American History X
Overview
American History X is a 1998 crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye, starring Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard, a charismatic young neo-Nazi leader who is sent to prison for murder. The film is told in a non-linear structure, alternating between the present, where Derek is released from prison, and the past, showing how he became a skinhead. The film is set in Venice Beach, California, a diverse, multicultural community. Derek's father, a firefighter, was murdered by a Black drug dealer, which radicalized Derek. He becomes the leader of a white supremacist gang, the DOC (Disciples of Christ). He is charismatic, intelligent, and articulate, and he recruits other young men to the cause, including his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong). The film's most famous and controversial scene is a flashback showing Derek murdering two Black men who try to steal his truck. He shoots one, and then he forces the other to put his mouth on the curb and stomps on his head, killing him. This scene is brutal and disturbing, and it shows the depths of Derek's hatred. In prison, Derek is forced to confront his racism. He is befriended by a Black inmate, Lamont (Guy Torry), who works with him in the prison laundry. Derek realizes that the white supremacists in prison are hypocrites and collaborators, and he begins to question everything he believed. He is also raped by a white supremacist gang, a trauma that further breaks him. When he is released, he tries to save his brother Danny from the same path. Danny has written a school paper about Hitler and Mein Kampf, and his principal (Avery Brooks) forces him to write a paper about his brother instead. The film ends tragically: Danny is shot and killed by a Black student at his school, the same student he had humiliated earlier in the film. Derek holds his brother's body, crying. Edward Norton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. American History X is a powerful, disturbing, and important film about the roots of racism and the possibility of redemption. It is a difficult watch, but it is also a necessary one.
