StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Sociology summarizing paper - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
In "American History X," the issues of racism are depicted by exploring the socio-economic roots of fascism in the characters, their cultural environment, and community. The film, directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna stars Edward Norton, Edward Furlong and Beverly D'Angelo as a poor middle class family of a single mother and two sons growing up in modern, suburban America…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.3% of users find it useful
Sociology summarizing paper
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Sociology summarizing paper"

In "American History X," the issues of racism are depicted by exploring the socio-economic roots of fascism in the characters, their cultural environment, and community. The film, directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna stars Edward Norton, Edward Furlong and Beverly D'Angelo as a poor middle class family of a single mother and two sons growing up in modern, suburban America. (IMDB, 2011) The father of the family was a policeman who was killed in the line of duty. This transforms the eldest son from a model student at the top of his class into a neo-Nazi skinhead who eventually commits murder.

Derek Vinyard, the oldest son, becomes an inspirational leader to other poor, marginalized “white” youth who find identity in Nazi skinhead culture. The socio-economic aspects of the family and the path of the eldest son are interesting because they directly reflect the traditional root causes of fascism in society. For example, the film compares the emasculating effects of the father figure defeated and fallen, as in the Kaiser’s Germany in post-World War One Germany or in Derek Vinyard’s father.

The poverty and helplessness of the family is contrasted with a violent outburst Derek has when his mother dates a Jewish man and invites him home to dinner. The psychological aspects of humiliation are related to the familial issues as a symbolic way to discuss the socio-economic and psychological roots of fascism, racism, and anti-semitism through the characters, making it an excellent example for the deconstruction of the racist mentality. In “American History X,” a new brand of neo-Nazi culture is depicted to be thriving, accessing the tools and vehicles of modern culture such as information technology, pop culture, music, and fashion.

The neo-Nazis are composed of skinhead, racist punks and led by an old KKK headmaster. The racism and hatred displayed by the characters is so abnormal in the greater context of American society, which in the movie is depicted by a typical high school. Contrasted to this is the prison environment, where the Nazi skinhead gangs also rule violently. It is in these marginal environments, prison, social isolation, socio-economic humiliation, poverty, and lack of education that fascism thrives and collects its strongest supporters.

Psychologically, the need to project violent hatred outwards contrasts with feelings of personal insecurity, and this is depicted in the characterization of the neo-Nazi skinheads and racists in the movie. Neo-Nazi fascism is an extreme identity mask in contemporary American society that is more symptomatic of psychological and developmental problems or abuse than a political movement in the context. Yet, the movie also suggests that greater institutions that bring diverse individuals together into a community setting, such as a public high school or prison, would also be simultaneously the battleground where racists and Nazi gang members battled other ethnic gangs such as African-American or Latin-American groups as well as mixing, integrating, and learning together in isolated instances that allow for the opportunity to transform individually.

That Derek Vinyard is ultimately able to overcome his racist beliefs and see them as brainwashing, programming, and untrue, the director suggests that it is more due to the natural intelligence of his character, making him the exception rather than the rule. This example illustrates a further issue from the film “American History X,” which is the ability of people deeply brainwashed into a violent, hateful ideology such as neo-Nazism or the skinhead gangs to reform, change, and become positive members of society.

The film depicts long-term and unrepentant racists in a realistic and graphic manner, but suggests the influence of positive members of society working through public groups and agencies, as well as family intervention, as possible means of breakthrough. The message is graphic and stark in depicting a choice between a dead-end lifestyle of murder, prison, and race war contrasted with the contemporary mainstream tolerance of multiculturalism. In this context, the racists and fascists appear to be a minority more determined by socio-economic problems such as poverty, lack of education, and self-hatred leading to a misinterpretation of history warped around psychological factors of abuse.

