Recently we watched a movie called American History X. It touched on a lot of major subjects such as gang violence and racism, which has been passed on from generation to generation. It also asked questions like, what were their racist ideas really based on, how did racism effect the community, can racism be reshaped by actual experiences, and how or why racism to begin with? Racism has been the main topic in the judicial system, police affairs, and racially divided communities for years but it's neither disappearing nor growing to this today.
In this movie the main character was a man named Derek. After the death of his father, due to gang violence, he became a racist to all others but white people. He blamed the lack of jobs and poor wages on the blacks and immigrants. In an interview he had after the death of his father he stated that, it's all the blacks fault for all the violence in their neighborhood. He also said that, they brought all the diseases like AIDS and it's their problem and why did they have to bring it to the white people. Before he vandalized a store, owned by a Chinese man, with his other racist friends he told them why they were doing this. He told them that these immigrates come here an instead of looking for the American dream they come and take advantage of it and by firing those who worked there before and hiring Mexicans and blacks, that are willing to work at a low-wage, they make more money. So he and his friends need to show them that they indeed don't belong here and no one wants them here.
After brutally killing two people, in cold blood, Derek was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. In prison, there were some like him and had the same thoughts but didn't stay true to their beliefs. He wondered why did his fellow skin-heads had confrontations with others outside of the group for product and merchandise and then turned around and sell it to his own. This kind of activity puzzled Derek who later in the movie came to the realization that there is nothing wrong about talking to blacks and others. Slowly, as the months passed, in jail he started developing a new found respect for everyone no matter their color or race, he started talking to his black laundry folding partner, and stopped hanging or talking to his Nazi friends .
Race in America: Is it really such a problem now as it was so many years ago? I think my generation of young adults is reaping the 1st benefits of a “racist free” society, and I put racist free society in quotations because our society may never truly be without some form of racism because I believe that hate for another race or culture is seeded in our youth at a very early age, and that our kids our taught, in a sense, to hate by their parents words, actions, sayings, jokes, beliefs, etc and are made to think that that kind of offensiveness is ok, and thus grow up with that racism growing into racial hatred.
In the 1960s racial hate was a massive problem, probably the biggest issue to face the country at that time. Fast forward 50 years and ask if that problem has been solved. Obviously it hasn’t. Racial slurs are commonly used in everyday conversations and stereotypical ideas about people of different races are commonplace. Some may argue that since the time of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s racially motivated hate issues have come so far in the direction of an equal society. While that is very true, by no means are all the problems solved. The media endorses the use of racial slurs and racial stereotypes. Television shows like “Blackish” promote stereotypical ideas of a black family and discusses topics like the use of “the n word”. Rap
Race is and always has been an important topic in the history of the United States. The focus on race and how it affects society came to prominence during the slave trade. Clearly when you have one race claiming superiority over another race, especially to the extent of establishing ownership over one another, it is quite obvious how significant the concept of race really is in American society. Progress was made when the US abolished slavery. The problem is, however, that racism didn’t die when slavery did. The difference being, racism is not clearly laid out in American society today. This doesn’t mean, however, that the new “hidden racism” cannot be seen in our society. One example of this can be seen in the Rocky movie series, starring actor Sylvester Stallone. What can the Rocky series tell us about subtle, underlying racism in post-slavery American society? Turns out this series can tell us quite a bit. See the racism is not clear in the Rocky movies, just as it is not clear in American society. Through different scenes and aspects of these films, one can see the labeling of African Americans as villains or enemies as well as the limited mobility for African Americans in the US today.
Racism has been a huge problem throughout the United States and every individual struggles with the unproductive messages of racism that is being passed on through from larger societies. Many people suffered from this in silence and it is what hits the hardest on children and youth who lack the life experience to understa...
Race in America comes with a lot of struggle. It has been over fifty years since segregation ended, and race is still the cause of debate over police brutality, discrimination, and hate crimes. In the public eye, race relations are a more muted topic. Most people, white and black say that the time of racial cynicism is over. Race relations now are less defined by politics and more by experiences in schools, sports, popular culture and religion. In the arts, race is becoming more defined as the celebration of culture.
