American History X focuses on two brothers Derek (Edward Norton) and Danny (Edward Furlong). Both are involved in a white supremacist movement in L.A. and are heavily involved in racial hate crimes. One day, Derek kills two African Americans and is put in jail. After being paroled 3 years later, Derek must come back home and fix the damage he has done. Danny has become more involved in the supremacist movement and Derek must share his experience and teach him to stop his feelings of hate. Will Derek be able to save Danny from the never ending cycle of hate? Or will Danny be drawn back into the white supremacist movement and continue crime against those different form him? Read on for a long, full analysis of one of my all time favorite films.
There are so many things to talk about when it comes to this film that I do not even know where to being with. I think I will start with the cast and crew and from there start to really explore a lot of the themes and imagery that are explored in this film. The cast is extraordinary and really brought these characters to life. Edward Norton, in his best role to date, has the mobility to switch between white supremacist to a broken man with a rough past who has learned a multitude of life lessons. I don't know how he didn't win the Oscar (stupid Life is Beautiful). Norton shines and is worth watching this movie to just see his performance alone. This movie got me addicted to Norton I must admit and I have loved him after since. One of my new favorite roles in this film that I didn't really notice until my second viewing (I have seen this movie around 50 times) is Dr. Bob Sweeney played by Avery Brooks. He does a great job at subtle power because just by looking at him we can tell not only that he has a rough past but that he has learned from it. Edward Furlong plays Danny and you may recognize him from Terminator 2: Judgement Day. He does a great job for what his role is. He seems very attached to his brother and really wants what is best for his family but just can't find the right path.
The director Tony Kaye has been quiet since directing this flick and it is shocking to me. I love the direction of this film and Kaye has a unique visual style that works perfectly for the story. I applaud his use of black and white before his eyes were opened and we will get into that imagery later. It is also wonderfully written by David McKenna who really makes the movie work from the script. This movie would not be the same without the deep discussions that happen throughout the film that help us understand these characters that also give a in depth look of race relations in current times. The scary thing about this film is even 12 years after this film came out a lot of the themes are still prevalent and if it came out today it would still be just as powerful.
First I want to talk about Derek who really drives this film and controls where it goes and how the audience feels. When we are introduced to him, we are seeing him after he has been paroled so we do not know about his past. As the movie moves on we start to learn more and more about him and his supremacist ways. We see his hate crimes and his rise in the supremacist community but at the same time we see his hate and anger rise. He gets worse the more we learn about him which escalates until Derek actually kills two African Americans. There is a great shot when Derek gets directed of the cop covering up his swastika giving both a foreshadowing effect and a powerful image of justice's hammer on prejudice. And with this I do not mean government's justice or our judicial system but universal or justice in general, karma if you will.
So when Derek gets to jail, everything starts to change and he gets a real world perspective. See for Derek, it takes him getting to jail to see what the real world is really like. He was safe back at home with his friends but in the joint no one gave a crap about him (or so we think). Derek immediately joins with the other white supremacists but soon leaves them after seeing them do business with other races. Ironically, his own prejudices and hates cause him to literally be raped by his fellow white supremacists.
So with his life fallen apart and the people he thought would never betray him are now his enemies and he has no one to turn to. Once again, ironically, the people he hated and spoke against are the one who come around and help him when he hits his lowest low. His old teacher Dr. Sweeney helps him get through the emotional trauma and helps guide him to acceptance and leaving behind hate. Sweeney asks him a great question that applies to all haters in the world and is a great self reflection question: "Has anything you've done made your life better?". We also learn that Derek's co-worker in the joint Lamont (Guy Torry) starts to friend him and becomes his only friend int he joint. Really if it wasn't for Sweeney or Lamont, Derek probably would not survive, especially after we learn that Lamont was protecting him by pulling strings with his fellows "brothers" (as Lamont would say). It is also important to talk about Derek's parole for one reason, why was he only given 3 years for two deaths and why did Danny not testify? This film definitely does not shine a good light on either race that is for sure.
Derek must now cut ties with the white supremacist group and save his brother. Derek goes to a party held by the supremacist and confronts their leader who is attempting to corrupt Danny like he did Derek. We see the complete change from the Derek that we learned about at first as he threatens the leader and cuts everything he had to do with the movement. Derek is able to save his brother by confessing what happened to him and jail. Random point, we also see an unfortunate flashback where we learn that Derek's father also had a strange impact and pushing Derek toward white supremacy.
So before we get to the climax of the film which should be a good discussion, I want to talk to Danny. Danny in a lot of ways represent us the audience. I am not calling anyone a racists, but their are certain things in our lives whether it be sports, politics, religion, race, or any controversial topic, we sometimes are very gullible and passionate about issues. What Danny then shows us is that we need to be careful to let hate get in our way of the truth. Danny, through his brother, is able to realize his problems and that he cannot live a life of hate anymore. So what is it in our lives that is blocked by hate? Danny reminds us that we do not understand everything about an issue. Sometimes it takes someone like his brother to give us a totally different perspective and open our eyes to the real world.
So let's talk about the ending. If you haven't seen it then stop reading right now. Go see the movie then keep reading. Now to recap on the ending, Derek and Danny are changed men and are headed off to a promising future. Danny heads to school and as he goes to the restroom, he turns around and gets shot by an African American. The African American was someone that Danny had taunted earlier in the film. Now this ending is very controversial for a lot of reasons. Some people hate it and say it ruins the whole point of the movie. Some get upset that it had to be an African American who shot him and why did it happen as soon as Danny turns his ways around. But here is what the ending is for me:
The ending is asking you the audience: who do you hold responsible for Danny's death? At the end of the film are you mad at the African American? Are you mad at Danny for being a white supremacist? Are you mad at Derek for influencing Danny? Are you made at their father for influencing both Danny and Derek? Are you mad at society as a whole? Are you mad at years an years of race tension? That is what this movie is trying to ask. We see multiple sides of the race story and at the end it is a blast that ask you to reflect on your own true opinions on race. Your reaction to Danny's death tells you a lot about your views on race. That's one of the reasons I love this film because it makes you the audience member really think about not only what you just saw but about yourself.
So as Dr. Sweeney says to Edward Norton, "You wanna take a break now? You will find no peace. The way to find peace is to stick." So I leave you with this, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to let this be another movie or are you going to do something about it? Let this movie take meaning and let it teach other. Talk about these topics, talk about the issues because only through that can we ever hope to improve. Incredible, modern masterpiece. 5/5.
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