Movie Analysis: American History X

1365 Words3 Pages

The movie I decided to analyze for this course was American History X (1998), which stars Edward Norton. Though this movie isn’t widely known, it is one of the more interesting movies I have seen. It’s probably one of the best films that depict the Neo Nazi plague on American culture. The film takes place from the mid to late 1990’s during the Internet boom, and touches on subjects from affirmative action to Rodney King. One of the highlights of this movie that really relates to one of the key aspects of this course is the deterrence of capital punishment. Edward Norton’s portrayal as the grief stricken older brother who turns to racist ideologies and violence to cope with his fathers death, completely disregards the consequences of his actions as he brutally murders someone in front of his family for trying to steal his car. The unstable mentality that he developed after his father’s death really goes hand-to-hand specifically with Isaac Ehrlich’s study of capital punishment and deterrence. Although this movie is entirely fictional, a lot of the central themes (racism, crime punishment, gang pervasiveness, and one’s own vulnerability) are accurate representations of the very problems that essentially afflict us as a society. 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 ... ... middle of paper ... ... 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.

Show More
Related

  • Intersectionality in Crash: A Look Into Anthony

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... that the film opens with. While the story may be slightly dramatic and pieces of the story “coincidentally” seem to fall into exactly the wrong place at the wrong time causing the tragedies in the film to happen, the events in this film are entirely capable of being a reality. Racism and prejudice continue to be prevalent issues in our society, but like Anthony, we can learn to overcome anything that holds us back from putting unity into practice and making our world a better place for everyone.

    Read More

  • Inherent Vice: Movie Analysis

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    Incohesive, long, and dialogue-heavy, Inherent Vice has all the potential to flounder. Yet under the steady (or rather, wild) hands of director Paul Thomas Anderson, the film becomes a psychedelic, incredibly enjoyable ride brimming with wit and melancholy. The film follows Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello (played in routinely magnificent fashion by the now ever-reliable Joaquin Phoenix), and his exploits to help his ex-girlfriend, Shasta Fey (Katherine Waterston, also exquisite) investigate a kidnapping of notorious real-estate billionaire Mickey Wolfmann. From there, the plot descends (or ascends, depending on your perspective of the film) into sumptuous lunacy; a mystery involving the coveted and secretive

    Read More

  • Characters Filled with Hatred in Movie American History X

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...enarios where mainly Derek breaks away from what is socially accepted in his (before) social group. Race is a main focus in the film, there’s an encounter where a black male does something good for Derek, making him realize not all black people are restricted to their

    Read More

  • Justice in movie Crash

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    This demonstrates to us that no matter how much your legal or moral laws are violated, what matters is how you as an individual react to the situation, justly or unjustly. This movie is centered around the notion that if you are a person of ethnic background, that alone is reason for others to forsake your rights, although in the long run justice will prevail

    Read More

  • Examples Of Prejudice In The Movie American X

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Derek Vinyard and Danny Vinyard was associated with the Nazi praising group. They were prejudicial to everyone and gain hatred for colored people. Even though Derek and Danny were cleansed of their mistakes by going through redemption and changed, Danny was killed by a colored teenager because that colored person was also prejudicial. As we can observe in this movie, prejudice is an unbreakable chain that transmit through generation to generation. Prejudice will never cease until the human race is completely

    Read More

  • Cultural Issues In The Movie Crash

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    I think it is incredible that the events that we see during the movie can happened in real life because they can ruin people lives, as we can see with the Persian store owner, the young policeman or the brother of the detective. This movie does an unbelievable job in describing how racism and racial stereotypes affect the lives of every individual. “Crash” show how different cultural backgrounds interact with each other and it also shows the effect that racial discrimination and racial stereotypes have on a person, the stress that it produces can make people do things that they never thought of doing or thought they could do. I was surprised of how good of a movie this was and how it depicted the characteristics and beliefs of so many different cultures, as we see all the cultural backgrounds that we studied in this

