Birth of a Nation isn't an awful film. It's a great film with some really, truly awful content. That's the dilemma. BOAN defined the Hollywood feature film.

That being said I don't think there's any compelling reason for people to sit through its entirety. It was made in another era for another generation altogether. An (greatly!) abbreviated version ought to suffice anyone interested. It's embarrassing for white people & infuriating for black folk.

One interesting point is that the NAACP, founded only a few years before its release, gained stature & membership protesting its release & contesting its misconceptions.