The Film American History X - Essay Example

As pointed out, the film ‘American History X deals with the influence of the neo-Nazi movement/ideology among the student community. Besides, the film portrays how the neo-Nazi movement influenced the thought and actions of two brothers, Derek and Daniel (Danny), and how it shatters their dreams to lead a worthy life. The untimely death of their father by a drug dealer forces Derek to join the neo-Nazi movement and eventually leads him to imprisonment for three years. Caroline Joan Picart and David A. Frank criticizes that neo-Nazism still exists in America and the film ‘American History X’ is symbolic of the influence of Nazism among the youngsters (Picart and Frank 33). The harsh life in the prison transforms Derek, but his brother Danny joins white power skinhead, a white nationalist organization. In the end, Danny is fatally injured by a black student. The film ends Danny’s narration of some sentences from Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address against racism.

          In the Article ‘the campus divided again’, Arthur Levine deals with the issues related to diversity in college campuses its effect on the student community. Earlier, the student community was care career-oriented or with materialistic views. But now, the division is more evident and the students are ready to segregate themselves from the mainstream of college campuses. In addition, this age is symbolic of the growth of advocacy groups among the students. When students accept voluntary segregation, the ultimate aim of education becomes unimportant. James Berardinelli and Roger Ebert opine that any attraction towards racial thought may lead to brutal results in one’s personal life (Berardinelli and Ebert 167). So, division among students based on their race, color, and hinderers the growth of students, and it ultimately leads to the formation of groups or gangs. 

           The film portrays how intelligent students are influenced by advocacy groups like the eon-Nazi movement, white power skinhead, etc. The influence of the neo-Nazi movement does not end with Derek but extends to Danny’s life. College campuses are becoming more diverse than ever. John W. Santrock and Jane S. Halonen think that diversity is a unique characteristic of college campuses in America (Santrock and Halonen 47). So, there exists a high possibility for the growth of advocacy groups among students. In the film, the scenes like intimidating a Korean shopkeeper, challenging the black basketball players, etc. are symbolic of the influence of racist thought on college campuses. Derek was imprisoned for voluntary manslaughter and he joins Aryan Brotherhood Gang in the prison. But his relationship with a black prisoner, namely Lamont, and Dr. Sweeney’s influence helps Derek to realize the meaninglessness of racist thought.

        The film points out the pointlessness of racist thought. In the Article ‘the campus divided again’, Arthur Levine criticizes that: “It is a generation that defines itself more by its differences than its similarities” (Levine 417).  The cultural, racial, and lingual differences among the student community provide enough possibility for the influence of advocacy groups. Now students are aware of their unique identity, not as students but as members of groups or gangs. As pointed out by Levine, voluntary segregation as a member of a specific group leads to a sense of victimization (Levine 417). But Derek’s transformation is touching and a brave attempt to hinder the growth of racist thought on college campuses.

         Summing up, the film helps one to realize the pointlessness of racism on college campuses. Besides, the article points out that the best possible way to tackle the issue of diversity is to diversify the curriculum. So, one can see that both the film and article make use of distinct methods to solve the problem of racism in college campuses and the themes are closely related to each other.