Melissa Green's Reflections on "American History X"
When I first saw "American History X" several years ago, I felt a sense of unease. It wasn't clear to me until midway through the film that the intention of the filmmakers was to debunk racism, rather than support it. The ending of the film also left me with that uneasy feeling. It wasn't until we began to discuss it in class that I was able to verbalize the discomfort. "American History X" is a racist movie. I would agree with Beck's assessment on the film. Derek is portrayed as a hero. The scene on the basketball court where the skinheads are playing for rights to the court against the African-Americans, the musical score inexplicably rises in triumph when Derek and his group win. Derek's racist diatribes are mixed with just enough statistics to be compelling and persuasive. It strikes me as illogical that so much screen time would be devoted to Derek's reasoning when the film is trying to convey the opposite meaning. Derek's body is also framed in disturbing way by the camera, especially after his murder of the two gang members who tried to break into his car. The camera swept over his muscular, chisled body in an adoring, almost pornographic way. The look of pride on his face was probably meant to convey Derek's insanity; however it makes him appear like a hero. The anti-racist sentiment of the film is much more subdued and less flashy, which means it is less likely to stay with the average movie-goer. It is unlikely that audiences of a mainstream film are going to analyze each movie they see in the way we do as part of this class. The message is lost, and the racist attitudes are left behind.