Monday, October 10, 2016

Nat Turner Biopic Fairs Poorly


Actor Nate Parker's controversial Nat Turner biopic bombs at the box office...

The Nat Turner biopic, 'The Birth of a Nation', written, directed and starring Nate Parker came in no. 6 at the box office this week pulling an estimated $7 million in its debut weekend after showing in 2,105 theaters.

In contrast, the no.1 film this week 'The Girl on the Train' pulled in a whopping $24 million.

Nate Parker's biopic was dogged by protests after it was revealed that he, along with his college roommate and Nation writing partner Jean Celestin, had been accused of raping a white girl, who later committed suicide, while attending Penn State [click here if you missed that].

Ironically, the original 1915 'Birth of a Nation' film by D.W. Griffith depicted the United States plunged into chaos following the civil war with Black men portrayed as sexually aggressive deviants unable to control themselves around white women.