American History X: What Is Behind Racism?

American History X takes place in a modern United States. In the film, immigration has changed the cities and caused some radical ideas to come to the surface again in the minds of young people.

American History X opens with a black and white flashback scene. A young neo-Nazi, Derek Vinyard, brutally murders two young African Americans who tried to rob his car. His mother and two sisters sleep in the house while his little brother looks at him in shock.

The film then immediately jumps to the present, now in color. Young Daniel Vinyard, Derek’s brother, seems to be following in his brother’s footsteps as he delivers a style about the book Mein Kampf. Professor Sweeney tries to prevent Daniel from ruining his own life by giving him an unconventional homework assignment. The project is called “American History X”, and Professor Sweeney expects Daniel to reflect on his brother’s actions.

American History X – a movie with mixed reviews

The film is quite interesting and the plot is well thought out. However, the film provoked conflicting reactions. Some critics saw the film as melodramatic and stressed how difficult it was to feel empathy for Derek’s character. It’s hard to believe he’s the same person after he’s released from prison. It is also difficult to believe in the behavior of the mother and sister. Can it be so easy to forgive?

As the audience of American History X, you forget the first brutal scene after a few minutes. That’s why it feels weird and hard to believe that Derek is the same person at the end of the movie as he is from the beginning.

Norton’s portrayal of Derek is believable and amazing. Nevertheless, the character is not entirely convincing, perhaps because of how different he is after being released from prison. It is difficult for him to accept his new situation, his attempt to give up his dark past.

Consequently, the film casts great doubt into the viewer’s mind and in turn loses credibility. Despite all this, it is interesting to see the background of the two main characters and how the most vulnerable characters are manipulated. It also helps us to some extent to understand why this type of hatred exists in society today.

In the scenes in black and white from the past and scenes in colors that take place in the present, you discover why Derek ended up in prison and why he was released. This film touches us in the way that ideas are passed down from one generation to the next. It makes you think about the nature of your own prejudices.

Immigration and racism

Every day we become more accustomed to walking around the city and finding people from different backgrounds, religions, cultures, etc. But no matter how much you try to avoid them, there are many prejudices around different cultures. These prejudices are deeply rooted in our society and institutions. They are very difficult to eradicate.

Every community has a cultural identity, and we all like to feel that we are part of something. It is normal to defend customs, language and culture. We want what is “ours” to be preserved. We hope that the things our parents and grandparents have shared with us will not go away. Therefore, when you feel that what is “yours” or “ours” is threatened, conflicts arise. In the worst case, it can trigger ideas or customs that trigger hatred.

American History X places us in a working class neighborhood. As time goes on, the neighborhood becomes more and more diverse. Many of these new people are marginalized, which often happens in our cities. This mass influx provokes revolt among the original inhabitants, who reject immigrants with fear.

At the same time, the newly arrived locals reject because of the way they treat them, and this vicious cycle of hatred repeats itself over and over again, making integration and relationships impossible.

Derek meets a mentor

After losing his father, Derek blames the black and Latino people for his death and basically all of society’s problems. From there, his perspective begins to change, and he becomes friends with Cameron, a middle-aged neo-Nazi.

Cameron sees Derek as a young, frustrated and vulnerable man. But he also has a lot of potential because he is intelligent and extremely angry at minority groups. Cameron takes advantage of this situation and urges him to lead his own “army”. This army is a group of skinheads like Derek, who dedicate themselves to taking justice into their own hands.

When Derek organizes his army, the black youth responds by organizing their own gangs. Both parties agree that violence is fundamental to their movement. The interesting thing is that Cameron, the brain in the operation, stays away from collisions. He does not want to get his hands dirty. Instead, he manipulates and uses the young men and organizes parties for them. His goal is for them to fully embrace his ideas and act violently of their own free will.

American History X: From Executioner to Victim

Danny idolizes Derek despite being jailed for murder. The group of skinheads for which he is responsible has become stronger and stronger and they consider Derek a hero. But while his crew praises his actions, Derek is “black” in prison. The other prisoners abuse him. Thus he tries to find his place among the other white people.

Derek joins a group of neo-Nazis in prison, but he quickly realizes that they do not believe in anything. Their ideology is not strong, it’s really just a facade. At the same time, he works in the laundry room with a young African-American man who tries to make daily life in prison a little less difficult. In the beginning, Derek is resistant to this fellow prisoner’s ideas, but eventually he becomes his ally.

In prison, Derek becomes the “other.” He experiences hatred and abuse that he inflicted on other people just because of the color of his skin. This, along with Professor Sweeney’s help, is what leads to Derek’s rescue. Of course, he can not revive the two people he murdered, but he can make sure his brother gets on the right track. When he is released from prison, he must confront the difficult reality he left behind and make sure that his brother does not make the same mistakes he did.

Cultural identity and conflict

We all have ideas in our heads that are passed down from generation to generation. We are emotionally attached to our origins and do not want our cultural identity to disappear. At the same time, social policy does not make integration easy. When new cultures enter the scene, conflict is inevitable. However, our history and world are the fruit of migratory movements, cultural exchanges, language exchanges, etc.

American History X shows us the truth behind Derek’s ideas. He inherited them from his father, and Cameron reinforced them. Tragic, violent and crude – the film shows us the most radical consequences of a reality that is somewhat familiar to us.