American History

1024 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Why is identity important essay

American History It is important to be proud of who you are and where you have come from. After watching the film American History X, whites are far from proud. We are ashamed to admit that people just like us can act in such a horrible and disillusioned way toward those that are different. As you watch, you see scenes of brutal violence, hear songs of hate and feel the pain of all involved. These acts show the viewers how easily young minds can be influenced to believe anything. Teachers, parents, siblings or any person of authority in a child's life can have this deep of an impact on them. American History X is the story of how powerful an influence people of importance can have upon youth. Adults can be the enemy of many teenagers. Yet when a kid is vulnerable and looking for adoration and love, they can latch onto any adult that makes them feel important or special. Cameron is the first example of the adult filling an empty space. Both Derek and Danny Vinyard, the neo-Nazi brothers of the film, fall for every word Cameron says to them. At one point in the film, Cam makes a comment to Danny about his black school principal Dr. Sweeney. To him, Sweeny is a "manipulative, self-righteous Uncle Tom" for making Dan re- write a civil rights paper because it was about Mein Kampf. Sweeney has his own opinions about Cameron stating that he preys on "insecure, frustrated, and impressionable kids. This assumption is dead on. As the organizer and unofficial leader of the Venice Beach white gang, what the middle-aged Cameron has to say about being a patriot and a proud "white Protestant" fills a void for the kids. Many, as seen most apparently in Seth, the overweight, clumsy, and dim-witted teen, have low self-esteem and lacking hom... ... middle of paper ... ...ause he mourns, he cannot fathom what he has really done. The viewer sees that Derek followed Sweeney's advice and guidance and changed his brother for the better. Whether it is positive or negative, anyone important in a child's eyes can dramatically impact how they will act, think, or believe. The teens from American History X were all looking for something to hold on to and to be a part of? It is hard to see Derek, Danny and all the others fall for the lies and propaganda set forth by the adults. It's hard to see peers pressure their gang mates into believing something so strongly that they'd rather kill a traitor than forgive a friend. It's hard to see all the hate, anguish, and pain in the film. Surprisingly, there is a silver lining, giving us hope that one positive influence in the lives of children can be enough to turn them from racism and to a better life.

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Trouble, By Gary D. Schmidt

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry is from a long line of rich, white Americans who were always upstanding citizens in the community. His family was well respected in everything that they did. On the other hand, Chay’s family is a Cambodian refugee family who came to America in search of a better life. The Cambodians never were treated well, and they all lived in a separate town called Merton. Chay’s family owned a business, but wasn’t really rich. Chay went to school with Henry’s brother, Franklin, who seemed to get into a lot of fights with Chay. Franklin taught Henry how to fight off Cambodians who would look at their sister Louisa in a bad way or touched her. That is the thoughts that Henry grew up to think towards Chay and all other

    Read More

  • The Rabbit Is Me Analysis

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    This film tries to show that these young people are under influents of American movies and culture. They don’t really obey their parents, because they’re blaming their parents for anything that happened during the world wars. But at the same time the movie doesn’t try to blame everything on them. It wants to show that with pushing the young kid too far, nothing is going to get fix.

    Read More

  • Racism in Black Boy, Black Caesar and Malcolm X

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    The aspect of racism in their lives, is especially important because it causes these men to become filled with hate and drive them to lives of crime. For example in Black Boy, Richard and his friends have a gang fight against white kids. Another aspect of racism for him was the Ku Klux Klan, this can be seen when a man tells Richard after seeing a white propaganda sign that "Do you know what the Ku Kluxers do to colored people?" Then Richard responded "They kill us. They keep us from voting and getting good jobs." Racism also plays an important role in shaping Tommy's life. Although it is apparent throughout the film, the best example is when he meets McKinney, and he beats Tommy while shouting racist comments. Also, in Malcolm X, Malcolm grows up in a very racist environment and he experiences his dad, a Baptist preacher, being murdered. This can be seen when "My father's skull, on one side, was crushed in, I was told later. Negroes in Lansing have always whispered that he was attacked, and then laid across some tracks for streetcar to run over him. His body was almost cut in half."

