American History X: Tony Kaye

... Andrea Burdman April 10, 2003 Film journal American History X: Tony Kaye Racism is a word we hear everyday. We cannot turn on the television, read the newspaper or even engage in a day to day conversation without hearing the word and the actions that proceed it. "American History X" is a brutal and disturbing film that discusses and reveals racism, prejudice, and human blindness. "American History X" is about how two brothers are drawn into a Neo-Nazi group of skinheads and how one tries to release himself after being in jail for three years. The film emphasizes that actions have consequences, and that achieving liberation is not so easy. The price for a change of direction can be, and often is, brutal. The final sequence in the film is shocking not because it's unexpected, but because it illustrates this truth. The film goes back and forth between the black and white flashbacks of

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