"American History X", Ton y Kaye out does himself with his portrayal of racism in Los Angeles CA . Told through the eyes of Derek and Daniel Vinyard

Rating: 8/10 (16 September 2012)

"American History X", a 1998 film by Tony Kaye, starring Edward Norton as Derek Vineyard, Edward Furlong as Daniel Vineyard, and Beverly D'Angelo as Doris Vineyard. The story is about two brothers growing up in Los Angeles, CA. Their father was murdered by a black drug dealer while fighting a fire in a South Central LA neighborhood. This leads to the racist tone of the movie and to Dereks hatred.
The main theme in the movie is racism and the effects that it has on different groups of people. This can be seen throughout many of the scenes in the movie, one scene in particular was in the beginning when we are introduced to Derek who is seen bashing a black man's face against the curb for trying to steal from his truck. Derek is subsequently sent to prison where he finds out that being a white neo-nazi supremacist is not everything he use to think it was. Upon entering prison Derek shows off his swastika tattoo hoping to gain support and protection from other inmates that thought the way he did. This however is not the way it worked out for him. When Derek is finally released from prison he is a changed man, he no longer wants to have all the hate that he has carried with him for years and he doesn't want his little brother Daniel to follow in his footsteps. Another scene were the theme can really be seen is when Doris has a Jewish friend over for dinner, Derek cannot stand the fact that his mother has a Jewish friend and verbally abuses him and then throws him out of his house.
In relation to the theme, "Crash" is another movie that shows a lot of the same racist tendencies. Both movies are set in Los Angeles, CA and almost draw on the natural tensions that come from that area.
One technique that was used throughout the movie that I thought added a lot to the movie was the interchanging from color to black and white. Although most of the movie was in color the flashbacks that were used to depict portions of Derek's younger days were shown in black and white. I felt this did a good job of displaying the tensions and extreme hatred that Derek had at that time in his life by showing it in black and white, it gave the scene a different feel than the rest of the movie. Symbolism was also used throughout the movie. Derek showed off his swastika tattoo in prison to show his beliefs and with the hopes of finding others like him. The swastika can also be seen at the white supremacist rally. There are flags hanging in the barn and in Cameron Alexander the leader of the D.O.C.'s office along with pictures of nazi Germany. The music that is playing at the rally also adds to the theme of the movie.