In 1998, New Line Cinema and director Tony Kaye released American History X, which quickly became one of the most graphic and controversial films of the late twentieth century.
American History X (1998)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120586/
Academy Award nominee Edward Norton (Primal Fear, Fight Club) stars as Derek Vinyard, the young leader of a white supremacist gang from Venice Beach who is sentenced to prison for three years when he murders two young, African-American men breaking into his truck.
After spending time in prison, Derek undergoes a dramatic change in his beliefs, realizing that he no longer wants to be a part of the movement he had once shaped.
American History X shows what hate can do to a person’s life. Hate is not the answer in achieving happiness, but rather, it is a downward spiral.
The director includes several flashbacks throughout the film to supplement the narrative voiced by Danny Vinyard, who writes a paper for his school principal about the life of his older brother, Derek. Kaye uses black and white film stock to represent these past experiences of Derek’s life and color film for scenes in the present.
The fight at the dinner table is a flashback scene that reveals Derek’s racial intolerance creating further disorder and tension within the family.
Originally influenced by his father and later by Cameron Alexander, the organizer of the Venice Beach skinhead gang, Derek prides himself on the belief that minorities are “social parasites” and “a burden to the advancement of the white man.”
When Derek takes over the discussion during dinner, he becomes rapped up in his hate for African-Americans, Jews and all other racial groups. His emotions take over, leading him to physically abuse his sister, Davina, and verbally abusehis mother and her Jewish boyfriend, Murray.
Derek’s intolerance and violent behavior not only cause the loss of his family’s respect but also estrange him from his family. His mother feels ashamed to have him as a son andshe forces him to leave the household.
In the end, the rift created between Derek and his family was a direct consequence of his hatred and violent behavior.
The flashback conversation between Dr. Sweeney and Derek Vinyard marks a pivotal point in the film. It illustrates that Derek’s hate has deprived him of anyhappiness in his life.
After being raped and beaten in prison by his own group of white supremacists, he is visited in the infirmary by Dr. Sweeney, the principal of Venice Beach High School and Derek’s former English teacher. Feeling betrayed, disillusioned and sorry for himself, Derek realizes that the principles and beliefs that guided his life were all lies; the people he thought he identified with had done the worst thing anyone had ever done to him.
Dr. Sweeney explains to him how, at one point in his life, he himself was bewildered and lacked an identity. And instead, he blamed all the suffering and pain of the black people on everybody else.
But as he further explains, hecould not get the correct answers because he did not ask the correct questions. So he asks Derek, “Has anything you’ve done made your life better?“
Derek responds to the question by shaking his head as he tries to hold back his tears. He realizes that Cameron Alexander had channeled his hate through young, confused and aggravated teenagers like Derek. These kids were nothing more than pawns in a game to Alexander, and Derek, like many, had fallen prey to his propaganda.
From that point on, Derek understands that his hatred toward others was merely an outlet for his own frustrations and insecurities. It had only landed him behind bars. He was ready to erase his past and take a new viewpoint on life.
Following this important and revealing conversation, the director returns to the present situation where Derek attempts to explain his new perspective on his past lifestyle to his younger brother.
He expounds upon his failings and misconceptions. His life had not benefited from all the hate, and it was “tearing” him apart. He had to escape the gang and his old lifestyle, for he had realized that neither his anger nor the murder of the two black men had resolved any of his past problems. These actions had just left him more confused and lost.
The repercussions of Derek’s hate deprived him of three years of his life, and nothing he had done made him feel good about himself. He could not allow his brother to make the same mistakes and suffer the same consequences.
Parallel with the events in Derek’s life is the demonstration of the blacks’ hate for the white man. The hateful acts perpetrated by the other side also prove to be self-begetting and unrewarding. Animosity between the blacks and Derek rotates full circle-the black men who break into Derek’s truck hate him because of Derek’s malevolent behavior toward them.
In the end, their reciprocated hate brings about their death. Not only did the young black men despise the skinheads’ praise ofracism, but they also hated their restriction from the basketball courts at Venice Beach. Their revenge against Derek results in the brutal death of these two black men.
On the other hand, Derek’s hate for the blacks also results in his arrest and imprisonment.Hence, their mutualdisgust and disrespect ends in tragedy for both parties.
Danny’s hate for a black teenager at school continues this theme. As a member of the Venice Beach skinhead gang, Danny has identified himself with a hateful group. The black teenager perceives Danny as an enemy from his appearance: his fully shaved head and his “white power” tattoo.
After firing several times into Danny’s chest, the young black boy stands with a blood-splattered face filled with shock and doubt for the heinous act he has just committed. Sometimes people do not fully understand why they follow through with impulsive plans.
In this particular case, the black teenager did not realize what he was doing until he had pulled the trigger. By killing Danny and showing his hate for skinheads, the black teenager, like Derek, finds himself more confused. His horrible crime did not solve any of his issues. Instead, it only perpetuated the hate between rivals.
Tony Kaye’s American History X illuminates through the course of the film the ravages of racial hate and underscores the fact that violence does not resolve anger, but actually produces further hatred toward oneself.
After his tragic death, Danny’s voice-over monologue sums up the director’s message bluntly: “So this is my conclusion-this is what I have learned. Hate is baggage. Life is too short to be pissed off all the time; it’s just not worth it.“
Essentially, hate based solely on race, religion or gender is ignorant and unwarranted. Hate will not lead one to a rewarding life-it will only lead to anger, pain, and suffering.
