Matt Morosky's view on American History X
The first word that comes to mind after viewing American History X is powerful. It's a film that deals with one of the great struggles in America; Racism. It is a film that doesn't really give concrete solutions to the serious problems with racism, but it forces the audience to open their eyes and expand their minds on the issues. Derek, played masterfully by Edward Norton, allows hate to creep into his heart after his family suffers the loss of the father. The film uses an interesting use of color to show the different states of the mind. While the film is black and white, Derek is viewing the world and other issues from the perspective that things can actually be viewed in terms of black and white. After jail, when he is able to change his beliefs, the film changes to color and we see a completely different person in Derek. As far as him being a hero, I don't believe he is. He deserves to be commended for his ability to overcome the internal hatred that was so firmly planted inside of him, but he is not a hero. He is very complex character, as I see him as both perpetrator and victim at the same time. The leader of the D.O.C. in Venice took advantage of him during a time when he was most vulnerable, but ultimately he made the choices that led to his incarceration. His incarceration was very metaphorical in the sense that while his body was behind bars, the better person within himself was freed. This film is so honest in its depiction of the human heart and mind. Hatred is something that exists within all human being, but we have the ability to accept it or reject it. Racism has always been a problem in this country and it will continue to be as time moves on, but we as individuals can make the decisions to treat all people with the same respect and consideration we'd like to be shown in return. It's a violent film depiciting a violent country's fears and prejudices as they really are. Racism is fueled by ignorance, fear, and hate and in order to defeat those evils, we need to start very early in life in terms of educating our children and young people about the dangers that come with racism.