![]() ![]() With Danny, the impressionable, adoring younger brother, the ideas of his older brother quickly took hold in him. For Derek, his family, particularly his father, and his negative experiences made him the man that killed those black intruders. Thus, beyond the obvious and well-displayed themes of racism in America today and the ability for anyone to change, American History X accurately and powerfully shows the either positive or negative influence family can have on someone. People are shaped by their families and experiences. Likewise, it is clear that the influence of Derek is what drives the young Danny to follow in his older brother’s footsteps. It is clear that his father’s influence as well as the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his father’s death create the monster that Derek becomes. Murrary, the teacher Danny turns the paper into, is Jewish and was earlier involved in an unsavory dinner with the Vinyard family which culminates in Derek both physically abusing his younger sister and revealing his swastika tattoo to the Jewish Murray while ordering him to leave his house.Īfter his father is murdered by black drug dealers while putting out a fire, Derek becomes a full-fledged white supremacist under the manipulative Cameron Alexander. Instead, the viewer is immediately thrust into such scenes as Derek murdering several intruders on his property and later curb-stomping the one remaining survivor. Similarly, when we are first introduced to younger brother Danny Vinyard, he has written a paper on Hitler’s Mein Kampf, arguing it to be a work on human rights. The internal chronology of the film is important as well, as American History X does not immediately show the viewer exactly how Derek became a racist, nor does it show right away why he stopped. Norton was thoroughly dedicated to the role of Derek, and his Oscar nomination for Best Lead Actor for his performance was quite well deserved. His physical transformation - which is in the same category as Christian Bale going from The Machinist to Batman Begins and, soon, Jake Gyllenhaal going from Nightcrawler to the upcoming Southpaw - is analogous to Derek’s transformation from racist criminal to reformed man. The development of Derek throughout the movie is depicted beautifully by Edward Norton, who packed on a lot of muscle for this role, coming off movies Primal Fear and Rounders in which he played skinnier characters. Sweeney, as well as a falling out with the Aryan Brotherhood in jail (which culminates in a graphic rape scene), Derek is able to see the world in all its colors and look beyond race and bigotry. During his time in prison, due to the help of his unlikely friend Lamont (Guy Torry) and former teacher Dr. At that moment, we find that Derek no longer sees the world in black and white. Once Derek is released from prison, marking the present day, the scene shifts from black and white to color. ![]() Each of the flashbacks is presented in black and white, a nice directorial touch to not only make it evident that what is occurring is in fact the past but also to show the ignorance and narrow-mindedness in Derek’s views. The present day spans a mere 24 hours with flashbacks to the past that show several years. The movie takes place between two time periods. Through these two important aspects of the film, the viewer gets a real look at racism in this country but more than that, the viewer is confronted with the immense influence - either positive or negative - that either a father or an older brother can have on a young boy. ![]() ![]() The graphic depiction in this movie, despite making it difficult to watch at times, is what makes it so great, along with the performances by Norton and Furlong. and his influence on his younger brother (Furlong). In his 1998 movie American History X, starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, Kaye doesn’t shy away from explicit detail in showing both the past and present of Derek Vinyard (Norton), a young founder of the white supremacist group D.O.C. Director Tony Kaye has certainly not been afraid of being too graphic in his limited body of work. ![]()
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