Visual Representation

I think it would be safe to say that the most famous representation of white supremacy would be the movie American History X. I think it would also be safe to compare the course reading Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead and the movie American History X. Both the movie and the book center around the life of a recovering white nationalist. Both of the stories are graphic representations of the world in which a white supremacist lives in. Obviously the movie is a bit more of a stretch and plays on many stereotypes of white supremacist such as the Klan rallies, the shaved heads and the combat boots; however Meeink also states that this is what attracted him to the movement. On page 50 of the book Frank says, "...Shawn clomped through the kitchen door and completely blew my mind. He looked like the skinheads on south street. His head was completely shaved. His combat boots glistened. It was too hot for a flight jacket, but his narrow suspenders looked like the ones the skinheads in the city always wore, except his were red and I thought theirs were usually blue. My mouth dropped straight to the floor when I saw him. I couldn't get over how different, how good, Shawn looked. It wasn't just the clothes, either, or that he'd been lifting weights. Something in Shawn's eyes looked different. He had this intensity I'd never before seen in him." In this case Frank saw the confidence that his cousin had in his new appearance and later found that the family atmosphere the movement gave him was something he needed in his life. From what we have learned it is usually the ones who were deprived a solid family setting as a child that become the most deeply rooted in the movement. As I think back to our class discussions I think that the most important point was that a seed is usually planted subliminally in the mind of a white supremacist early on and later blooms into involvement in the movement. In the movie they purposely show the scene at the dinner table where his Father is angered about a black man receiving a promotion over what he thought was a more qualified white man.   This was the "seed" that was planted showing that whites are losing there advantage in the workplace. In the book a "seed" is also planted by his upbringing in the inner city of Philadelphia. You can see by Meeink's quote that I posted above is the point where his seed was watered as he explains that he was fascinated by the confidence and brotherhood that it brought. An interesting quote that I found in the book goes back to our discussions in class and the belief by the white nationalists that the ZOG is enemy number one. Meeink states, "ZOG forced working-class whites to live amid "mud", who brought gangs and drugs into what had been moral neighborhoods. ZOG had humiliated men like my father so much that they turned to dope to escape their pain, and men like my stepfather so much that they unleashed their rage on innocent children. Worst of all, the Jews who controlled Hollywood were brainwashing whites to think "race-mixing" was cool." This is an interesting quote because perhaps the most famous film about white supremacy is a product of the "ZOG" controlled Hollywood studios. This is not to say that the completely support the film but I have heard that white nationalist do watch the movie until the reform of the main character takes place.