Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages, Griffith

Extract

[...] Jenkins' (the owner of the Mill) spinster sister, who has been spending her time at parties and donating to charities. In each time period, it's difficult to see how the character's stories are related and intertwined, until eventually, all their stories do intertwine. This wouldn't be an issue if all of these plot lines were portrayed at one time, but what makes them difficult to follow is the constant switching from each time period with their different plot lines to another time period. [...]

[...] How intolerance is depicted can be summed up by a character's prayer, proclaiming, “Oh lord, I thank thee that I am better than other men.” Narcissism, claiming a moral high ground, and capitalism (as the modern story portrays) results in the destruction of societies. Several characters in the film can be quoted as saying, “ . if only he thought as we do.” This type of intolerance has transcended throughout time and will always be the pitfall of society. A more optimistic view of the movie is that, while intolerance and hatred may always exist, love will always conquer over all. It's this kind of thinking that is common among epic stories in both literature, art, and film. [...]

[...] Then, just as I started to become interested in the next part of the story in a different time period, it was switched. It's not that the character's narratives were difficult to follow, but compartmentalizing and keeping track what was happening in all these different plot lines was distracting. Ultimately, I believe that it took away from the stunning presentation of the movie and was my biggest problem with it. However, while I may have had an issue with how the story was presented, I did think it was interesting and thought provoking. [...]

[...] Good conquering over evil, even when the odds are set against them. This is a rather hopeful view of the world and I imagine it would have been difficult for people in 1916 to have faith in such an idea. World War I had been happening for two years by this point, and it would continue on until 1918, taking many lives and hope away from a lot of people. At the end of Intolerance, as scene mirroring World War I is depicted, which really brings this story home to the audience, referencing events happening in real time. [...]

[...] The story can be easily summarized using the movies complete title, Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages. It shows us stories from four different time periods which, to quote one of the opening lines of the movie, “Each story shows how hatred and intolerance, through all the ages, have battled against love and charity.” It presents this as the case, showing us how history repeats itself throughout the ages, but doesn't offer any solutions to this transcendent problem. It ends with a theme that one can either see as optimistic or grim, which is that love will always struggle against the overlooking forces of evil and if our love is strong enough and lucky, it will prevail. [...]