Blacks caught in poor ghettos feel oppressed by the Man, and they take it out on white kids. Then these kids who constantly get beat up start hating Blacks altogether, gang member or not. The film has Derek falling into that nonsense, blinded by his being pissed off. And since he's actually smart and articulate, he's able to woo plenty of other young people to his cause, as he becomes a local skinhead hero. Norton plays this raging neo-Nazi with unsettling conviction, spitting hateful propaganda and brutally letting his feelings out.
Some scenes are so violent they're barely watchable.
But what's even more scary is how convincing and charismatic Norton can be, to the point where you can understand how someone vulnerable and weak of mind might want to believe what he says and follow him all the way. The movie is always gripping and rich, and I found the evolution of Norton's character enlightening and believable. There was some talk about how Kaye and Norton fought in the editing room, with the English director considering taking his name off the piece, but whatever that was about, American History X remains one of the pictures which had the most impact on me in quite a while, and Norton should have gotten that damn Oscar for his brilliant, unforgettable interpretation.