American History X

In today’s society, there is a mixture of different races and ethnicities in all parts of America.  Immigration has helped the Hispanic and Latino population grow to astonishing numbers.  African Americans and Hispanics now are the two largest minority groups, and growing numbers produces more conflict.  While minorities have struggled to overcome racism for many years, racism is still very prevalent in the world today, perhaps as much as it was in the past.  All different racial and ethnic groups are not only fighting for political power, but for social equality and equal rights also.  No movie highlights the damaging effects of racism more than American History X.  This movie shows how hatred and racism can destroy lives, and how negatively one individual can influence another.

American History X features a brilliant young man named Derek Vinyard, and his impressionable younger brother Danny Vinyard.  As they grow up in California, the streets become increasingly more dangerous and ethnically diverse.  However, the first seeds of racism are planted when Derek’s father is annoyed by the fact that his teacher has assigned black literature for him to read.  His father goes on to explain to him about how the use of affirmative action has helped to hire employees who are not as capable as their white counterparts, but were hired simply because they are a minority to fill quotas.  This is a crucial point, because Derek respected his father greatly, and would have believed anything he said. 

When his father is murdered by two African American men, his anger and hatred for all who are not White consume him completely.  This reminded me of a reading assigned in class titled Becoming Suspects, by Tram Nguyen.  This reading explained how Pakinstan-Americans were discriminated against after the terrorist attacks on September 11th.  It showed how one cannot blame an entire group of people just for one person’s actions, and how hurtful it is to be singled out and discriminated against.  While only a few people had committed the terrorist acts, America placed blame on all people from the Middle East, claiming they were not welcome anymore.  After Derek’s father was killed, he placed blame on entire groups of people, even going so far as to tattoo his body with hateful and racist symbols.  If Derek had not been exposed to such radical ideas by his father, who is his biggest role model, he might not have placed all of the blame on the fact that they are African American.

 From this point on in the story, Derek becomes a “skinhead,” recruiting his brother, and other young impressionable men to commit hate crimes and worship evil dictators like Hitler.  The hate in his eyes is frightening to see, along with the frequent use of racial slurs such as “spic,” and “nigger.”  He seemed to want others to hear him use such words, and wanted others to be hurt by them.  In an essay titled The Story of My Body, a young girl from Puerto Rico discusses some of the challenges she faced when coming to America.  She explained how hearing people call her a “spic” confused her greatly and gave her a poor self-image.  Hearing such hateful racial slurs growing up made her think that she was not as good as the White children, and that affected her greatly.  It is important to realize that verbal abuse is just as harmful and physical abuse. 

Although it is uncomfortable to hear such discriminatory language, it is also very saddening.  Children grow up with philosophies and ideologies about life that their parents and other important role models teach them.  Since Derek learned to be racist from his father, it affected him and his family greatly.  However, when he is sent to prison for killing two African American men for trying to steal his car his perceptions change drastically.

            While in prison, Derek first joins a gang of “skinheads” not only for protection, but because he truly believes that all races are inferior to the White race.  He soon learns that his new friends are not truly White supremacists, and that they associate with other ethnic groups.  This angers him deeply, and he no longer wants to be a part of the group.  He is shocked when he is raped by another “skinhead.”  This is the first time that he sees that White on White crime can be just as damaging as Black on White, or any other crime for that matter.  It is at this point that it can be seen that all racism and discrimination is wrong, no matter who it is directed towards.  While this is a terrible act of violence, it does make him realize that White people can hurt him just as people from other races have.  In a way, this helps to change him for the better; by showing him that it does not take color to make someone evil. 

As he tries to learn new philosophies, and as he is gaining a new perception towards life, he becomes friendly with an African American inmate that he does chores with.  It is interesting that while Derek was sentenced to three years in prison for murdering two men, the African American man was sentenced to six years for stealing.  This shows how unjust the legal system can be.  It made me question whether the judge gave Derek a smaller punishment just because he is White.  It seems as though murder should get a much longer sentence than stealing.

The next scene that truly touched me was when Derek was released from prison and goes to thank the African American man that he did chores with.  It was obvious that they had become friends, and that the man had helped to change Derek’s perception of the African American race.  Derek also realized in that moment that his friend had helped to keep him alive in prison after he left the “skinheads” to be on his own.  He knew that there was no way he could have survived in prison, without being attacked, without his help.  It was amazing to me that even while Derek had a swastika tattooed on his chest, that the man was willing to help him.  The relationship between these two men shows that neither friendship nor love has a color.

After Derek is released from prison he realizes the damage he has done.  He taught his younger brother to hate others and to be racist, just as his father had done to him.  It seems that he is now disgusted with the White supremacist group that he was once a part of, and now hates the cowardly leader of it that recruited him long ago.  He is heartbroken at how much his ignorant attitude towards other races has affected his younger brother.  His family has slowly deteriorated, and he takes responsibility.  Instead of being a responsible role model and leader for his mother, sisters, and younger brother, he was filled with hate and rage and made poor choices.  Although he can try to rebuild his life, he also has to try and rebuild his family’s life also.  This shows just how much racism can not only destroy a person, but an entire family as well.

Throughout the movie, scenes of Derek and Danny on a beach when they were young children were shown often.  As they played on the beach, it was evident that even at such a young age that Danny idolized Derek.  Those scenes captured their innocence, and showed how beautiful their happiness was.  I knew after watching Derek change drastically throughout the movie that he wanted desperately to get his family back to that place of happiness.  He succeeds in changing his brother’s perception of other races, and he shows him that being racist is wrong.  However, it is too late.  Danny is killed by an African American student at his high school.  Watching Derek hold his dead brother in his arms was difficult to see.  It made me realize that actions and words are things that you cannot take back, no matter how badly you want to.  Even though Derek had changed, what he had done in the past and the influence his actions had on his brother cannot be forgotten. 

After watching this movie, I am enlightened and profoundly affected by it.  I never realized how hateful people can be.   The movie effectively shows how racism among all races and ethnicities is wrong, and how much better the world would be if it were eliminated from the world.  In my opinion, racism is the route of all evil.  It does nothing good for society and is a contributing factor in many wars, and even leads to death.  While there is still a large amount of work to be done, I believe that we have come a long way in trying to stop racism.  I am hopeful for the future, and look forward to living in a world that is free of hate, intolerance, and racism.