The University community was treated to an eclectic mix of art and politics Friday as the first installment of the Urban Voices series in the Carolina Performing Arts Series came to Memorial Hall.
Paul Miller, known on stage as DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid, performed his live remix of D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" to an enthusiastic crowd composed of young and old.
Residents from the town mingled alongside students before the show and afterward participated in a question-and-answer session moderated by Miller. Often interrupted by the applause of his like-minded audience, Miller discussed the social implications of his film.
His "Rebirth of a Nation" featured themes of mob mentality and racist thought, as well as a nod to the bumps inherent in the winding road of democracy.
Miller stood on the Memorial Hall stage surrounded by heavy technical equipment familiar to the DJ trade and bounced with the music he mixed over disparate historical images.
An ambient glow oozed from his equipment as three enormous projection screens behind him hummed with the transient portraits.
The mood was warm, following Miller's suggestion before the film began that the audience members imagine themselves in his living room as he performed a private show.
There was nothing passive here. This was a performance. Audience members were engaged in reading the subtitles that bounced between the three screens, and their eyes were obligated to dart from one to another to see the whole picture.
Miller mixed the sounds and images right in front of the audience, so what happened that night was unique. The hours-long "Birth of a Nation" was pared down to a 90-minute collage, presenting everything in media res.
