The Lessons Left from American History X

In 1998, New Line Cinema and director Tony Kaye released American History X, which quickly became one of the most graphic and controversial films of the late twentieth century.

Academy Award nominee Edward Norton (Primal Fear, Fight Club) stars as Derek Vinyard, the young leader of a white supremacist gang from Venice Beach who is sentenced to prison for three years when he murders two young, African-American men breaking into his truck.

After spending time in prison, Derek undergoes a dramatic change in his beliefs, realizing that he no longer wants to be a part of the movement he had once shaped.

American History X shows what hate can do to a person's life. Hate is not the answer in achieving happiness, but rather, it is a downward spiral.

The director includes several flashbacks throughout the film to supplement the narrative voiced by Danny Vinyard, who writes a paper for his school principal about the life of his older brother, Derek. Kaye uses black and white film stock to represent these past experiences of Derek's life and color film for scenes in the present.

The fight at the dinner table is a flashback scene that reveals Derek's racial intolerance creating further disorder and tension within the family.

Originally influenced by his father and later by Cameron Alexander, the organizer of the Venice Beach skinhead gang, Derek prides himself on the belief that minorities are "social parasites" and "a burden to the advancement of the white man."

When Derek takes over the discussion during dinner, he becomes rapped up in his hate for African-Americans, Jews and all other racial groups. His emotions take over, leading him to physically abuse his sister, Davina, and verbally abusehis mother and her Jewish boyfriend, Murray.

Derek's intolerance and violent behavior not only cause the loss of his family's respect but also estrange him from his family. His mother feels ashamed to have him as a son andshe forces him to leave the household.

In the end, the rift created between Derek and his family was a direct consequence of his hatred and violent behavior.