Among other examples, Miller pointedly cites University President Lawrence H. Summers’ controversial statements about women in science as a living demonstration of the persistence of this “incredibly false version of America” set forth in Griffith’s film.

Miller explains this connection between The Birth of a Nation and Summers’ infamous statements about the “innate differences” between the sexes: “[I]t’s about clichéd perceptions of people. A lot of us operate under assumptions—about behavior, intelligence, etc., etc.—the culture of the cliché.”

But the themes that Miller grapples with in Rebirth extend beyond the pinpointing of unchanged cultural trends. For Miller, his Rebirth of a Nation is also a reevaluation of Griffith’s film, as well as a reassessment of American history.

“A lot of [The Birth of a Nation’s] main element, because it’s a silent film, is hyperbolic; the reality, of course, is much more complex,” says Miller. “I am intrigued how cinema is used to reduce complex issues into cliché soundbites, how it acts as propaganda for a very simple vision of America.”

According to Miller, this reexamination of The Birth of a Nation is important because “Film is our global vocabulary. And it’s a language that cuts across all cultures…America is a culture of amnesia, and to me, a lot of issues pop up precisely because of that; the more we forget history, the more it seems to come back and haunt us.”

A HARVARD CONNECTION

In preparation for Rebirth, Miller conducted much of his research at the Harvard Film Archive (HFA). The HFA has a history of assisting scholars, filmmakers, and other artists, by providing access to over 8,000 films in their collection, stored in humidity-controlled vaults.

One of these vaults contains the cleanest prints of The Birth of a Nation. Because the HFA has a policy of not allowing film prints to be copied or loaned, Miller had to work on site.

Former Cavell Curator of the HFA Bruce Jenkins recalls Miller approaching the archive for assistance when Rebirth was still in its conceptual state. Intrigued by Miller’s plans, the HFA worked to help develop a project in which Miller would DJ to the film in Sanders Theatre. However, the HFA was unsuccessful in gaining institutional support to co-sponsor the event, and what would have been the world premiere of Rebirth failed to materialize.

Though nothing recently has resembed the early 20th century lynching riots connected with the debut of The Birth of a Nation, the HFA has had its own dealings with angry viewers reacting to the controversial film.

“The HFA has long held a print of the film, and in one of the more celebrated episodes in the Archive’s history, the founding curator Vlada Petric had to defend the projection booth against a group of offended audience members who wanted to terminate a screening of [The] Birth of a Nation,” Jenkins writes in an e-mail.

In light of the controversy occasioned by previous showings, Jenkins wanted to have on-campus support for the project which, unfortunately, never came through. It was not until over two years later that Jenkins saw Miller’s vision realized at a performance of Rebirth at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

In retrospect, Jenkins adds, “That experience of having the HFA support the project at a very early stage was important in persuading Paul to move forward with the work.”

Now, Miller will finally get to perform Rebirth at Sanders Theatre, and for him, touring at Harvard is like “coming back full circle.”

Miller can thank the collaborative efforts of Rivers and the OFA for his long overdue Boston debut. Rivers, co-coordinator of HFAI and a longtime fan of Miller’s, saw Rebirth at Lincoln Center in New York City this past summer. “[A]s soon as Rebirth was over, I knew I wanted him to come and do it at Harvard,” Rivers writes in an email, and she subsequently approached and received support from the OFA to bring Miller to campus.