D.W. Griffith in The 1920s
D.W. Griffith (1875–1948) was an important movie director of the early-20th century and one of the founders of the Hollywood film industry.
Griffith's 1915 film The Birth of a Nation—which depicted Ku Klux Klansmen as triumphant heroes—was one of the most important films in American history. A runaway box office success, it proved the viability of the Hollywood feature film as a commercial product.
It also revealed the deep racism still prevalent in American society, and led to a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.