American History X Opening Scene Analysis

The film American History X directed by Tony Kaye is about a man named Derek and how is involvement with the skinhead gang has affected his family. The first scene that I am looking at is the curb stomp scene, in this scene Derek curb stomps a black guy when he tried to steal his truck. The purpose of this scene is to show how bad Derek has gone and how Danny feels about it. This scene is significant because it is when Derek sees how Danny feels about what he has just done and is the start of change. The second scene is the shower scene where Derek is having a shower and is thinking about how things used to be before he joined the skinheads, this scene is significant because it is the start of a new life for Derek and his family. The techniques that I am going to explore are music and editing.

A scene in American History X that uses effective music to emphasise what the audience feels is the curb stomp scene. At the start of the scene

when Derek turns around to face the black guy on the ground there is string and wind instruments playing giving a bad feeling and getting louder and faster to give the viewers the feeling that something bad is about to happen because it is building to a climax and something is going to happen at that climax. Kaye has done this because he wants the viewers to feel uneasy as something really bad is going to happen. The music makes you feel like you are on the edge of your seat waiting for something to go wrong.
Kaye uses the music to his advantage throughout this scene. Another good example is just as Derek curb stomps the black guy. After the curbstomp there is really fast and high pitched strings giving the audience the audience chills up their spines horror films use this a lot to build tension, and after deep wind instruments and drums giving the deep regret feeling. Kaye has done this to get the best effect from this particular part of the scene, he has made the audience feel as if they were there with the chilling thought of watching something like that. This scene shows the audience the relationship between Danny and Derek and also shows a defining moment for Derek because when he sees Dannys face after what he had done he did not get the reaction that he wanted.

Another scene in American History X that uses effective music to emphasise how the audience feels is the shower scene.

In this scene Derek is having a shower and he has his head forward with his hands raised to his head and remembering a flashback of how he and Danny were playing on the beach together and they were really happy and how Derek has ruined all of it. The music during this scene is string wind and piano playing softly with a slow sad feeling. The music gives the audience a sad feeling and a feeling of regret because things used to be good in there family, during the flashback everything is in really warm colours and Everyone is smiling and laughing. Kaye has done this to make the audience feel for Derek's family because they look really happy during the flashback and to make the audience think that Derek is going to change to how things used to be and he would do anything to get that back. This kind of music has not been heard before because up until his scene it has been about all of the bad things that Derek has

done.

A scene that uses compelling editing to change the mood or feel that the audience has is the curb stomp scene. In this scene everything is in black and white, Kaye has done this for a few reasons. This scene is a flashback and the audience can tell that it is a flashback, It is also a bad memory of Danny’s so the black and white give the scene a lot more emphasis than being in colour. Another good example is the Continuity cuts between Dannys face and what Derek is doing. As the scene progresses the cuts between a close up of Danny and his reaction to what is happening so that they audience can see Danny's reaction to what he feels about what is happening, and at the same time it shows the audience what is happening. Kaye has done this to show the audience what Derek is doing and what Danny’s reaction to it is. It is also showing how it is effecting Danny, this is important because it shows how Danny truly feels about what has happened.

Another scene that uses compelling editing to set the mood or feel that the audience has is the shower scene. In this scene Derek is having a shower and he has a flashback of him and his brother when they were little playing on the beach. But his flashback is different from all of the others, this scene is in colour but in really warm colours like orange and yellow to give the scene a happy feeling and that it is a happy memory. Kaye has done this because he wanted the flashback to be a really happy memory and to show how good their life was before Derek join the skinheads. Another good example of editing in this scene is the cross cutting between Derek in the shower and the flashback, As the scene progresses it cuts between the flashback and Derek in the shower with his head down and his hands raised to his head remembering how good life was back then. Kaye has done this to show that Derek want to change and he still remembers how good life was before he joined the skinheads. The main theme from this film is racism and hating people just because of their colour.

In these two scene there are many similarities like both scenes have flashbacks but both flashbacks are completely different, For the curb stomp scene the colours are in black and white and in the shower scene the flashback is in colour. Also the same instruments were used in both scenes but completely different feelings were achieved from the music. These scenes are both significant because they are defining moments for Derek.