I just don't know, this movie made me laugh (a lil), cry (a lil), and hurt (a lot). I don't think in my 24 years of living have I ever seen a more crucial, more raw, more real film. I watched it with my little brother and told him there was no way I could have seen this film when I was younger or even a year ago probably. The acting was absolutely amazing, powerful, and superb. I thought it was going to make me hate Edward Norton, but despite his hate and malice and prejudice, in the end I felt for him. I rooted for him. Not to say I forgot what he did or the hate that spewed from him, but I empathized and wanted so bad for their to be a happy ending for him and his family.
This film made me do a lot of thinking, just the way it made me feel and some of the things said, I just sat there in awe, like WOW! Like, there are really people out there like that and it makes my heart hurt. There were so many scenes that really made my heart and soul hurt. Not just the killing or hate towards the blacks, but the way he was treated in jail. Or the dinner scene with his family. Or the ending. Or to see where the hate started, because kids somehow inherit that. Just so much of that film affected me.
I honestly can say that I really cannot relate because personally I have never felt discriminated against. Maybe when I was younger, but I know my parents shielded me from all that. It was normal for me to be around all white people and play with the white kids. I had no problem with it. I had no problem with being the only white kid in the class, at the party or in the Girl Scout troop. I guess I was called a Nigger once, but laughed cause I had no clue what that was until I asked my parents. I was fortunate enough not to grow up around all that hate, even now when I date white guys, I feel so comfortable in their environment because that's all I personally know. Don't get me wrong, I am very aware of my "blackness," my history, and where I come from, but I have not experienced any of the adversity that comes with being black.
American History X is a movie every American of all race, creed or color should see because it is a paramount film that I can't help but love in a way any movie lover would. Many times when I watch a movie I have to tell myself, this is just a movie, and while this was just a movie it was one that leaves you breathless and stuck in a reality that you hope isn't your own... TTFN
"Danny Vinyard: 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.' "
-American History X (1998)
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