    Read More

  • Slavery And The Making Of America Movie Essay

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    I think the directors wanted to express through this film on how to move forward in America by looking at the actual facts of how it started. The key issue discussed in this film was how slavery was headed to freedom at an early point of time until it hit a “downward spiral" that lasted for over 200 years and continue its spiral into different ways (such as segregation, racism) to Africans or Black Americans. The theme of this film is to look deeper at the facts and understand the true history. The film chose this specific theme and issue because it shows what is wrong with how America teaches the history in grade schools. This is because throughout grade school I was taught to look up to men like George Washington as he was the first president and did so much for the country. Or Christopher Columbus a man I was taught in grade school who “discovered America". It wasn't until in college they start teaching the true facts behind all these “great men ". I now know of the people that created the infrastructures before George Washington's time. I learned that Columbus didn't discover America because there were people already on this land and all he did was cause pain towards Native Americans. This film not only shines a light on the truth, but it tells us to seek the truth and not give in what is told to

    Read More

  • The Conflict Theory Of Deviance In American History X

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is full of drama but it does not leave the facts behind regarding deviant behavior. Not only it provides a take on deviance but it also suggests that anything can be corrected if one positive step is taken to that direction. This movie has a strong appeal to those who choose deviant behavior over peace and are behaving anti-social. This film should be watched by every young person at least one so that they can understand the psychological turmoil one goes through after they commit something to harm others just to prove a point. It is never too late to choose the right way and Derek shows that very precisely. I would love to watch this film again as it gives a very positive vibe to me and I have learnt a lot from

    Read More

  • The Movie Crash and Racial Tensions

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tension between the African Americans and Caucasians have been present in America since slavery. In the movie Crash (2004), race and culture are major themes that can be seen in the lives of the characters in the film. One character in particular, Cameron, a prestigious color vision director, displays the friction between two cultures. He belongs to the educated, upper class of the Los Angeles area. He is also an African American, yet he seems to have no ties with that class. He has a light-skinned wife, attends award shows, and it appears that his acquaintances are predominately white. When he and his wife, Christine, get pulled over by a racist cop, he experiences emotions of powerlessness and helplessness that he never knew he would experience due to his upbringing and place in society. Cameron goes through a radical transformation where he comes to grips with his background and how he fits into these two clashing cultures.

    Read More

  • history

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Elected in 1932 following the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took on his presidency as a challenge to reform the United States by finding ways to provide a larger amount of people economic security in an unequal financial environment. To accomplish this goal, Roosevelt not only implemented a variety of New Deal programs under the categories of reform, recovery and relief, but also redefined what the word “liberty” meant for Americans.

    Read More

  • US History

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    Turner set up an evolutionary model (he had studied evolution with a leading geologist), using the time dimension of American history, and the geographical space of the land that became the United States. The first settlers who arrived on the east coast in the 17th century acted and thought like Europeans. They encountered a new environmental challenge that was quite different from what they had known. The most important difference was vast amounts of unused high quality farmland (some of which was used by a few thousand Indians for hunting grounds.) They adapted to the new environment in certain ways — the sum of all the adaptations over the years would make them Americans.

    Read More

  • US History

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1828 Andrew Jackson was elected as President, as a favorite among the United States many view him as the Hero of New Orleans. He is to many the epitome of a gentleman and that he embodies the ideals of many Americans. He views himself as the President of all the people and likes the idea of having those who worked for the government to depend on him. Jackson however, was ignorant to many of the fields that would have been beneficial to him and the United States had he not been so unwilling to accept advice from experts. His lack of knowledge of the banking system was evident; however, he had Nicholas Biddle to thank for keeping the system afloat. Biddle brilliantly maintained the Bank of the United States which in turn ensured that many financial institutions were able to maintain their efficiency. Despite Jackson's efforts to destroy the bank because of the monopoly it allowed, this short-lived veto was reversed. Biddle's efficient means of running the bank ensured a stable economy for the United States.

    Read More

  • Survey of American History

    2078 Words  | 5 Pages

    Over the course of American history many radical movements have forever changed the historical landscape of the United States of America. Since the beginning of American history, radical movements have played an important role in bringing about change in U.S. society and the U.S. relationship with other countries. They have also experienced major failures and defeats. Major concrete achievements and failures of radical movements have been present in changing the mainstream of the society since the end of WWI. Radical movements such as, labor/socialism, women’s rights, civil rights and peace have played a significant role in the development of U.S. politics and society and forever changed the past, present and future of the United States of America. The Labor/Socialism movement, supported mainly by the lower classes was a prominent radical idea that manifested itself into American society around the conclusion of WWI. “The very fact that the Soviet Union, the revolutionary successor to Imperial Russia, was the first country to establish a Communist political and economic state was a major threat to the United States” (Brown 4). Influenced by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the Socialist movement gained momentum from oppressed workers and thus managed to successfully run hundreds of candidates around the nation for several decades. “The Socialist Movement was painstakingly organized by scores of former Populists, militant miners and blacklisted railroad workers, who were assisted by a remarkable cadre of professional agitators and educators” (Zinn 340). Socialism became extremely popular especially due to its endorsement by writers like Mark Twain, W.E.B. Dubois and Upton Sinclair as well its representation by Eugene Debs. With ...

