This week’s film, American History X, is one that I have seen many times. Every time I’ve watched it, I’ve noticed something new about it or discovered another subtlety that I have overlooked. It’s intense and deals with touchy subjects. Just like with every movie, there are different opinions of this film and the messages that it portrays. The difference with American History X is the delicate subject matter that it deals with, and deals with quite abruptly. Some think the movie gives a wonderful lesson on the dangers of prejudice, others view the film as too controversial and think that the movie itself is dangerous. I think that it is up to the individual viewer to decide what they get out of the film. In my opinion it’s a powerful movie with an overall positive message, although perhaps not executed perfectly. While watching, I definitely notice details that I would want to change to make certain elements more prominent and to make interpretation of the movie less variable.
For example, the strict stereotypical look and behavior of the characters. While effective dramatically, the extreme image of the white “skinheads” with their swastika tattoos versus the extreme image of the black gang members can make it seem like the issues that the movie deals with don’t apply in scenarios that take place other than the hoodlum infested streets of Venice Beach, California. In this way, any viewer can pass the buck.
The movie opens with ocean scenes, which we see again near the end of the film showing little boys playing in the water. To me, the changing waves in these scenes represent the changing of people. The later scene also shows the innocence of the brothers, Danny and Derek Vinyard, as children and the relationship between them. Even at a young age, Derek was an example for Danny to follow.
The movie is a series of flashbacks and flash forwards, filmed in black and white as well as in color, that tell the story of the Vinyard family and the role prejudice plays in their lives. A majority of the flashback scenes are shown in black and white, with the exception of Derek’s flashback to the scene with the kids playing in the waves, while the scenes taking place in the present are in color.
When the movie begins, Danny reveals to us that Derek has been in prison for three years after killing black men that were trying to break into his car. Immediately we see the passionately angry and prejudiced Derek, a killer who is all fury and no remorse, and when we meet Danny, he is well set on his way down the very same path.
In the present day scenes, Derek’s point of view has changed, but he is fundamentally the same person. He is still a controlling and violently natured man, but he is uncertain about the issues that he has fervently stood for throughout the majority of his life. He now sees how hypocritical his fellow skinheads are, he has been made aware of his actions and has finally realized the extent of the damage he caused in his family’s life.
How did this epiphany come about? While in prison, Derek became a victim at the hands of people just like himself and his defender was a person just like all those that he had been hating and tormenting.
During the whole film, there are a lot of tight shots and close ups that frame the characters from their hairline to their chin. This gives a very personal view of the facial expressions of the actors, in particular the adolescents. We can see very clearly their reactions and can almost read the interpretation of their experiences as they are happening. For example, the look on the face of Danny’s shooter shows that he didn’t realize what he was doing until after he did it. He, like Danny, was also under the influence of an older role model.
In my favorite scene, which also includes a lot of tight camera shots, Danny remembers a time when his father was still alive and tells how he believes that the prejudice plaguing his family began with dear old dad. After chastising Derek for reading the “black books” assigned to him in school, the father preaches about the “evils” of affirmative action. What I like about this scene is that it reveals so much about Danny’s character. We see Danny longing to be included as his father delivers his gospel to Derek, who is taking in every word. As the elder son, Derek wants to please his father by imitating him, where as Danny is more skeptical. When the camera goes back to a close up of his face, we can see Danny recognizing the weakness (prejudice) in his father, he sees the flaws in his words. This stunned look of disappointment is almost the same look Danny gives when he witnesses Derek stomping a man’s face in on their front lawn. When the dad is killed, Derek becomes Danny’s father figure and it’s his turn to imitate.
A more subtle topic brought up in American History X is the flawed American legal system. Derek was convicted of two counts of voluntary manslaughter and was let out of prison after serving three years. The black man that Derek worked with in prison was arrested for stealing a television and assaulting an officer (he dropped the TV on the officer's foot, the officer said he threw it at him) and got six years. The movie makes the point that the justice system is harder on minorities.
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