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What Does ‘American History X’ Tell Us about Racism after Two Decades?

There’s no better time to revisit Tony Kaye’s cult film.

It’s hard to decide what’s spreading faster in America right now; COVID-19 or social injustice. Ever since 1991's infamous Rodney King police beating, the public’s voice against discrimination has never been louder than now. George Floyd’s tragic murder this year has triggered riots and protests all around the world…. so I felt it was time to revisit one of the most famous films made about racism.

What has American History X got to tell us after two decades?

Tony Kaye’s movie debut in 1998 was determined to show the evolution of a neo-Nazi leader, Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton), how he became a monstrous figure in white supremacy, and what transformed him to leave his poisonous ideology behind after spending three years in jail.

Watching American History X today, it sometimes feels like style over substance. Its stylishly directed violence is more illuminating than the moral argument behind it. Nevertheless, the movie aims to elicit emotions with a poignant depiction of racism that’s bred from feelings rather than reason.

Derek’s actions come from his grief and anger. Dangerous actions bred from hateful speeches and corrupt ideologies. They have consequences; depriving your freedom, blinding your vision, and destroying your relationships. Actions are irreversible.

“The scariest and most convincing scenes are the ones in which we see the skinheads bonding. They’re led by Derek’s brilliant speechmaking and fueled by drugs, beer, tattoos, heavy metal, and the need all insecure people feel to belong to a movement greater than themselves.” — Roger Ebert.

At one point, Derek reflects on the Rodney King event by trying to convince his family King wasn’t that innocent, and it wasn’t police brutality because the officers were only doing their jobs. He’s blinded by rage, hypothesising the public would’ve viewed the incident differently if King had killed someone by driving under the influence. The scene eventually escalates in domestic violence when Derek turns against his own family, ripping his shirt off to showcase his swastika tattoo, shouting at his mother’s Jewish boyfriend “you see this?! That means not welcome!”

I find that scene more disturbing and frightening than the merciless killings Derek commits earlier. It shows that evil ideologies can overwrite behavioural patterns in the brain and escalate in violence against those you love the most. Vinyard wasn’t born with a notion of hatred, he was taught to despise ethnic people. His neo-Nazi mentor used his confusion and vulnerability when his father was murdered to make him one of his best soldiers.

The first half of the film works best because it uses rigorous violence and hate-speech to build and showcase the neo-Nazi group’s philosophy. The protagonist’s transformation in the second half is not as profound. The abuse Derek goes through in prison doesn’t necessarily explain the change in his mind. Violence begets more violence rather than an epiphany. The self-reflection Derek experiences seem shallower than the build-up to his acts of evil.

However, one can interpret Derek’s realisation and enlightenment in a more subtle way. Racism can vanish by seemingly ordinary deeds, like meaningful conversations and a slowly developed bond between two people from different races. Prejudice only disappears once we learn to see each other as equal. Derek’s intelligent enough to admit the falseness of Nazi propaganda to himself.

The controversy of American History X’s editing process became Hollywood folklore. Ironically, the film put Edward Norton on the industry’s radar for more complex roles while simultaneously earning him a reputation for being a hothead who’s difficult to work with. Norton said that, that after finishing this movie, he was never the same.

“Kaye wanted to have his name removed as the film’s director, arguing that the film needed more work and that Norton re-edited some sequences. We will probably never know the truth behind the controversy.” — Roger Ebert

According to Entertainment Weekly, Tony Kaye sued the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) and New Line Cinema for $200M (or $275M according to the book Cinematic Century), claiming the DGA ruling violated his First Amendment constitutional rights.

If anything, the film benefitted from Norton’s intervention to help with the editing process by radically changing its tone and the ending. According to screenwriter David McKenna, Kaye’s cut made the film look like a commercial.

Allegedly, the original finale meant to show Derek in front of a mirror, shaving his head and pulling out a pistol to avenge his brother’s death. An endless cycle of violence. Looking at it from today’s perspective, it might have been an incisive alternative, implying that we, as humanity, are doomed to be violent, predestined for an inability to change, and failing to evolve as human beings. An ending like that in 2020 society would be grim but sadly realistic.

However, Norton objected and removed the scene to reach a conclusion that at least leaves us with a little bit of hope for mankind. That the vicious cycle of hatred stops when we realise that only we can put an end to it. First individually, and then collectively.

“American History X’s narrative is ultimately a consoling one. Even society’s most disreputable elements, it suggests, are not immune to the arc of progress. What the film did not account for was the possibility of regression: that rather than American racists being socialised, American society would only become more racist.” — George Eaton in New Statesman.

When I first saw American History X, I was young and too immature to fully comprehend its meaning, but I was struck by its genuine brutality. Even then, the message was obvious, although I’ve never experienced racism first-hand and, as a white man, perhaps never will.

Two decades on, after living in England for over seven years as an immigrant, I’ve come to a better understanding of the burning issue of racism. It’s all clearer to me now, however, the message stayed the same: everyone is equal — or, at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be.

“Hate is baggage. Life’s too short to be pissed off all the time. It’s just not worth it.” — American History X.

So what has American History X taught us after 21 years? That hatred is taught by people, not something innate, and sometimes it only takes a seemingly insignificant interaction to awaken poisoned minds and help society to become into something greater.

Now, we have a better chance to do so.

All photos © New Line Cinema.