Character Analysis: Derek Vinyard

Character Analysis: Derek Vinyard

Thr first movie that came to mind after reading this assigment was American History X. American History X was made with a no-holds-barred look
at the very real underbelly of racism. The main character is the leader of a neo-Natzi group.

Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) is an LA skinhead who goes to prison for killing a black man who was trying to break into his car. Well actually,
when he kills him, the would-be thief was trying to run away. Derek had been a organizer and leader of a small gang of skinheads, and in prison,
covered with Nazi and racist tattoos, he is instantly welcomed among the local Aryan Brotherhood chapter. Derek rapidly becomes disenchanted with
his fellow skinhead prisoners, who he believes are too quick to cut deals with the leaders of other ethnic groups, and too willing to deal drugs among
themselves for a few bucks. This leads to a breach with the group, with the predictable consequence that he is brutally raped by the skinheads in a
shower-room encounter soon thereafter. In the meantime, Derek has befriended a black prisoner who works with him in the prison laundry.
The prison experience transforms Derek, and much of the movie revolves around his quest to help his brother Danny (Edward Furlong) avoid making the
same mistake of falling under the spell of skinhead leader Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach).Cameron has all the power; his verbose speeches are etched into
the minds of young individuals that are tired of being vilified and looking for a way to fight back. “He can make his listeners feel that they are part of
something that is happening, that these are not empty words” (Ezekiel). Cameron holds his sphere of influence over the heads of his starving children
and rarely lets go. “At core, he is a political organizer. His motive is power. Racism is his tool. The nazi youth here have a manipulative leader, and it’s easy for him to get these kids to tag a long with him because they don’t know what they want to do
with...

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