American Politics & Pop Culture

I completely disagree with critics who believe that the film was sending a message stereotyping racists. After watching the film it didn’t make me think that people who committed hate crimes had shaved heads swastika tattoos or burned crosses and whore white sheets. L & P Finley argue that “American History X depicts hatred as a group phenomenon and that rednecks are depicted as the worst possible racist losers (233).� I think that this is partially true. Many neo-Nazi members are from small towns and are thought of as rednecks. Although this is true the intent of these characters was not to make the audience think that these characteristics distinctively belong to someone who would commit a hate crime. I also do not think that the film gives false cues to the audience about who is a racists. The film just gives an example of a notorious depiction of a racist in American culture. When many Americans think of a neo-Nazi they think of someone who has a shaved head, a swastika of some sort, and they may burn crosses and run around in sheets. The audience knows that these are not mutually exclusive with racists so this film does not give false cues.
I think that the depiction of hate groups in the film in some ways allows viewers that cracking down on racists groups will eliminate racism. I think if that is really the only exposure to racism then the audience might think that eliminating these groups would eliminate racism. Unfortunately racism is something that needs to be changed at an individual level. These groups would not exist if people were not racists. If you get rid of the groups you don’t remove racism but just displace it.
Grant Flatgard