    Read More

  • American History: America Now and Then

    2178 Words  | 5 Pages

    Humans have a tendency to to change with time. Human are the most intelligent creatures and can adapt and survive in any environment. People evolve as time changes. It is human nature to want for new things and new change. United States changed a lot since the mid-1400s till today. Some are good, some are bad. But even though change is inevitable, there are lot things that are still common. Some things never change. From the time Columbus discovered America till today, a lot of things have changed. He is known as the father of this country. Even though he didn’t have the end that he deserved, he is the reason for this great country to bloom out of sheer darkness. Great leaders like Thomas Jefferson have played an important role to shape America to what it is right now. John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the chief figure among the Puritan founders of New England. He was the one to establish a civilized society in the middle of nowhere and help United States bloom. Thomas Jefferson- author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of United States and the founder of the University of Virginia- crafted the freedom of the United States from the brutal British regime. Jefferson was an exceptionally vivid man, and very politically motivated. He helped found our country, nurturing it along in its youthful, tempestuous beginnings, and he struggled to improve upon it in many ways. As time passes, we see a lot of differences and somewhat similarities in racism, gender equality, freedom, religion, slavery, and standard of life and these factors are responsible for the America we stand upon today.

    Read More

  • Movie Analysis: American History X

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... supremacist gang, to rioting in an Asian owned grocery store, to finally brutally murdering someone. We observe as family ties become increasingly strained in every way, the viewer can easily conclude that Derek’s racism as well as his eventual influence on his younger brother ultimately contributed to their own downfall. As controversial as this movie maybe for the offensive language and brutal violence, it is a movie that deserves to be seen, and even discussed. It really provides insight into some factors within society that cannot be contained by the law or even deterred by even the harshest punishments. Even though American society is becoming more modernized as time goes by in terms of tolerance, racism will unfortunately always be prevalent in society and inevitably it will also lead some individuals to violently express their distorted mentalities.

    Read More

  • American History X

    2187 Words  | 5 Pages

    ... is the brutality of hate and racism. The emotions running high in the movie makes it powerful and moving and the death of Derek’s younger brother Danny Vinyard is shocking enough to bring tears to many viewers’ eyes. The movie ends with Danny’s voice reading his paper out loud and he ends his paper with a very important quote by Abraham Lincoln. This quote shows how Danny’s, as well as Derek’s, mindset changed from the beginning of the movie to the end. When hearing this quote it leaves the viewers in awe that Danny finally started to look past his hateful ideologies but ends up dead because of the lifestyle him and his brother decided to lead. “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature”.

    Read More

  • Modern American History

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    American history, though nowhere near as epic as the history of Europe, is wrought with its own heroes and legendary personalities. The three most important span political, economic, and social borders. In its 300 years, the United States has not seen finer heroes than Benjamin Franklin, Alan Greenspan, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Their contributions in politics, regulation of the US economy, and roles in racial diversity, these legends have no precedent. Benjamin Franklin contributed to the culture of the US through his literature and his political presence. Franklin was born in the early 18th century, when England still had a grip on the politics of the colonies. Following the revolutionary war, in which he had important diplomatic duties, Franklin was one of the key framers of the Constitution. By then, Franklin was a ripe 81 years old, in the twilight years of his life. During his youth, he was an important author, contributing to one of the first papers, and also writing the Poor Richard’s Alamack. His autobiography is also a very important work to this day. Franklin was also an important scientist of his time. His personality influenced many of the leaders of the baby American government. This coupled with his exceptional achievement made Franklin a great inspiration to the people of his time that lasts to this day. Alan Greenspan is a recent figure in history, but his impact on the present and future economics of America is incalculable. The chairman of the...

    Read More

  • history

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    The trends that have been most instrumental in the shaping of America over the past sixty years have been suburbanization and the development of our consumer culture. These two phenomena have changed not only the face of America, but also the fabric of our society, our values and aspirations. Suburbanization and consumer culture are broad, sweeping terms that encompass many different catalysts of change. However, the automobile is an important product and tool of both of these institutions. This paper examines the inundation of American society by the automobile during the post war era as a key catalyst for the rise of consumer culture, its role in facilitating suburbanization and some of the negative impacts the automobile has had on America. Over the past sixty years America has changed greatly to become what it is today, and these changes have largely been driven by our national love affair with the automobile.

    Read More

More about American History

Open Document