One of the more prevalent themes of this movie is racism, and how prejudicial mindsets ultimately lead to one’s own demise. The movie outlines how racism, among other things, can adversely affect someone’s judgment. After the father died, we see how the family gradually deteriorates financially as well as emotionally after Derek (the older brother played by Edward Norton) turns to a neo Nazi gang for an outlet, which eventually influences his younger brother Danny (played by Edward Furlong) to follow down ...
It appears that we have been investigating the cause and effects of race and racism for quick some time, as a middle age adult in the year 2015, I feel that we have run into a brick wall which seems too hard to break though, too wide to get around and runs to deep to get under.
Racism has always been a controversial topic in history. All people face racism, no matter what race you are, and it’s an injustice. Racism is a major issue in today’s society, because … THESIS STATEMENT
It appear that we have been investigating the cause and effects of race and racism for quick some time, as middle age adult in the year 2015, I feel that we have run into a brick wall which seems too hard to break though, to wide to get around and runs to deep to get under.
The movie starts out in a black and white color, which represents in flashback points of what happened in the Vinyard family past. In that black and white scene there were African American “gang” members break into a car at the Vinyard household. Derek is clearly proud of his status since his father was killed by an African American so he believes he is doing the right thing by standing up to them in remembrance of his father, and he kills a few of the gang members. Then we see Danny (Edward Furlong), who is Derek’s younger brother; walk outside to witness the cops taking Derek away. In this scene we learn about the views of the Vinyard house hold and this night basically shapes who Danny becomes in the future, since he wants to make his older brother proud. Danny gets mixed up in all the same gangs as Derek did which changes him for the worst.
The storeowner (no character name; played by Howard Fong) who immigrated to America has had experiences of racism, which made him distrust others; this shows through his interactions with people. The storeowner's legal laws were violated when he wanted to purchase a gun for his family store, in order to have protection against future robbers. Yet, he was prohibited from doing so, based his race and heavy accent. The owner of the gun store made degrading comments about his citizenship and his ability to speak English, and questioned his legal right to buy a gun. The storeowner obviously had been subjected to this type of hostility before, began quarrelling with the man in a d...
Derek Vinyard, played by Edward Norton, starts to adopt this racist mindset that all races other than white are the downfall of society in a flashback scene where he is speaking with his father about school and his father tells him not to listen to the “nigger bullshit” of his black Social Studies teacher, Dr. Bob Sweeney played by Avery Brooks. Derek’s obvious interest in Dr. Sweeney’s lessons fades almost immediately upon hearing these words from his father and Derek begins to agree with his father’s statements. Derek is not forced by his father to feel this way; however, he took it upon himself to feel this way because he looks up to his father. His individual thoughts are stifled because he wants to be more like his father. The racism instilled in Derek from his father is not enough to bring him to the violent lifestyle he starts on to lead, but it does teach him to stay away from black kids from an early age. This herd mentality to stay only with white people has been brought to another level when Derek Vinyard’s father dies. His father is shot and killed by blacks while fighting a fire in a black neighborhood. Derek immediately places the blame on black people, not just a single black person but all black people.
A conscious nod to nuances of the “noir” theme in American History X was the use of flashbacks as a way to narrate the story. Film Noir is genre of film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. Flashbacks show scenes of previous events that occurred before the story begins and help fill out the characters background. It lends the audience a better idea of what is happening in the present along with the film's message. Flashbacks are used in narrative strategy in film noir, contributing to exploration of truth and falsehood in the genre. In the film, this theme was used to narrate most of the story. To start the film, the first flashback revolved around Derek killing two black men who were trying to break into his car at his house.
Racism is one of the world’s major issues today. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. It is obvious that racism is bad as it was many decades ago but it sure has not gone away. Racism very much exists and it is about time that people need to start thinking about the instigations and solutions to this matter. Many people believe that it depends on if a person was brought into the world as a racist or not but that is not the case at all. In fact, an individual cannot be born a racist but only learn to become one as they grow from child to adulthood. Basic causes, mainstream, institutions, government, anti racism groups, and even some hidden events in Canada’s past are a few of the possible instigations and solutions to racism.
In the world today, racism and discrimination is one of the major issues being faced with. Racism has existed throughout the world for centuries and has been the primary reasons for wars, conflicts, and other human calamities all over the planet. It has been a part of America since the European colonization of North America beginning in the 17th century. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exist in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else that social lives are occurring. It started from slavery in America to caste partiality in India, down to the Holocaust in Europe during World War II.