The Film American History X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is the story about a man who greatly impacted American history. Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X as he is more widely known, taught what he believed in regards to segregation, racism, and discrimination. Growing up in a large family with a father Earl Little, a Baptist minister, and his mother Louis Little who was a homemaker, Malcolm’s life at the time seemed very promising. His father’s involvement in support of the Black National gained him many death threats at the hands of white supremacists. In 1929, they lost their house to a fire, and two years later the body of Malcolm’s father was found mutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudice on human behavior, and how society today keeps the ideology of Malcolm X alive.

American History X is clearly a film dealing with the social topic of racism. The interesting thing about this film is the way in which the subject is presented. First of all, it is obvious that, though racism is always a difficult subject to deal with, American History X presents it without any reservations or dummying down. Second, the film's figurehead for racism, Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton), is not an unintelligent redneck racist as films often portray them, but is in fact well-spoken, charismatic and bright, although he clearly holds ideals that are terribly wrong. Finally, the film shows that it is not only the white, neo-nazi racists who are fools for being involved in this, but all those who hold hatred in

American History X is clearly a film dealing with racism. The interesting thing about this film is the way in which the subject is treated. First of all, it is obvious that, though racism is always a difficult subject to deal with, American History X presents it without any reservations or dumming down. Second, the film's figurehead for racism, Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton), is not an unintelligent redneck racist as films often portray them, but is in fact well-spoken, charismatic and intelligent, although he clearly holds ideals that are terribly wrong. Finally, the film shows that it is not just the white, neo-nazi racists who are fools to be involved in this, but all racism is foolish. Through these methods, the film shows the viewer,

During this project, my class and I learned many examples of choices and consequences made by people throughout every day life. One specific character in the book, Erik Fisher, made choices that not only affected himself, but everyone around him negatively. Fortunately enough, as bad as these choices were; they did cause a few good outcomes.

The author portrays the message of standing for what you believe is right, never feeling pressured to conform to the attitude, values of other individuals. This is shown through Anthony who chooses to conform to Lance’s peer pressure yet consciously aware of the outcome of invading another person’s privacy. Although Anthony has good moral values, he fears Lance and therefore is unable to bring out the

"American History X" is divided into two color schemes, black and white, and color, these schemes symbolize the before and after of Derek Vinyard's life. The film is about the life of an "idol" skinhead and D.O.C. member Derek Vinyard, and how his life of hate and racism has affected his family and himself. Throughout the movie the importance of color and lighting is obvious, because it divides the movie into two fused worlds of Derek. Some of the movie is shot in black and white to show that, at that point in time, Derek was a racist Nazi, and only saw people in terms of their skin color, black and white. The remainder of the film, shot in color, symbolizes that Derek sees the whole world, and sees people as people, not

The Other Wes Moore introduces the lives of two boys with similar traits that would one day have different outcomes in life. As one begins to read the novel the clarity of their situation becomes evident, it is to an extent appropriate to conclude that both Moore’s lives were similar during their childhood, but certainly it was their mentors that guided them to different paths. Although growing up near each other and both being residents of the Baltimore county their influences were shaped from early on. The other Wes Moore was subject to failure because he himself was surrounded by bad role models including his mother that despite wanting the best for his son didn’t do enough to alienate his son from the streets. On the other hand,

Culture, writing, and language are expressions of history, but what we choose to convey to our students through these methods is what lives on for the future. The involvement of “funneling” history because of the stigma behind a figure or movement should be called into question. Unfortunately, this detrimental activity has been occurring in our school system, and the most prominent figure affected by this restraint is Malcolm X. El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, commonly referred to as Malcolm X, is falsely associated with violence, hatred, and radicalism. Although he was a deep-seated and angry man, he was driven by the determination of protecting his community and upholding the much-needed justice in America. In other words, he was angry for the right reasons. Is it fair to suppress and discriminate a

But as the sub-context of his controversial crusade, we also learn as the film unfolds that Malcolm X's mother, father, uncles, and countless other relatives and friends were direct victims of the hatred and violence of the white majority in America, during a time when the nation was supposed to be free and equal for all.

In the movie Donnie Darko, Donnie is a high school student who is remarkably smart, but for the last several months has had trouble in school and with his friends. His friends and family have always thought of him as “weird”, but lately he has been acting more and more out of the ordinary.

In the 1998 film American History X, Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for brutally murdering two black men who were breaking into his truck. Through his Brother Danny’s narration of a paper he is writing, it is learned that Derek was the leader of a large Neo-Nazi group known as D.O.C., or Disciples of Christ, that committed many acts of racial crime throughout Los Angeles. During his time in prison Derek decides that hate is a waste of time after being violently raped by fellow white supremacists, and his only friend being a black man, who was only in prison for a misunderstanding. After getting out on parole, Derek learns that Danny is headed down the same racist path as him, and decided that he must put a stop to it. Throughout this film there are many examples of the five theories of deviance; Functional, Conflict, Labeling, Broken Windows, and Differential Association. From Derek’s initial exposure to racism, all the way to him deciding to change, all five theories are exemplified through Derek, Danny, their Father, Cameron, or the D.O.C. as a whole.

Throughout the film, American History X, Derek feels victimized and threatened as a white American. He blames gangs, blacks, immigrants and even his mentor Cameron for all of America's problems. For instance, in one of the scenes in the film, both whites and blacks were playing basketball on the local basketball court. After an argument with one of the blacks, Derek decides whoever wins the game keeps the court and whoever loses leaves for good. “ If you win, we will walk outta here, but if we win, no bitching, no fighting, right here in front of everybody you pack up your shit and get your black asses outta here (American History X).” The violent game came to an end and the black gang was kicked out. Instead of kicking each other off the court, they should have shared at least half. However, Derek felt the black people don't deserve to play on the same ground as the whites. Derek claims his fathers

In this paper I will be talking about the values that Steve Gleason and his wife show throughout the movie. Gleason is about a guy named Steve Gleason a football player that as he gets older he is diagnosed with ALS and he starts making a video diary for his son rivers. As he creates a non-profit company that helps families with people that have ALS.

this gang. The film American History X will be analyzed using cultural relativism to determine

When I speak of how the American culture teaches children at a very early age to be individualized, Amparo Ojeda shows in her essay how it was very hard for her to adjust to the American life because “In America, I found