Alexis Franciscotty
04/02/2015
SOC 2100
American History X American History X is an interesting and complex film with many eye opening events. The writers of the film lead the viewer to see where racism begins at its’ source, in an individual’s upbringing. The film tells the story of Derek Vinyard through his younger brother Danny Vinyard’s narration. The story takes place in Venice Beach, California, and shows how the brothers become swept up in the neo-Nazi gang movement. Derek is first drawn into the racist underground after their father, a firefighter who was also racist, is killed by an African-American drug dealer while trying to put out a fire in a South Central neighborhood.
Derek finds his place with the neo-Nazi skinheads because they create an environment where Derek feels welcome and part of something bigger and more powerful than himself. It was then that Derek’s racism grew from feelings to actions. Derek murders two African-American Crip gang members trying to steal his truck and is sent to prison. The film follows Danny’s influence by his older brother's actions and thoughts, as well as how Derek, now enlightened by his experience in prison, tries to prevent his brother from going down the same road he did.
The film is full of gore, violence, and makes the message clear that hate will only lead to more hate, but it also portrays how one person’s influence and actions direct others in the same capacity. Derek’s father’s views, in theory, are what let Derek to feel the same way. Derek’s actions and views influenced his brother Danny to follow in his footsteps with the same types of beliefs. Once Derek realized that he was wrong in his actions, he was able to influence Danny to change his own actions. American X made it extremely clear that one person’s action can affect others. Even Lamont, Derek’s prison friend, was able to influence other prison mates to leave Derek, a former white supremacist, alone just by asking. Derek’s leadership towards Danny was too little too late, but I think he was finally able to see the results and the influences of his actions.
The main social problem of American History X is clearly racism, and the film portrays how our prejudices can combine with our negative feelings of fear and hate to lead to actions of violence, discrimination, and destruction that in turn, destroy our sense of security and wellbeing in our living environment. Our class has taken a hard look at racism and it has become clear that everyone has a reason to be racist and to hate other people, but if we allow the fear and hate to fester, these negative emotions begin to control our actions and how we handle ourselves in the outside world.
This leads to another important social problem of the film, social disorganization. Many people caught up in a stressful living environment, like the bustling setting of Venice Beach in American History X, are completely unaware of how their stressful environment shapes their lives. Because individuals and families living in poverty are under an extreme amount of pressure, they only know how to function in survival mode. Stressful social environments leave little room for personal reflection on one’s thoughts and actions, so anyone living in these types of situations cannot see or truly understand the importance of personal reflection. Social disorganization is defined as an inability of community members to achieve shared values or to solve jointly experienced problems (Bursik, 1988). And although social disorganization is not a widely recognized social issue, we as humans are clearly influenced by our living environment.
The most memorable scene for me from American History X is the beginning of the movie where Derek Vinyard “curb stomps” and kills one of the African-American men that tried to steal his truck. The film’s color scheme switches to black and white during flashbacks and this makes the scene even more menacing. While Derek is setting the man up to die, his family is screaming and crying in the house, horrified at the violence that has unfolded. His brother Danny rushes outside to hopefully potentially stop Derek, but it is too late. After the man is stomped and killed, the look of horror on Danny’s face says it all. Derek steps away and then spits on the body, showing no regard for a fellow human being’s life. As someone that thankfully has avoided violence and cold blooded killing, the scene is very emotional for me to watch. I honestly can imagine ever doing that to someone, no matter how they much and wronged me.
Overall, I think American History X is a complex and intricate portrayal of racism and social disorganization in our modern world, and I wish the general public was more aware and educated on the importance of these complicated issues, and how fear and hate can run your actions if you let it.

References
American History X [Motion picture]. (1998). New Line Home Video.
Bursik, R. (1988,). Social Disorganization and Rural Communities Community Correlates of Rural Youth Violence. https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/193591/page1.html