Movie – American History X
Movie Analysis
I think this is one of the most interesting movies that I have ever seen in terms of hate crime back in the day and how certain peaceful things can change a person’s life. The whole movie can be summarized in one line that Danny said, ‘hate is a baggage; life’s too short to be pissed off all the time. It’s just not worth it. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.’ This movie is closely related to the conflict theory that focuses on power and inequality among the different groups of the society. Also, there is a lot symbolic interaction as well through the Nazi symbols and tattoos. The two main races represented in this movie are the neo-Nazi/white supremacists and black.
The story starts out with a group of white skin heads (neo Nazis) with Derek being their leader who is also the main character trying show their hate towards the blacks and other minority groups. Derek makes them realize that the minority groups will start controlling everything which will be a possible threat to the white race in the future. Essentially the white skin heads want to handle and control the resources that are available in the country. This ideology clearly portrays the conflict theory as the white supremacists want to create a superiority complex and dominate all the other races/minority groups.
There is a lot of symbolic interaction presented in this movie. Most of it had to do with the Nazi symbolism especially swastika and also D.O.C (Disciples of Christ). Through these symbols and tattoos the group of skin heads differentiated themselves from the rest of the society. These signs and symbols had a great importance in their life. When Derek shoots down 2 black males, the camera zooms in and shows the Swastika symbol on his chest. This happens again when Derek goes out to get some fresh air outside the actual jail room. Moreover, in the very end, after Derek’s transformation, he looks into the mirror and covers...