I cannot believe my ears

Rating: 8/10 (29 October 2008)

Though I believed that the film was extremely well done, and very entertaining, I absolutely cannot believe that almost everyone on this page has failed to see its overall racist perspective. Let me explain.
First off, this film gives an amazing amount of statistics, whether they be true or false, that support racism as a system, especially when regarding the black community. This would be acceptable if there was something to in fact balance this racism out. However, there is not. All the viewer is given is a bowl 5h!t story of how Derik is "saved" by a black man in jail. This is completely circumstantial, and leaves nothing but an unlikely story for the viewer, in addition to cold hard facts that support bigotry. I find this extremely offensive, in that there are dozens of reasons why racism is wrong, but how many reasons (facts) are given in the movie? None. Every slight attempt to oppose racism through debate is shot down, aside from Sweeny's questioning which is again circumstantial (has being a skinhead helped Derrrikk). Finally, the ending of the movie is absolutely ridiculous. Instead of being rewarded for change, Norton is given a deceased brother. Are we to believe that this does not rekindle racist thought for Derik? It takes years to erase bigotry, but only one incident to rekindle it. Though some may doubt this assumption, I have hard evidence to prove my point. One of the proposed endings of the film was supposed to replace Danny's conclusion speech, with further plot. The final scene takes place back at the Vinyard's. In this shot, Derik is pictured with a towel over his head, starring at his swastika in the mirror. After cutting to a shot of hair inside of his sink, the camera returns to Derik, where he removes the towel and reveals the "unthinkable." He is now a skinhead again. And why shouldn't he be? Death of a family member is what sparked up this train of thought, and why should this fail to continue. After all, violence is portrayed as a vicious circle in this film anyways. One final thing that may sway your opinion as to how American History X is in fact racist, not "Liberating," is the quarrel behind the scenes; between Kaye and Norton. You can look this up yourself, but just keep in mind, i did not come to this conclusion out of nowhere. AHX is fricking racist, despite the intentions of many involved with it. Norton's charisma, coupled with the plot itself exploit this, and I hope some of you can get your head out of your azzes and try to think past the surface.