I just saw American History X earlier. Ed Nortan did an amazing job.

[fujiyama]

He really did an amazing job as the skinhead in that as did the other kid (Edward Furlong I think - the terminator2 guy).

Anyways, there were two scenes that struck me especially. One was where Ed Norton is ranting about illegal immigrants stealing jobs. It was kinda creepy cuz I've seen rants all too similar here on DU in recent weeks.

Then there's the scene where they're eating lunch or dinner with the dad (the cop) and the Ed Norton character tells him about a book his teacher assigns them to read. The dad then goes on a rant about affirmative "blaction" and tells his son that's it's a bunch of "nigger bullshit". It's odd, because I'm a minority (not black though) and have been at my white friend's homes and I've seen similar rants about affirmative action, etc by their parents (they may not have used the n word itself, and I know it wasn't targetted at me but still I can see how this hate is passed down).

All in all, I thought the portrayal of the lunch scene wasn't all that farfetched. There is a lot of racism out there and the movie captured subtle ways how this can be passed down.

[scarletlib]

1. it was a very good movie

i watched it last night. too bad so many people won't see it and get the message the movie is trying to communicate.

he learns that all of this race baiting etc. is just a sham, a lie.

(That is what it really is too. Gets the poor folks, black, white, hispanic fighting each other instead of uniting to fight a stacked system.)

[ixion]

2. exactly...

I thought it was a powerful film with a powerful message: the racism bit is a scam, a power grab.

Sadly, I think Norton's character is an anomalie, as most white supremacists simply aren't that bright. It takes intellilgence to see through the white hot hatred these people cultivate over the years; and to make matters worse, it's a hatred passed down through the generations.


Evolution is 'down with the Swirl', but it's these same people who are behind the whole 'intelligent design' BS, so I don't expect them to catch on any time soon. :-(

[fujiyama]

3. You're right

about the Ed Norton character being brighter than the average white supremecist.

The average white power freak is probably more in like with tha girlfriend character he's with in the begining (Fairuza Balk is her name I think), or that very large man. Most really aren't very smart and are partly there for the reasons anybody joins cults - finding a feeling of acceptance for one.

[JohnKleeb]

4. Great movie haven't seen it in a while

Yeah Furlong is right, both did a great job. Norton is a good actor, can handle a unique range of roles.

[bling bling]

5. It's one of the best.

Although it's clear that the white supremecists are the bad guys, the movie doesn't paint a picture where one side is pure evil and the other side is completely innocent. (Unlike Spielberg who tends to unrealistically paint the good guys as angles who never do anything wrong and the bad guys as soul-less monsters).

The performance by Norton is spectacular.

Troubling movie.

[Solar]

6. I thought it was an amazing movie

One aspect I FUD interesting was how racism was started. You get the sense that Ed Norton's dad kinda steered his son into believing it. When his dad was killed, it just flung him off the deep end. Edward Furlong just kinda follows him along with it.

As children we pretty much get our ideas on politics and issues from our parents,whatever they are. For many of us, our ideas change when we finally move out, but for others who don't have the chance (or desire) to get differing viewpoints, we are what our parents have either knowingly or unknowingly taught us. Obviously anyone as overtly racist as these characters is going to teach their kids racism too.