American History X

American History X is perhaps one of the most powerful movies I've ever seen. Even though it's graphic, violent and to a certain degree, disturbing, it still sends a message that will keep you thinking for days on end.

Danny, a punk, neo-nazi, skin head rebel, has pushed it to the limit with his principal and is now in trouble. He is sat down in his office for a new history class, his own personal one, American History X. Danny's first assignment, write a paper on an influential person. Danny's first attempt is to write a paper on Adolf Hitler. His principal rejects it and tell him to write about someone else. Danny writes about his brother, Derek. He begins remembering his life with him. Before the writing process begins, Danny goes into a bathroom for a cigarette break. He blows cigarette smoke in an African American boy's face for beating up a white kid.

Derek has always shaped Danny from the time he was a kid. With Derek's girlfriend, Stacey, also a modern day Nazi activist, living in their home with a new born, Danny, Danny's older sister and their mother, Derek makes it clear that he runs the house. After running off his mother's Jewish boyfriend, Derek takes action in his town to prove that the white race is superior to any other. They first target a local grocery store run by a Chinese man. They are convinced that he is hiring nobody white, and bringing foreigners into the town. After masking themselves with baseball bats, crow bars and pantyhose, they break into the store, beat the workers, harass an African American cashier, and leave the store in ruins.
Scenes of their neo-Nazi bonfires and Nazi recruiting parties are shown with their leader, Cameron.

Another time, the group competes, blacks vs. whites, to win full ownership of a basketball court, where the whites win.

One night Derek takes it overboard. Danny is awakened to the sound of someone breaking into Derek's truck, only to find out that three black men have broken into it. He tells Derek. Derek then grabs a gun and proceeds to walk outside, showing off his muscles decorated with black swastika tattoos, and shoots the men. After brutally curb stomping the last of the men, letting him know before his death that he is superior to him because he is white, Derek is arrested and put into prison. Through prison, Derek is changed. After trying to side with fellow neo-Nazi prisoners, only to be raped in return, he serves two years on his own. He is mostly changed by a fellow worker in the prison, Lawrence. Lawrence is black, and shows Derek the difficulties of his life, just for his skin color.

In one scene, Lawrence and Derek discuss they're reasons for doing time. While Derek is serving two years for murdering three men, Lawrence is serving life for dropping a stolen TV on a police officer's foot.

Derek grows his hair back, regrets his tattoos, and on the day he is released, thanks Lawrence for making him a better person. Derek returns home, only to find that his family is now living in an apartment, and his little brother Danny has taken a turn for the worst. Derek crashed a party, where he is almost murdered for "turning against everyone in the gang". Even though Derek faces the weight of Danny's new neo-Nazi look and ideas, threat of being murdered for turning against everyone, and just getting back into the real world, he still tries to improve life for himself and his family.

The day before turning in his paper on Derek, Danny realizes what life he is making for himself. Derek and Danny take down all of the Nazi, white power, and racist posters, news articles, and flags in his room. The day Danny goes to turn in the paper, it seems like a good day.

Danny walks into the school and goes to the restroom. He turns around only to find a gun pointed to his chest by the boy who he blew cigarette smoke at. Danny is shot. In the end, the principal reads his paper. The movie ends with a scene of a California beach at sunset and Danny quoting Martin Luther King.

End of Danny's paper:

So I guess this is where I tell you what I learned - my conclusion, right? Well, my conclusion is: Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it. Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong. So I picked a guy I thought you'd like. '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.

The movie is R for sexual content, scenes of rape, graphic violence and vulgar language.

"You prey on people Cam. I lost three years of my life for your fuckin' phony cause, but I'm onto you now you fuckin' snake."

"Hey watch it Derek, this isn't some fuckin' country club where you can walk in and outta here..."

"Shut up! Shut Up! Shut the fuck up, I came here for one reason, to tell you that I'm out, and Danny's out too and if you come near him again, I will feed you your fucking heart."