American History X (1998)
Directed by Tony Kaye
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
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8 films that influenced American History X
What critics say influenced American History X
Mike Leigh's Meantime (1983) offered a more cohesive attempt to describe what produces an English skinhead in London's East End; the designated turf of American History X is Los Angeles's Venice Beach.
Some of the most thought-provoking, socially relevant movies I’ve seen were aggressive and advanced potentially dangerous thought processes like Oliver Stone’s “Talk Radio” or Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X”.
Compare Norton to Tom Cruise in the early scenes of Born on the Fourth of July (1989), in which the actor telegraphs like crazy that his character’s jingoistic declarations are bull.
In rare cases that irony is underlined, as in Drugstore Cowboy (1989), in which the title character (Matt Dillon) stops using drugs and seems suddenly smaller and more vulnerable–and easy prey for the freaks he had previously dominated.
Some of the most thought-provoking, socially relevant movies I’ve seen were aggressive and advanced potentially dangerous thought processes like Oliver Stone’s “Talk Radio” or Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X”.
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As Derek's tattooed, goateed and chrome-domed former self, the muscle-bound Norton is scarier even than Robert De Niro's Max Cady in "Cape Fear."
When it comes to racial dramas there are usually two types: mainstream ("Higher Learning") or hard core ("Romper Stomper").
When it comes to racial dramas there are usually two types: mainstream ("Higher Learning") or hard core ("Romper Stomper").