Preview

American History X (1998)

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2266 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
American History X (1998)
AMERICAN HISTORY X

American History X (1998) illustrates how segregation is aggravated by missing father figures as well as the herd mentality of the characters in the film. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche 's concept of the herd mentality states that people need a concept or a worldview to adopt in order to give meaning to their lives. This herding of people who choose to adopt this certain ideal or ideals in effect causes the stifling of individual thoughts or creativity because everyone chooses to think a certain way (Floyd). This mindset that people are attracted to is not always chosen or forced but is rather seen as an obligation because of loyalties certain people have to others. Derek Vinyard, played by Edward Norton, starts to adopt this racist mindset that all races other than white are the downfall of society in a flashback scene where he is speaking with his father about school and his father tells him not to listen to the "nigger bullshit" of his black Social Studies teacher, Dr. Bob Sweeney played by Avery Brooks. Derek 's obvious interest in Dr. Sweeney 's lessons fades almost immediately upon hearing these words from his father and Derek begins to agree with his father 's statements. Derek is not forced by his father to feel this way; however, he took it upon himself to feel this way because he looks up to his father. His individual thoughts are stifled because he wants to be more like his father. The racism instilled in Derek from his father is not enough to bring him to the violent lifestyle he starts on to lead, but it does teach him to stay away from black kids from an early age. This herd mentality to stay only with white people has been brought to another level when Derek Vinyard 's father dies. His father is shot and killed by blacks while fighting a fire in a black neighborhood. Derek immediately places the blame on black people, not just a single black person but all black people.
After his father 's death, Derek joins forces



Cited: American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. Perf. Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Avery Brooks, and Beverly D 'angelo. 1998. DVD. New Line Home Entertainment, 2004. Floyd, Brandon. "American Nihilism Organization." American Nihilism Organization. 24 Aug. 2004. 19 Oct. 2004 .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: The Alamo. Dir. John Wayne. Perf. John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey. Cine, 1960. DVD.…

    • 1488 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Birth of a Nation

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Racism has been around since the beginning of time. Basically if you had a skin tone darker than the shade of white, you were inferior. Times have now changed, but there are remnants of this subject everywhere, even in film. The movie Birth of a Nation is considered one of the greatest films of all time, even with these themes. AMC’s Filmsite even has it listed within the 100 Greatest Films of All Time. Another movie with the some of the same themes is Blazing Saddles. Blazing Saddles does not have the same stature as Birth of a Nation, but it does deserve to be higher in the canon. I do believe that Blazing Saddles does not have the same stature because it is a comedy with crude humor and because it has a black sheriff as the protagonist.…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    12 Angry Men

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The movie twelve angry men was a movie about different people from backgrounds, races, and religions. They were all different and being in a group dynamics class we learned about how personality affects people and other things that people tend to do.…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Red Tails: a Film Critique

    • 1924 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The film I picked for my critique is Red Tails, a historical World War II drama. The movie starred Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and Gerald Mcraney, was written by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder, better known as the creator of the comic strip “the boondocks”, from a book by John B. Holway, directed by Anthony Hemingway and produced by George Lucas . In this paper the author will show how all elements of filmmaking come together to make Red Tails a memorable experience and a great American movie.…

    • 1924 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Walk Film Analysis

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Biographically themed movie productions continue to envelop the Hollywood landscape – serving as a means to reenact and interpret a majority of history’s most memorable moments (for better or worse). In the last month alone, depictions of Bobby Fisher (Pawn Sacrifice) and Whitey Bulger (Black Mass) are just two examples of cinematic incarnations that have served to entertain and semi-education observers.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    12 Angry Men

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Course Targets: I will read to understand and analyze a variety of short stories, nonfiction, novels, technical selections and classical works of literary merit.…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arsenic and Old Lace

