Final answer:
Films such as 'Birth of a Nation' portrayed Black people in a negative light, reinforcing racial stereotypes rather than displaying the true nature of Black Americans in the early 20th century. Oscar Micheaux and other African American writers and artists countered these portrayals with more accurate representations of Black experiences.
Step-by-step explanation:
The portrayal of Black people in films such as Birth of a Nation, The Color Purple, and Within Our Gates don't accurately reflect the reality of Black Americans during the early part of the 20th Century. Particularly, Birth of a Nation, directed by D.W. Griffith, has been widely criticized for its racist depictions of Black people, promoting harmful stereotypes and aiding in the resurrection of the Ku Klux Klan. The film portrays Black men as aggressive towards white women and demonstrates the Klan as the saviors of the post-Civil War South, effectively rewriting history in a white supremacist narrative. This does not align with the actual experiences or characteristics of the Black community of that time. African American historians and the NAACP worked vigorously to combat these false portrayals which had detrimental impacts on societal perceptions and the treatment of Black individuals in America.
In contrast, Oscar Micheaux, an African American author and filmmaker, responded to the success of such damaging narratives by directing films that offered a Black perspective of African American history, challenging the demeaning images perpetuated in films like Birth of a Nation. Works by important African American literary figures like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Claude McKay also sought to provide more truthful and multifaceted representations of Black lives, contributing significantly to the cultural discourse and offering a much-needed dimension to the understanding of Black experiences during this era.