really scummy. Oscars next year are going to be a disaster. This movie's going to be nominated for a shit ton of awards, probably win a lot, people will complain about it not being that great and only being nominated because of complaints from last year, and yet another movie about how tough it was to be black will be the only kind that gets recognized. And on top of all that, the many, many detractors of this film will point out that the academy is honouring a rapist at worst, scumbag at best, and the usual people who complain about that sort of thing will be mostly silent due to the importance they place on diversity, which will see even more critics calling them out for their double standards.

This will be a social discourse fucking disaster, and it's already making me sick. The incident happened many years ago, and I'd be willing to forgive this guy if he showed even a hint of genuine self-reflection and remorse, but no, he continues to be a coward about it. His movie has important things to say, and this guy is probably super talented, but fuck, I know this is unfair of me to ask, but there are a lot of people like me who take these issues seriously, and we wish he was a better fucking person, or at the very least trying to be. Whether we like it or not, this guy's going to be repping racial inequality and injustice in America, and I sure as fuck wish it wasn't him.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
Goodstyle said:
This guy seems really scummy. Oscars next year are going to be a disaster. This movie's going to be nominated for a shit ton of awards, probably win a lot, people will complain about it not being that great and only being nominated because of complaints from last year, and yet another movie about how tough it was to be black will be the only kind that gets recognized. And on top of all that, the many, many detractors of this film will point out that the academy is honouring a rapist at worst, scumbag at best, and the usual people who complain about that sort of thing will be mostly silent due to the importance they place on diversity, which will see even more critics calling them out for their double standards.

This will be a social discourse fucking disaster, and it's already making me sick. The incident happened many years ago, and I'd be willing to forgive this guy if he showed even a hint of genuine self-reflection and remorse, but no, he continues to be a coward about it. His movie has important things to say, and this guy is probably super talented, but fuck, I know this is unfair of me to ask, but there are a lot of people like me who take these issues seriously, and we wish he was a better fucking person, or at the very least trying to be. Whether we like it or not, this guy's going to be repping racial inequality and injustice in America, and I sure as fuck wish it wasn't him.
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Eh I think Jeff Nichols' Loving and Manchester by the Sea have a lot of awards potential too. And the former is about an interracial marriage scandal as well.....
 
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