American History X The setting takes place in Venice‚ a little beach town in the Southern California. Derek‚ the leader of the neighborhood skinhead gang gets arrested and put to jail for killing two members of a Crip gang that tried to steal his car. His little fourteen year old brother has seen everything and testified for Derek‚ for only that reason he did not get life sentence‚ and just three years in a prison. In jail Derek learns the truth behind “white power” gangs and what he believed
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The title of American History X is derived from the name of a class Danny (Furlong) is forced to take after writing a controversial essay on Adolf Hitler’s autobiography‚ Mein Kampf. When his Jewish teacher (Gould) becomes outraged‚ he bursts into Principal Sweeney’s (Brooks) office and complains. Danny is called into the office and is told that he must write about the life of his brother‚ Derek Vinyard‚ and have it on his desk the next morning or face immediate expulsion. Danny continually complains
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These are just a few areas of what the movie American History X touches on. The primary sociological behavior displayed in this movie is deviance‚ which is defined as an individual going against the norms of society. Norms are a standard to a particular society or group as displayed here with race. The father in this movie‚ Dennis Vineyard‚ was a firefighter who worked for his community and while putting out a fire was killed by African American drug dealers. While raising his children‚ he
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Reflection on American History X After watching American History X‚ I swore to myself that this would be one of my favourite movies of all time. It changed my view on racism‚ violence‚ abomination and change. These four were all exposed in the movie. Those three were very much shown in the film even at the beginning of the story when Danny told his brother‚ Derek‚ that a group of black guys were breaking in to his car. Their father‚ Danny and Derek‚ was killed by a black man that caused Derek’s
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While watching‚ American History X‚ I’ve noticed the Derek went through a lot just to find justice‚ however‚ he made the wrong decision‚ which caused him to experience something terrifying. The movie was released in 1998 and became really popular as the years went on. With all the Nazi symbols‚ gang violence‚ and jail time it shows a path that Derek took because of the death of his father. The film follows the Christian myth‚ “Metanoia (shift of the mind)”‚ which is what Derek went through‚ then
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armed or not. He goes to tell his brother Derek who is in bed with Stacy‚ his girlfriend. Derek takes a semi-automatic pistol and sees two blacks and one in the car ready for a getaway. Derek plunges out of the front door and shoots the first Afro-American several times and spots the other trying to run away. He takes aim and fires again mortally wounding the second. The car driver speeds off with Derek firing several shots at the car‚ emptying the magazine. In slow motion he goes back to the wounded
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The film American History X by Tony Kaye looks at the idea of manipulation‚ one of the roots of racism. Kaye uses dialogue‚ close-ups‚ a mise-en-scene‚ a wide-shot and a mid-shot to show how easy it is to be manipulated‚ despite your intelligence. Kaye’s purpose is to show that if you are manipulated under the right circumstances and the manipulation is coming from the people you love‚ then racism and hate can be adapted. During a flashback of the Vinyard family we learn that it was Derek’s father
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Anthropology American History X “I hate anyone that is not white Protestant‚” begins Danny Vinyard‚ the brother of a former neo Nazi skinhead. American History X offers opinions from two sides through one character‚ the ex-neo Nazi Derek‚ and the post-prison-reformed Derek. The post-prison-formed Derek serves as a vision of hope for present time. This powerful movie not only depicts the most disturbing aspects of racism‚ but also shows how close racism is to the middle-class‚ white Americans. American
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American History X The main theme of the film is racism in America and the violence involved in it. The movie begins in a scene with teen Danny Vinyard‚ where he races to tell his older brother Derek (who is a neo-Nazi) about three young Afro Americans breaking into his car in front of the house‚ Derek reacts and gets his gun and with no forethought shoots them. Two of the boys died‚ so Derek is sent away for three years in prison. In jail he meets a group of neo-Nazis wich are related to other
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The film American History X tells the story of two brothers‚ Derek Vinyard and Daniel "Danny" Vinyard from Venice Beach in Los Angeles‚ California. Their father‚ a firefighter‚ is murdered by a black drug dealer while trying to extinguish a fire‚ and Derek is drawn into the neo-Nazi movement. Derek kills two black gang members whom he catches in the act of breaking into the truck‚ and is sentenced to three years in prison. The story shows how Danny is influenced by his older brother’s actions and
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