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As another example of film-driven genre shifting, in the late 1960s and early 1970s the classic “war film” genre was transmogrified from the WWII and post-war period in which the fervent support of the US film industry for the wartime efforts of the US and its allies approached propaganda levels to the introspective, self-critical and thoughtfully challenging films such as Apocalypse Now (1979), The Deer Hunter (1978) and Full Metal Jacket (1987) that acted as autopsies of US public opinion against the Vietnam War and US Asian foreign policy .…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    12 Angry Men

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Twelve Angry Men highlights the importance of seeing things from more than one perspective. Discuss.…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    American cinema was changing during this time as well and reflecting the mood of the world. Among the genres undergoing transition during this time, ?the Western was perhaps the greatest barometer?the genre long seen as most uniquely American, most assuredly linked to the national character and mythology, seemed to be evolving into a new, rougher beast? (McClain, 2010, p. 52). This was no more evident than in the Sergio Leone…

    • 2704 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    12 angry men

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Reginald Rose, the author of 12 Angry Men, writes his book using complex characters and word choice that effects their characterization. In the book 12 Angry Men Reginald Rose uses abrupt but cultured text is straightforward picturesque at the same time when talking about his characters. Roses denotation and connotation affects his characters and their attitudes throughout the entire book. When he explains his characters thoughts and actions it helps portray them differently from each other. In 12 Angry Men Rose portrays his characters several different ways. For instance he uses denotation to make some characters sarcastic and dry. Rose also portrays his characters as light hearted and playful when he uses connotation. His portrayals of each character are different but similar throughout the story. You can clearly see similarities between some characters as well as distinct differences in others due to Roses word choice. Roses denotation and connotation play a big part in the portrayal of each of his characters. When Rose uses connotation in his story he makes the word choices more cheerful and positive. But when Rose uses denotation in his story he takes a deeper darker path in his word choice. For instance when juror 3 says to juror 8, Let me go Ill kill him Ill kill him Rose is using denotation. Or when juror 3 says Shut up he is also using denotation. When I say Reginald Rose makes his word choice picturesque I mean he uses imagery. Reginald Rose also uses diction when describing his complex characters, thats what makes them so straight forward. The fact that each of Roses jurors has a different type of word choice gives them each a unique way of being portrayed. Each of Roses characters is also cultured. When I say cultured I mean that Rose has added some of his self into each of the characters. It seems that each character has some real world knowledge and street smarts and thats what makes them each similar to Rose. Overall Reginald Roses use of abrupt but…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Axtell, James. “Black Robe.” Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies. Ed. Mark C. Carnes. New York: Holt, 1995.…

    • 2135 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fast and furious analysis

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This paper is 2-3 pages long. Use double space and font 12". Select a movie available to you and reflect on it with an emphasis on one particular issue that interests you more than others.…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bibliography: LA Confidential. Dir. Curtis Hanson. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Russel Crowe, Guy Pierce, Kim Bassinger, Danny DeVito. Regency, 1997.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    12 Angry Men

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Twelve Angry Men was created in 1957 and directed by Sidney Lumet. The is basically about a dissenting juror in a murder trial who slowly manages to convince the others that the case they're examining is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court. The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. It begins as an open and shut case of murder, but soon becomes a mini drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other. A critical aspect of Justice is revealed in this film. This very intense film illustrates how the American court system protects individual rights through objective law, but at the same time glorifies heroic individualism through Juror # 8, Henry Fonda. Typecast as another liberal, he is a truth-seeking hero, who doubts the obvious. Throughout the movie, he stresses the idea of "reasonable doubt", and slowly chips away at the jury, who represent an all white male society, exposing the prejudices and preconceptions that directly influence the other jurors' snap judgments. So Henry wants to talk the case out. He's not 100% sure that the guy is guilty. He isn't ready to exert the group coercive power against this boy. He needs full proof, as to why they should consider him guilty. So, after the jury files back into the room, the film shows the only shot of the defendant in the murder trial, an 18-year-old Hispanic boy who is accused of stabbing his father to death late one…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: Barsam, Richard, and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies; an Introduction to Film. Third Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 368-407. Print.…

    • 3092 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics