American History X is a
1998The year 1998 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
film directed by
Tony KayeTony Kaye is a director of films, music videos, advertisements and documentaries.Kaye is a director of music videos, including the video for "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum, which won a Grammy Award; "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers; "What God Wants" by Roger Waters; and "Help Me" and...
. The film tells the story of two brothers, Derek Vinyard (
Edward NortonEdward Harrison Norton is an American film actor, screenwriter and director. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. A year later, his lead role as a reformed white power skinhead in American History...
) and Daniel "Danny" Vinyard (
Edward FurlongEdward Walter Furlong is an American actor, best known to film audiences as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Daniel Vinyard in American History X.-Beginnings:...
) of Venice Beach in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
. Both are extremely bright and charismatic students, and Derek is drawn into the
neo-NaziThe term neo-Nazism refers to any post-World War II social or political movement seeking to revive Nazism, or some variant that echoes core aspects of Nazism.The term can also refer to the ideology of those movements....
movement after their father, a firefighter, is murdered by a black drug dealer while trying to put out a fire in a
South CentralSouth Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A., is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still widely known as South Central...
neighborhood.
Weed is for niggers. Put that away right now, have a little self-respect.
One in every three black males is in some phase of the correctional system. Is that a coincidence or do these people have, you know, like a racial commitment to crime?
We're so hung up on this notion that we have some obligation to help the struggling black man, you know. Cut him some slack until he can overcome these historical injustices. It's crap. I mean, Christ, Lincoln freed the slaves, like, what? 130 years ago. How long does it take to get your act together?
Hey! I got a bet, I come in this game right now, same score, but we play black guys against the white guys. (black guys laugh) "Name your price, cracker" No money, no money, for these courts and not just today, for good. If you win, we will walk outta here, but if we win, no bitching, no fighting, right here in front of everybody you pack up your shit and get your black asses outta here.
I believe in death, destruction, chaos, filth, and greed. [Trying to make fun of Seth while he (Seth) is trying to video tape him]
[Writing the beginning of the essay] People look at me and see my brother.
American History X is a
1998The year 1998 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
film directed by
Tony KayeTony Kaye is a director of films, music videos, advertisements and documentaries.Kaye is a director of music videos, including the video for "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum, which won a Grammy Award; "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers; "What God Wants" by Roger Waters; and "Help Me" and...
. The film tells the story of two brothers, Derek Vinyard (
Edward NortonEdward Harrison Norton is an American film actor, screenwriter and director. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. A year later, his lead role as a reformed white power skinhead in American History...
) and Daniel "Danny" Vinyard (
Edward FurlongEdward Walter Furlong is an American actor, best known to film audiences as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Daniel Vinyard in American History X.-Beginnings:...
) of Venice Beach in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
. Both are extremely bright and charismatic students, and Derek is drawn into the
neo-NaziThe term neo-Nazism refers to any post-World War II social or political movement seeking to revive Nazism, or some variant that echoes core aspects of Nazism.The term can also refer to the ideology of those movements....
movement after their father, a firefighter, is murdered by a black drug dealer while trying to put out a fire in a
South CentralSouth Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A., is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still widely known as South Central...
neighborhood. Derek kills two black gang members trying to steal his truck, and is sentenced to three years in prison for
voluntary manslaughterVoluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion", under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed...
. The story shows how Danny is influenced by his older brother's actions and ideology and how Derek, now radically changed by his experience in confinement, tries to prevent his brother from going down the same path as he did.
Plot
In the opening scene, Danny Vinyard, a young
white supremacistWhite supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance of whites....
, sits outside the principal's office, where his history teacher explains to the principal, Dr. Sweeney (
Avery BrooksAvery Franklin Brooks is an American actor, jazz musician, opera singer and college professor. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and his film role in American History...
), that Danny wrote a book report sympathetic to
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
's
Mein KampfMein Kampf, in English: My Struggle, is a book by Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology...
. After some discussion, Dr. Sweeney calls Danny into his office and informs him that he will now be his history teacher, calling the class "American History X", and that his first assignment is to write a paper about his brother Derek.
Flashbacks throughout the film show Derek's transformation into a vengeful white supremacist in Venice Beach. Having already been influenced by his firefighter father's latent racism, Derek is driven to action when his father is murdered by a
blackThe term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...
drug dealer. Eventually Derek becomes second-in-command of a
neo-NaziThe term neo-Nazism refers to any post-World War II social or political movement seeking to revive Nazism, or some variant that echoes core aspects of Nazism.The term can also refer to the ideology of those movements....
gang, The D.O.C. (Disciples Of Christ), and entices young whites to join. The gang commits acts of intimidation, such as damaging a store owned by a Korean and challenging against groups of black players to
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
games, in order to win the basketball court as turf. One night while Derek is with his girlfriend Stacey (
Fairuza BalkFairuza Alejandra Balk is an American film actress. She made her theatrical film debut as Dorothy Gale in Disney's Return to Oz. She has also appeared in The Craft, American History X and The Waterboy.-Early life:...
), three black men try to steal Derek's truck. Upon discovery of this, Derek shoots at the three men, killing the first one instantly, then killing the second wounded man with a
curb-stompCurb-stomping is a combat move in which the attacker forces the victim to lie down prone on the street and bite the curb, following which the attacker stomps on the back of their head, smashing their teeth and head....
in the street. The third man is able to escape in the bullet-ridden car. Danny watches in horror as this unfolds. The police arrive immediately afterward and arrest Derek as he smiles across the street at Danny.
After being convicted of voluntary
manslaughterManslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder.The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind...
, Derek is sentenced to three years in
prisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and jail , although in the United States "jail" and "prison" refer to different subtypes of correctional facility...
. While there, he joins the
Aryan BrotherhoodThe Aryan Brotherhood, also known as Alice Baker, the AB or The Brand, is a white prison gang; numbering about 15,000 members in and out of prison. In March 2006, four leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood were indicted for numerous crimes, including murder, conspiracy, drug trafficking, racketeering,...
. He becomes disillusioned with the gang, especially over the group's friendly dealings with a Mexican gang. When he voices these opinions, he is quickly shut down by the other white supremacists, so Derek chooses to not associate with them any more and is beaten and
rapeRape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
d in the showers. It is while working in the prison laundry room that Derek gradually becomes friends with a black inmate named Lamont (
Guy TorryRobert Guy Torry is an African-American actor and comedian.-Early life:Guy Torry was born and raised along with his brother, actor and comedian Joe Torry, in St. Louis, Missouri. Guy is the 5th child out of 6 children by his parents Robert & Rebecca Torry. He attended Southeast Missouri State...
).
While in prison, Derek is visited by Dr. Sweeney, whom he asks for help to get out on parole. Sweeney informs him of Danny's aspirations of becoming a neo-Nazi like Derek and heading to right where he is. Sweeney confides in Derek that he used to hate white people as a youth, but he came to the realization that racism was pointless. Sweeney asserts that Derek has spent his life pursuing answers, and then asks him: "Has anything you've done made your life better?" This proves a turning point for Derek, who further distances himself from the Aryan Brotherhood and changes his outlook on life. Lamont emerges as his only true friend in prison.
When Derek returns home he finds that Danny has become a white power skinhead and then tries and fails to convince him to leave the gang. Derek then tells the leader, Cameron Alexander, that he will no longer associate with him or the gang at which Cameron provokes Derek who beats him before leaving his office. During an ensuing confrontation, Derek's friend Seth Ryan points a gun at him, which Derek wrestles from him, and points it at the angry crowd before running away from the party. Danny angrily confronts Derek who tells him about his experiences in prison. The confession seems to prompt a change in Danny and they walk home with the insinuation that they will start to change their ways.
The following morning Danny finishes his paper, and Derek gets ready for a meeting with his parole officer. Derek walks Danny to school before his meeting, and on their way they stop at a café where they are met by Dr. Sweeney and a police officer. They tell Derek that Cameron and Seth were attacked the previous night, and have been hospitalized. Derek claims no knowledge of the incidents but they ask him for help, which Derek reluctantly agrees to do.
At school, Danny enters a bathroom before class starts and is confronted by a young black boy, with whom he had a confrontation the previous day. The student shoots Danny three times in the chest, killing him. When Derek arrives on the scene he tearfully cradles his brother in his arms. The film ends with Danny narrating part of his paper, in which he quotes the conclusion of
Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural addressOn Monday, March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was formally sworn in as the sixteenth President of the United States. Seven states had declared secession from the United States by this time and formed the Confederate States of America, and the new flag of the CSA — the Stars and Bars — had...
: "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Cast
- Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American film actor, screenwriter and director. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. A year later, his lead role as a reformed white power skinhead in American History...
as Derek Vinyard
- Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Furlong is an American actor, best known to film audiences as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Daniel Vinyard in American History X.-Beginnings:...
as Daniel "Danny" Vinyard
- Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly D'Angelo is an American singer and actress.-Early life:D'Angelo was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Priscilla , a violinist, and Gene D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager. She is of part Italian ancestry...
as Doris Vinyard
- Avery Brooks
Avery Franklin Brooks is an American actor, jazz musician, opera singer and college professor. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and his film role in American History...
as Dr. Bob Sweeney
- Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical roles...
as Cameron Alexander
- Jennifer Lien
Jennifer Ann Lien is an American actress, best known for playing the alien Kes on the television series Star Trek: Voyager.-Early life:...
as Davina Vinyard
- Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Alejandra Balk is an American film actress. She made her theatrical film debut as Dorothy Gale in Disney's Return to Oz. She has also appeared in The Craft, American History X and The Waterboy.-Early life:...
as Stacey
- Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould is an American actor. He became known during the 1970s, having starred in many Hollywood films, and has since continued appearing in supporting roles.-Early life:...
as Murray
- Ethan Suplee
Ethan Suplee is an American film and television actor best known for his roles as Seth Ryan in American History X, Harry Knowles in Fanboys, Frankie in Boy Meets World, and Randy Hickey in My Name Is Earl.-Early life:...
as Seth Ryan
- Guy Torry
Robert Guy Torry is an African-American actor and comedian.-Early life:Guy Torry was born and raised along with his brother, actor and comedian Joe Torry, in St. Louis, Missouri. Guy is the 5th child out of 6 children by his parents Robert & Rebecca Torry. He attended Southeast Missouri State...
as Lamont
- William Russ
-Early life:Russ was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and is the son of a naval officer. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Michigan Cheer team, which was all male at the time.-Career:...
as Dennis Vinyard
- Joseph Cortese
Joseph Cortese is an American actor who has been in Evilspeak and American History X. He was married to Kim Delaney from 1989 to 1994....
as Rasmussen
- Keram Malicki-Sanchez
Keram Malicki-Sánchez is a Canadian actor, singer, writer, new media guru, and music and film producer.-Early life & acting career:Malicki-Sánchez was born in Toronto to a Polish father and Ecuadorian mother...
as Chris
- Giuseppe Andrews
Giuseppe Andrews is an American film actor, writer, and director known for his roles as Lex in the 1999 film Detroit Rock City, a bizarre sheriff in Cabin Fever, a small role in Never Been Kissed, as well as appearances in The Smashing Pumpkins videos "1979" and "Perfect"...
as Jason
- Christopher Masterson
Christopher Kennedy Masterson is an American actor, best known for his role as eldest brother Francis in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. His brother is actor Danny Masterson of That '70s Show.-Personal life:...
as Daryl Dawson
Production
Kaye, the director, disowned the final cut of the film. He tried and failed to have his name taken off the credit list.
Reception
Based on the reviews of 72 critics collected on
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
, 83% of critics gave the film a positive review. It grossed $6,719,864 from 513 theaters in the United States, and a total of $23,875,127 worldwide.
Edward NortonEdward Harrison Norton is an American film actor, screenwriter and director. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. A year later, his lead role as a reformed white power skinhead in American History...
, was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for his performance.