In looking at the manner in which these factors interrelate, it is easier to see fascist and racist patterns in society and their root causes. Because the cultural identities of the movie are intended to reflect historical patterns which engendered fascism internationally, “American History X” can be seen as an accurate and advanced discussion of the root causes of racism and fascism, particularly relating to the neo-Nazi and skinhead movement in America, but able to be extrapolated as symbolic of more universal cultural patterns of personal and collective psychological development.

Sources Cited: IMDB (2011), American History X (Film -1998), [119 min - Crime | Drama – Released 30 October 1998 (USA)], The Internet Movie Database. Web. Accessed 1 April 2011, .

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Sociology summarizing paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/other/1414530-sociology-summarizing-paper
(Sociology Summarizing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/other/1414530-sociology-summarizing-paper.
“Sociology Summarizing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/other/1414530-sociology-summarizing-paper.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Sociology summarizing paper

Why Are Women Drawn to the Helping Professions

After that paper contains a strong conclusion due to the topic with my assumptions.... The method which is used is particularized examination of literature together with the critical summarizing and personal inferences on the topic.... The introductory part is represented the main information about helping professions and its main fields of functioning together with the steps of development....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Ethics in Digital Media and the Issue of Privacy

The paper starts by highlighting the research principals, methods and procedures that were applied in collecting the information and reaching the findings on the topic.... The paper then presents the findings about privacy as a media ethics concern in the digital media before exploring the context in which the media operates and why security issues remain a concern.... Finally, the paper presents a conclusion to the research by summarizing findings and giving brief recommendation....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Social Class

The paper "Social Class" is concentrated on the problem of social class and its peculiarities in the United States of America.... paper consists of an introductory part, main body and conclusions section.... This particular problem is remained to be rather interesting and essential for every social circle in general and American community in particular....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Overview of Clack Middle School and Aspects of School Title 1 Funding

My aim in actively pursuing a practicum here is to be able to understand and gain practical insights into what Title 1 schools are, how… A special interest is in being able to gain insights into the impact of poverty on student achievement, as well as into the dynamics of The thinking is that as a practicum, it is important to spend time doing things that have potentially large impact on the community and on the lives of poor people especially, and student achievement among those along the margins of poverty need to be understood in the context of larger family and social dynamics for interventions to have any chance of succeeding (Schoolwires, 2014)....
12 Pages (3000 words) Term Paper

Does everething in business have to have a ''business case''

This paper explores the purpose of a business and whether a business should engage only in an activity that has a business case.... hellip;  The aim of this paper is to answer the following research question: “Does everything in business have to have a 'business case' to be worth doing?... The research question for this paper is a variation of the same theme: what is the business of business?... Those who have done the asking – Nobel Prize winners, corporate chieftains, academics in finance, economics, and sociology, government leaders, left-, center-, and right-wing activists, and students like this researcher – are curious to find answers to the question: what is the purpose of a business?...
26 Pages (6500 words) Term Paper

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Interpretation of Scripture

The paper "Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Interpretation of Scripture " states that generally speaking, in his first major study, Bonhoeffer has maintained that Christ is a “collective person” and went to assert that the church is a “Christ-existing-as-community”.... nbsp;… Dietrich Bonhoeffer brought sociology and theology together as the basis for his lifetime theological work....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Researching Politics and International Relations: Power

In this paper, I will expound further on this theory, particularly contrasting it to the pluralists' concept of power, which mainly recognizes only one face of power - the exercised power through decision-making shared by many interest groups.... On the other hand, scientists like Gaventa (1982) attempts to reinforce Lukes' theory through the use of Clear Fork Valley in Central Appalachia ( what is this explains why mentioning this here – cos this is the strongest and most popular paper written attempting to validate Lukes' theory) as an empirical example in his discernment of the unseen or intangible faces of power, as posited by Lukes....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

… The paper “Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods” is a convincing example of term paper on sociology.... The paper “Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods” is a convincing example of term paper on sociology.... This paper seeks to discuss these two research approaches in detail....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us