American History X and the Epidemic of Youth Violence
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost,
But now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
--Shaker hymn
James Garbarino (1999) discusses the boys who are lost and ways that they can learn to see again in his book Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them. He takes an in depth look at what he calls the "epidemic of youth violence" in America in order to determine its causes and origins. By gaining an understanding of the problem, Garbarino hopes to be able to ascertain some sort of solution. He provides useful advice and insight about steps we as a society can take to ensure our boys do not become lost. In order to develop Garbarino’s ideas in my mind, I thought it would be interesting to apply some of his points he makes in his book to a case. I chose to write on the two main characters, Derek and Danny, in the movie American History X. I will provide a brief summary of the movie, followed by an extensive examination of the characters, using Lost Boys as a critical lens. First I will discuss the importance of viewing the boys lives in their entirety rather that isolating one incident. I will then look at the risk factors and the racial implications involved in Derek and Danny’s life. The next two sections will focus on the lack of a father figure and the powerful influence Derek has as a result of the absence of a father. Then I devote a short section to Garbarino’s idea of affirmation instead of discrimination and how this could have helped Derek and Danny. Before concluding, I take into account psychologist James Gilligan’s ideas on violence and how they apply to this case. In my conclusion, I look at Garbarin...
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...n an entirely different meaning. We need to be aware of the presence of gangs in our society. Leaders of the gangs can offer positive things provided that they do not encourage violence. As educators, we must try to instill these positive actions by encouraging open mindedness.
The problem of youth violence is not an unsolvable one. Although fictional, American History X provides an accurate example of how youths can make the transition from violent behavior. We must work to seek out the blind and the lost boys to help them find their vision in a world that is so often covered in darkness.
Bibliography
Garbarino, James. Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them. Anchor Books, New York: 1999.
Gilligan, James. Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic. Vintage, New York: 1997.
American History X. New Line Cinema, Los Angeles: 1998.
Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001
Edgar Allen Poe is often thought of as being one of the most depressed and morbid American writers of all time. His fascination with death can be seen in his short stories, such as “The Masque of the Red Death”, and his poetry, such as “Spirits of the Dead”. His tragic life left him with depression, a drinking problem, a suicide attempt, and eventually, an untimely death. Though one could argue that Poe’s depression was due to his unfortunate life, his behaviors and drinking problems, coupled with his argumentative nature and lack of self control point to a personality that is high in neuroticism and low in agreeableness and conscientiousness.
College recruiting is something that was created for the good of college sports, but is often used for such unethical actions that will make anyone with a soul cringe. In 2004, University of Colorado’s athletic department used alcohol, drugs, and sex to lure recruits during official campus visits (Gerdy). These actions are immoral on a number of levels, and should not be tolerated. If this type of behavior continues to be seen in college sports, then serious changes need to be made. Illegal recruiting that takes place in NCAA athletics is unethical, gives colleges unfair advantages, and jeopardizes player’s eligibility.
12.99 gallons of gas and then a driver was able to drive a total of 590.5 miles before
People believe that paying college athletes will ruin the tradition and innocence of the game. However, people forget that Olympians get paid, and most of them are amateur athletes. "Gold medallists from the United States receive a minimum of $15,000 for their success (from the U.S. Olympic Committee and the national governing body of the winner's sport), USA Today, Final Ed." These Olympians can also capitalize on endorsement deals and other additional bonuses, most of which are illegal in college athletics. The innocence of the game is already in jeopardy, in a June 24th, 1996 issue of The NCAA News, " Studies indicate that 75 percent of underclassmen have received cash or gifts from an agent." That’s a pretty high number, three out of every four are involved in illegal activities involving agents, and 90...
Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture. (9th ed ed., pp. 1-227). Boston,MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
It is said that, after the death of Virginia, Poe turned to the use of alcohol more frequently and his behavior became more erratic. Drinking large amounts of alcohol increases the risk fa...
This essay is about a young African-American male teen name Jason Simmons. Jason was born on July 24, 1998 to the parents of Tony and Sallie Simmons. They lived in a small town in South Carolina were there was not a high crime rate but crime still existed in their small town. Like all cities and town crime does not omit it because it’s small or large because there is always someone trying to get something for nothing. Furthermore, there was some known gang activity in the small town. Therefore, there were some concerns of the young kids in the town getting involved in this activity in order to fill like they were a part of the in crowd. Furthermore, a lot of the kids did get blamed for being a part of these local gangs but are not actually
The life of Edgar Allan Poe, was stuffed with tragedies that all affected his art. From the very start of his writing career, he adored writing poems for the ladies in his life. When he reached adulthood and came to the realization of how harsh life could be, his writing grew to be darker and more disturbing, possibly as a result of his intense experimenting with opium and alcohol. His stories continue to be some of the most frightening stories ever composed, because of this, some have considered this to be the reason behind these themes. Many historians and literature enthusiasts have presumed his volatile love life as the source while others have credited it to his substance abuse. The influence of his one-of-a-kind writing is more than likely a combination of both theories; but the main factor is the death of many of his loved ones and the abuse which he endured. This, not surprisingly, darkened his perspective considerably.
Thomson, Gary Richard, and Poe Edgar. The selected writings of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Norton & Company, 2004
Ubiquitous criminalization: Meaning the school institution attaches a label to these youth who had been victimized by crime and are often a threat to the school environment. As such, the school saw them as plotting to commit violence as a means to avenge their victimization. As such, the school commonly accused the boys of truancy of the days that they missed recovering from violent attacks and used this as justification to expel them from school (Punished: Policing the lives of Black and Latino Boys, pg6&7). Shadowing marginalized youth: Young males who lived in communities heavily affected by criminal justice policies and practices, delinquent inner-city youths, those at the frontline of the war on crime and mass incarceration. Observing masculinity: Masculinity affects the lives of these boys, from the expectation of violence. Youth Demographics: Neighborhood with high violent-crime rates and had sibling or friends who had been previously involved with crime. (Punished: Policing the lives of Black and Latino boys, PG 14&17) The purpose is for society to have a depth understanding to how these young boys try, so that there not punished as youth; rather create opportunity and understanding rather than constraining
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Mankato, MN : The Creative Company, 2008. Print.
A harsh and punitive response to youth violence was, in part, brought about by a moral panic across America. Exaggerations by the media and political figures act as instigators of panic. Both the media and politicians promoted the concept of the super-predator youth. The media played its part by publishing or airing many individual stories of violent youth. Those in question represented only a small amount of the adolescent population. However, many Americans took these media-conveyed stories at face value, and it seemed to the public that there could be a juvenile delinquent around every corner just slavering to steal their wallet or sell them narcotics (Howell, 27).
Welch, M, Price, EA, and Yankey, N 2002, ‘Moral panic over youth violence: Wilding and the manufacture of menace in the media’, Youth Society, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 3-29
Video games have come a long way. They have evolved from the simple game of Pong into a complex, multi-platform, multi-genre, multi-billion dollar industry.