    Read More

  • Discrimination And Prejudice In The Movie Crash

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    This was especially evident when they were being pulled over by a racist white cop. She felt that he could have done more to defend their rights instead of accepting injustice. There is also a Persian store owner, who feels that he is getting the short end of the stick in American society because his store was robbed multiple times. Then the Hispanic locksmith encounters racial slurs and discrimination, although he just wanted to keep his family safe. The partnered detectives and lovers of different races, one is a Hispanic woman and the other is a black male, who are dealing with his drug addicted mother who feels that he does not care enough about taking care of his family. In this movie, discrimination and prejudice are the cause of all kinds of collisions. We easily prejudge people with stereotypes, and we are concerned with our pre-thoughts of what kind of person he/she should be, we forget to actually get to know them. It is human nature to have some type of prejudices in one way or another; we fear the unknown. There are stereotypes that black people are angry or tend to be violent; white people feel they are the dominant race and discriminate against all; Asians are thought to be poor or ignorant, and people with higher economic statuses are distinguished to the working class

    Read More

  • The 60s (movie)

    2037 Words  | 5 Pages

    This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.

    Read More

  • Wiley College Debates: Movie Analysis

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Truth: In the early and mid-twentieth century, the debate team at Wiley College was extremely successful. Led by Melvin B. Tolson, the team consisted two main debaters and one “anchor man” who memorized both the affirmative and negative arguments for each topic. At one point in the debate team’s history, 14 year old James Farmer Jr. played this role. He was already an experienced public speaker when he enrolled in Wiley College, after winning scholarships based on oratorical contests, despite his young age. He contributed to the success of Wiley College’s debate team and later went on to co-found the Congress of Racial Equality, an organization that worked to challenge racists. Another member of the debate team at one point was a woman

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Movie Crash

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the biggest issues depicted in the film is the struggle of minority groups and their experience concerning racial prejudice and stereotyping in America. Examples of racism and prejudice are present from the very beginning of the movie when Officer Ryan pulls over black couple, Cameron and Christine for no apparent reason other than the color of their skin. Officer Ryan forces the couple to get out of the car

    Read More

  • American History

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • American History X

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although Danny’s death came at such an inopportune time for the family, it seemed to illustrate the director’s vision. The racial tension littered throughout the narrative had to come to head eventually. In this case, it was in a negative fashion. In some of Danny last words he states, “Hate is baggage. Life’s too short to be pissed all of the time”. All the hate being held by each of the characters can only cause conflict. Acceptance brings friendship. Continuing to live such a lifestyle can only bring destruction to one’s self, in Derek’s case prison in Danny’s death. This fiction film enable the viewer to see a subculture that might not necessarily viewed by the greater American audience. The director is able to manipulate the scene in order to portray the desired symb...

    Read More

  • Social Psychology In The Movie Crash

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie Crash is in the streets of Los Angeles. If you notice all of the characters seem to play the victim and accuser in different racial situations. There is a story behind each character over a two day period. There is the detective who is prejudice against his own race whose younger brother is a criminal. There is Jean who is prejudice against black people after getting robbed. John is the cop who is racist against all black people and sexually assaults Christine in front of her husband. This movies show’s so many of the social psychological principles through the story of each individual.

    Read More

  • American History X: A Controversial Film

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    American History X is a controversial movie with many shocking moments. The writers took it back to the beginning where racism theoretically stems from, the way people are raised. American History X portrays how one persons influence can manipulate others. Derek’s father’s views are what let Derek to feel as he did, which leads you to believe that racism is learned. Racism is defined as the belief that one race is superior to all other races. Some people are racist against others because the color of another’s skin or religious differences. They focus on others outside features other than the inner. American History X will make racist and non racist people take a second thought about their views on

    Read More

  • Exploring Emotions and Stereotypes in Cinema

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main subject that is in the film is racism. The one of the two concepts I learned was within a busy city people’s lives collide with one another. Another concept is that everyone has different amounts of racism in them ranging from prejudice to full out racism. I felt much emotion while watching the movie as struggle added up for all the characters. I mostly

    Read More

More about Movie Analysis: American History X

Open Document