American History X and Racism

Ameri base History X is a film with racialism as its overarching theme. Specifically, the subject of the film focuses non on the phenomenon of racism as we know it, slavery and the Malcolm X period, provided on its current tr poles namely the neo-Nazist, white supremacist movement of the 90s. This account is determined to present the overt connections between the Statesn History X and Racism, after which the discussion will present some pertinent guessings in the movie. These scenes argon analyzed from a racial discrimi republic stand order. Lastly, a in the flesh(predicate) reflection on the movie concludes the argumentations.The films treatment is inter tackable a stereogoing back and forth from the present and the flashbacks. In the same way, the major scenes will be presented here in a non-linear fashion. One of the most important scenes in this film is when the film explains why Derek is mad with minorities. The underlying reason for this hatred is when Dereks dad is cam stroke by a Black drug dealer. Having felt this in howeverice and macrocosm helpless in expressing his anger, Derek was approached by Cameron. This scene is important in presenting racism as not existing in a vacuum.There be everlastingly reasons behind actions, that even the most bizarre or illogical of behaviors can be explained by specific past experiences. Racism is rooted in intolerance and hatred towards an another(prenominal)(prenominal)s. Hatred is a set outed seed and here we mother to find out that a racist perpetrator has his own reasons why he is behaving in such a way. The abuses of the Nazism in Germanykilling Jews, engrossment camps, widespread hunting of multitude with Jewish descentwill not take place without an idea, or a good reason, that the majority of people would buy into. People would be foolish to vertical wake up whizz day and decide to decimate 6 million people.Ideas are efficacious, because ideas turn into acceptance and acceptance turns int o actions, actions aim behavior and behavior changes into a cultural norm in the long run. Ideas, moreover, are only powerful because people buy into them. This is why the scene at the grocery origin with Koreans is important. The scene portrays the power of ideas and its ability to change people. Moreover, the speech of Derek at the interpose presents surprising parallelisms with the ideas that people bought into during the Nazi movement. In Dereks speech, he express that Koreans are stealing the opportunities that are supposed to be for Americans.The illegal immigrants that sprain in America creates the joblessness of the Whites. In the same way, the Nazis of Germany argued that the Jewish refugees from a devastated nation came to Germany carrying nothing only if they thrived thereowning businesses, banks, etcand became powerful while a come out of the German population are poor and unemployed. The grocery store scene shows just how potent a dangerous idea is. People exige ncy to follow a passionate leader. Racism became accepted because people corroborate the act and follow the dangerous norm. Similarly, people with strong moral convictions are also heard. The scene of Dr.Sweeney and Danny is significant because it shows how racism can be challenged, not through hostility, scarcely with reason. Dialogue fosters understanding, or at least, it presents a opposite way of looking at things. Sweeneys assignment makes Danny believe right(prenominal) the boxoutside his soulfulnessal stereotypes and values on racism. Sweeney challenges his ideas and in a way, becomes a counter- contract to Dannys predisposition towards racism. The anti-racism movement is laden with Sweeney types of people such as Luther King Jr. who took the non-violent path of reasoning in pointing to the evils of racism itself.Sweeney is the personification of the challenge against the neo-Nazist trend. His moral courage and convictions do people think and listen. Another important scene in the film is the presentation of Derek and his change of smell. This took place in prison, where racism is also a strong force that binds and separates inmates. In prison, Derek is still resolved in his racist convictions and he bonded with sidekick racists, until he was befriended by a Black roast. His previous stereotypes regarding Blacks was challenged by the gentle behavior of the black guy.It is essentially a realization that people of incompatible colourations are still people sharing a super C humanity. When fellow racist inmates raped Derek for befriending a Black guy, he came to understand that goodness and evil are not just seen by the color of the skin. There is blackness of the heart even in the whitest of white, and a pureness of the soul in the pitch black-colored person. Every act of kindness and all act of hysteria has its ripple effects beyond what a person can control. This is seen in the scenes following Dereks return. Dereks little brother Dann y had taken where he left off.Now Danny took the same convictions as Derek by beingness adamantly intolerant of minorities. The small anti-Black movement that Derek started became a great commodious force, and now that he had a deeper realization of the evil of racism, he sees that he is responsible for this. Undoing things are more difficult that doing them, especially when we do things mindlessly such as when we resort to hatred and violence. It is easy to sow seeds of violence because it spreads like wildfire, but sowing peace is like planting a seed that needs to be nurtured. Danny also had his turning point. His brother made him realize that racism is a useless thing.Blaming others for the death of ones father does not solve the problem, it just makes it worse. He understood that violence will only be met with violence. The symbolic image of the brothers turning point is the cleaning up of their Nazi-decorated rooms. Writing the American History X piece also supports Dannys non-violence approach towards the hostilities of the world. He writes analyze and comprise on the computer. Racism is phenomenal because not many people analyze and interpret before acting on something. In many cases, irrational and ill-considered interpretations create chaos.When there is no room for analysis, there is no probability for people to try and understand each other before displacement biased interpretations and actions. Racism presents to us that it is a very strong force, one that is rooted in hostility and intolerance. American History X depicts that academic degree of hostility and intolerance in the different cascading scenes of the past. When our small monsters of hostility become gigantic titans of racism, we are confronted by something intimidating. Dereks solution is to run, leave the giant. course from the problem of racism does not solve the fundamental personal and societal issues.While running seems tempting, the reality of racism is still with us and it will never go away unless it is collectively confronted in modern-day America and over else. Running is a temporary solution to a long-term problem. Derek runs with Danny, but eventually the giant catches on themDanny is shot by the same guy he had a violent (although subtle) argument with the day before. What does the death of Danny think of? It tells us that violence, in all its forms and degrees, is foolishness, it is never a means to an endthereby rendering racism not as a virtue, but as a moral evil.Racism is only one form of violence, just as making another human being bite the pavage is another. Unknowingly, many of us do not realize that violence exists two within us and also in our world. Violence does not just mean killing people, it also exists in intolerance over other peoples beliefs and skin color, it is harsh language spoken, it is a scene unspoken. Racism is not only seen but felt while America boasts of equality and human rights racism is still seen and fel t in its other subtle forms of violence. The path of non-violence is a beautiful but difficult journeying that we must all decide to take.I now end with the echoing talking to of Abraham Lincoln quoted during Dannys death scene, his final words in the American History X paper We must not be enemies. though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The cloak-and-dagger chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the emit of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the fracture angels of our nature. Works Cited American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. Perf. Edward Norton. New Line Cinema. 1998.