What I learned

This post might be a little repetitive as I have already discussed the movie American History X multiple times and have quoted Frank Meeink's book as well. This post will be more about what I learned from the movie and the book. The viewing of American History X in class was the first time I actually watched the entire film. I had obviously heard about certain scenes most notably the "curb stomping" scene. I feel that my reaction was much different then it would have been before I took this course. Instead of just seeing Derek as a extreme racist nutcase you have to understand his life experiences that led him down that path. Our discussion in class focused on why Hollywood directors add and omit certain scenes and dialogue to make the movie have a certain message. I think one of the main things I took away from the movie that I can see being a major factor in real life is the planting of the "seed". I have mentioned this a few times now, but I feel that the movie does a good job of showing how this happens and I will repost the video clip below.

As you can see the father has certain beliefs and he passes those along to his children. The father may not have done anything "racist" but he instilled in young Derek that the white men are in danger of losing their power. I feel that this planting of the seed can be a common occurrence in real life home settings. I can see a frustrated parent coming home from work and venting to his family about certain things (not that I agree that this is right) but the parent(s) may not even realize what he or she is saying to the kids and how it could affect them in the future. In the case of Frank Meeink he had a less than privileged child hood and had to deal with a drug addicted father who wasn't there for him and a mother who brought home an abusive step-father. In the book Frank says, "It was like I'd been born already knowing about ZOG and Identity and all the skinheads did was remind me it had been inside me my whole life." He goes on to say,"Remember that movie, Field of Dreams: "If you build it they will come?" Well, once you believe it, the evidence will come." I think that this passage kind of tied everything back together for me with regards to this class. Much of what we have talked about in class is recruitment and when kids or even adults stumble upon sites like stormfront or cloaked sites and they are "awakened" that is like scoring a touchdown for the members of the movement. After they get people interested it is easy for them to relate and in a way brainwash the new members into thinking that they have been discriminated against and the family atmosphere appeals to them. A lot of troubled youth look for that sense of belonging and I think the movement preys on that. Since my blogs focus is on the media, I knew from the get go that American History X would be a big topic and it definitely has been. The movie plays on many stereotypes but the thing is many of the stereotypes are accurate although they may be exaggerated. Probably the most notable stereotype that the movie plays on is the violence caused by the white supremacist. As we have learned throughout the course the movement and the KKK in-particular has transitioned into a non-violent business like organization. Well Franks story gave me a more real life account of the violence that actually does occur not only because of the movement but in inner cities in general. He shares stories of him being chased and jumped on his way to school as well as him commiting violent acts. All in all I feel that this was the most interesting course reading and it matched up perfectly with the movie pretty smoothly.