American History X

In American History X, the personality of Derek, the main character, is easily described. He is full of rage, racism, and violence. These are the character traits shown to the viewer by the movie. His identity is somewhat more complicated. While Derek was still a teenager, a black drug dealer killed his father. Derek believes his racist character was formed by this event; however this is not the case. Derek's father was a racist, and long before his death he imposed his beliefs onto his impressionable son. Citation to use in a term paper: His father would say to him: "You can't be listening to all this hidden agenda nigger bullshit." Derek's father programmed him long before he realized it. All Derek was waiting for was an event that would make him believe the racist opinions he had been brought up with. This event was his father's death. On the day of his father's death Derek became overwhelmed by anger. With no way to vent his anger he sought vengeance. Seeing this, a man named Cameron exploited him, making him commit crimes, and acts of violence. Derek did not make these choices alone - he was a product of his environment. This movie has helped show me that any person's identity can be changed, if their environment is changed to suit it. In a racist environment, Derek's identity was the same as the people in his community. Identity is essentially what makes us different from everyone else. Derek was part of a crowd of people who didn't have an individual identity. They shaved their heads, wore uniforms, and worshiped the same beliefs, simply so they could fit into Cameron's gang of racists.

If we juxtapose the lives of the two brothers, it is evident that they both developed racist personalities, though from different sources. The younger brother, Danny, acknowledges the similarities between himself and Derek, saying: "Everyone looks at me, and all they see is my brother." The reason for this is because identity is what makes us different from everyone else. Danny has the same tattoos, the same personality, and the same attitude. They have the same identity. Once the other characters in the film recognize Derek's identity, the directing style dramatically changes. Now that the story line has become about making amends, and moving forward, there is soft lighting, and long panoramic camera sweeps. The director tries to show that accord has come from all the violence. At the start of the film there are many close up shots taken from a low angle, which makes the viewer feel threatened by the main characters. Once Derek is accepted as reformed person, there are more mid range shots, very slow moving, trying to encourage dialogue, and show character features to the audience. If you are interested in getting a custom essay on American History X, contact our customer support.