In the past week, one of this fall's most hotly anticipated films has gone from Oscar bait to ethical quandary. Based on Nat Turner's 1831 slave rebellion, Nate Parker's fiery Birth of a Nation has run into controversial territory after the resurfacing of rape accusations against him and his writing partner Jean Celestin that stem from when the pair were students at Penn State University in 1999. Although Parker was ultimately acquitted (Celestin was convicted, but the verdict was overturned after an appeal), questions remain, and many have been outraged to learn that the victim later killed herself. Now there's the additional thorny question of what viewers ought to do with the film, which has received full-throated and near-universal praise since its triumphant festival debut (and $17.5 million acquisition prize) at Sundance in January.
"What's disheartening for me is the conversation around it and how so many people are quick to defend Nate Parker, defend Jean Celestin, defend the whole situation," Yaba Blay, an Africana studies professor at Drexel University, told VICE. "I'm a survivor, and we have to take stand in a lot of different ways, especially with these artists because we send a powerful message when we support them."
From noted feminist author Roxane Gay at the New York Times to Tarana Burke at Colorlines, we certainly know who's not going to see the movie. Many black feminists in particular have taken a hard stance against Parker and Celestin—even if the film contains a powerful narrative of slave resistance, to support it would be to support rape culture, they argue. But presumably not everyone will boycott Birth of a Nation. So does buying that ticket mean those who flock to theaters October 7 are betraying women, supporting rape culture, or otherwise committing themselves to being a part of "the problem"? Not that seeing or not seeing a film will end rape culture or bring back the traumatized victim, who committed suicide in 2012. The question is in many ways more fundamental: Can—and should—we separate the actions of artists from the content of their art?
"I do think black women are tired," said Natalie Bullock Brown, a film professor at Saint Augustine's University currently producing Baartman, Beyonce & Me , about how dominant beauty ideals impact black women. "If you look at who has been hopping up to defend black manhood of late, and really throughout history, black women have always been at the forefront. What I'm sensing from black women who are wanting to break ranks is, 'I'm tired of supporting you when you don't support us.'"
Aside from people like Al Sharpton, the public seems to be turning against Parker. In many ways, his story echoes that of artists like R. Kelly, accused of abusing under-aged girls, or wife-beater Miles Davis, or alleged rapist Bill Cosby, or alleged child molester Woody Allen, or fugitive sex criminal Roman Polanski. The same old questions about whether a creator's behavior can taint his (always his) art apply.
But though Parker is obviously the main creative force behind Birth of a Nation, there are other actors involved whose work is well worth supporting, including Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Gabrielle Union, and Roger Guenveur Smith. And there are even clear-headed reasons to support Parker himself, which have nothing to do with buying into conspiracy theories about taking down the black man or why his rap sheet, hidden in plain view, grew to prominence so close to the film's debut. It is possible to believe that despite his acquittal, Parker did something heinous, but also that he, like everyone, is capable of redemption and transformation.
"I want us to be more empathetic and more compassionate with each other. That's the type of feminism I'm here for," Brown said. "I would like to see that extension of grace. Talk about how he's going to use his celebrity to address these issues. I think it would help some of us feel like, 'OK, he's a work in progress. He is moving in a direction I can get with that can honor because he's owning his stuff.' I want to support that."
What makes this controversy all the more important is that Birth of Nation tells a story most Americans never hear: Black slaves didn't acquiesce to their lot, they actively resisted. Scholars will tell you many enslaved people damaged tools and crops, fought and poisoned their owners, and violently rebelled on the regular. But this isn't the story we tend to hear, and many African Americans have openly wondered whether and why slaves didn't fight back. Birth of a Nation could provide a necessary counterweight.
The film also centers African Americans instead of making them supporting players, a rarity even among Hollywood films specifically about the slave era. It's at the forefront of what will hopefully become a pattern of storytelling that represents the struggle to center the narratives of marginalized people in conversations not just in entertainment but in politics and social policy.
There's still time and hope to rehabilitate this film and what it stands for. And Parker himself is not beyond rehab, despite what some critics like Gay might contend. Parker can still provide a service to the community once he has truly grappled with his transgressions. His previous statement was unconvincing, but much can be said and done differently before the film's release on October 7 and in the days—and years—that follow.
"The difficult work of restorative justice and community healing between the aggrieved party and the perpetrator must be done in earnest if there is to be true redemption," said activist and filmmaker Byron Hurt. "I'm suggesting that we as a community of rape and sexual assault advocates intervene on the victim's behalf and demand this work from Parker and Celestin before we financially support their movie."
Hurt's prescription sounds an awful lot like a truth and reconciliation model that would provide a safe space for Parker to own up to his failings. If he is seen publicly making penance for what he's done, and if he turns his story into one of redemption, not wrongdoing.
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