'American History X', analyse af symbolik og racisme

Today I watched American History X, it really gave me a lot to think about. I think it shows a side of racism/Nazism I haven’t seen before. It showed it from the perspective of a white man, but we also got to see different scenarios from the victim’s perspective. I noticed lots of symbols throughout the whole movie. Let’s start with the room and the introduction of Derek. We start off by seeing a flag on the wall with a large swastika printed on it. Then we see Derek, his shaved head and boots. This gives us some idea of his ideology, and the neo-Nazi movement. We then proceed to see Derek shoot two black males, who are trying to steal his car. Derek uses unnecessary force, which I think could symbolize serious hatred towards the black population in proportion to the white population. When Derek gets arrested after he shot and killed a man, and curb-stumped another, he stands like Jesus on the cross almost, with his arms out to each side. He knows that what he just did, would give him serious credibility within the movement of neo-Nazism. I think that point in the movie shows how Derek becomes more submerged in the organization. Derek also has a lot of tattoos, including: “White power” written on his right arm and a large swastika on his chest, which for some people symbolizes Adolf Hitler and Nazism. He also has an eagle tattooed above the “white power” writing on his right arm. The eagle is the national animal of Germany, and just like the swastika many people connect it with Nazism and Hitler. When watching the start of the movie you think to yourself: “Why did Derek and Danny even become who they are, and why do they follow that ideology?” Well… you would think they became neo-Nazis when their dad got murdered, but no, it started earlier. It actually started with their dad, before he died. Their dad didn’t like that Derek had an assignment about black culture. He thought people of colour were taking over. He gave an example about two black men who got a job at the fire station instead of two white men, and what he meant was that they got the job because they were black. He also claims Sweeny’s lessons are a whole bunch of bullshit because Dr. Sweeney is black. He calls it “n-word-bullshit”, and right from that conversation, with their dad, both Derek and Danny caught on to the whole racist thing, because that was what their dad taught them (mostly Derek). When Derek killed those two people, things really started to kick off. Derek and Danny (especially Danny) loves the gang environment, and I can’t be sure why, but I think it is because their mother isn’t supportive, and they’ve lost their dad. So, they probably hang out there to feel like they are a part of something - like they belong somewhere. Basically they’re trying to create a sense of belonging because they don’t get that at home. It could also be an attempt to continue their dad’s “legacy”. When Derek gets released from prison and comes home, both him and Danny attend a neo-Nazi “party”. Derek meets the leader of the whole movement in their town (Alexander Cameron) and beats him down. Alexander tells Derek “he is a dead man”, and he says that because he is the leader of the white power group he would make sure he would be killed for both leaving the whole group, but also (of course) for beating him up. Derek easily takes the number one position in the organization by killing two guys at the beginning of the movie - he shoots one guy 4-5 times in the chest/stomach and curb-stumps another. He is still not as powerful as alexander, but he is the “number two dog”. The killings really confirmed to people that he was dead serious about his ideology, and he would do anything to bring back the Nazism movement. When Derek got locked up, his neo-Nazi ideas began to smoulder. It all started when he got work in the laundry section with a black inmate, who later becomes Derek’s friend. In the beginning Derek didn’t really want to talk with him, but he started to loosen up and they became friends. That really changed Derek’s mindset and convinced him that neo-Nazism is a bad thing and it does nothing to improve your life. Sweeney also later asks him: “Has anything you’ve done, made your life better?”