American History X: filmanalyse

The film is full of drama; it is filled to the breaking point with violence, love and hate.

Writer: David McKenna

Director: Tony Kaye

Year of production: USA 1998

Length: 116 minuts. Allowed: Children older than 15 years.

Summary: The film is about a former neo-Nazi, who has a little brother called Danny who looks up to him. The main character Derek kills two black men who are trying to steal his car. Actually there were 3 men but one of them gets away in a car. Derek shoots the two men, but one of them did not die. Derek drags the man to the nearest curb stone; he says that he shall put his jaw over the curb stone. Derek kicks the man in the back head. He dies immediately. The cops showed up, they arrest Derek. He gets sentenced 3 years in jail. He begins to talk with the other Nazis who are in the prison. But after two years he sees one of them, making a deal with a Mexican. Meanwhile he begins to work with a black man in the laundry room. At lunch he refuses to sit next to the Nazis. Then one day in the shower, five men comes in, 4 of the men holds Derek, while one man screws him in the ass. They smash his head into the wall. It starts bleeding and they leave him lying on the bathroom floor. Then he wakes up in the infirmary. While he was asleep he got 5-6 stitches in his eyebrow. Dr. Bob Sweeney visits Derek in the prison. Bob Sweeney is Derek’s old principal. Bob Sweeney is a black man, but it seems like that’s the only black man Derek likes. Danny’s principal is Bob Sweeney as well, but Danny hates him. Meanwhile outside the prison, Danny, is starting to hang out with Derek’s old friends. He becomes a good friend of Cameron Alexander, who is the “boss” of the Nazis in Derek’s part of town. Derek’s was a great friend of Cameron as well. Then comes the day where Derek leaves the prison. He immediately visits his family. They are all very pleased that he is out of jail. One of Derek’s old friends Seth, who is also a Nazi, comes by. Derek gets a phone call. It turns out that it is Bob Sweeney. He is calling because; Danny wrote an essay about, “Mein Kampf”. Bob Sweeney did not tolerate that, so he told Danny to write a new essay to the next day. Bob tells Derek to make sure that Danny writes the essay, or else he will get kicked out of school. In the evening there’s a party at Cameron’s house down by the beach, everyone is expecting Derek to show up. Derek is like a good in the environment off the Nazis. But in the meantime while he was in prison, he is not a Nazi anymore. But he is the only one who knows that. He shows up at the party. He visits Cameron. But he punches him in the face. He leaves the room. Outside the finds out that he knocked opt Cameron. Then Seth drags his gun, and threatens Derek. Derek gets away. Now the Nazi-gang is after Derek. He managed to convince Danny that being a Nazi isn’t a live worthy for them. One day the police contacts Derek. They ask Derek if he wants to join the Nazis again, to do an inside job for them, he doesn’t really have a choice.