American History X - Plot

Plot

Flashbacks, told in reverse chronology are represented by black-and-white throughout the film (opposed to the present-day events represented in color), show Derek's transformation into a vengeful white supremacist in Venice Beach and then his turning away from his bigoted beliefs as well as other experiences while in prison. For the sake of ease, the following plot summary is described in chronological order.

Having already been influenced by the latent racism of his bigoted firefighter father (William Russ), Derek is driven to action when his father is shot and killed while fighting a fire in a suspected Compton drug den. Eventually Derek becomes second-in-command of a White power skinhead street gang, The D.O.C. (Disciples of Christ), and entices young whites to join. The gang commits acts of intimidation, such as damaging a store employing illegal Mexican immigrants which is owned by a Korean and challenging black players to basketball games to win the court as turf. These incidents go unnoticed by the family until Derek has an argument (involving Rodney King) with his mother's new boyfriend Murray (Elliott Gould), who is Jewish, and throws Murray out of the house. Later that night, while Derek is having sex with his equally white supremacist girlfriend Stacey (Fairuza Balk), Danny informs Derek that three Crips members are attempting to steal Derek's truck, left to him by his father. Derek runs outside and shoots at two of the men with a pistol, killing the first one instantly. He shoots and wounds the second man, one of the black basketball players, and vows to "teach him a lesson" for trying to steal the truck his father gave him. He forces him to put his mouth on the curb, then brutally kills him by stomping on the back of his head, crushing his mouth against the curb. Danny watches in horror as this unfolds. The police arrest Derek as he smiles at a shocked Danny.

After being convicted of voluntary manslaughter, Derek is sentenced to three years at the California Institution for Men in Chino. Danny later notes that if he had testified in Derek's case, he would have been given a life sentence. In the prison, he joins the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. After about a year, he becomes disillusioned with the gang, especially over the group's friendly dealings with a Mexican prison gang member, and their trafficking in narcotics. When he voices these opinions, he is first ignored and then reprimanded by the other white supremacists. Derek also develops a friendly rapport with black prison inmate Lamont (Guy Torry) who works with him in the prison laundry. His fellow neo-Nazis take notice of this and savagely beat and rape him in the shower.

While still recovering from the attack, Derek is visited by his black former English teacher Dr. Bob Sweeney (Avery Brooks), whom he asks for help to be paroled. Although Derek became an anti-Semitic neo-Nazi, he had always maintained a level of respect for his black former teacher. Sweeney informs him of Danny's continued involvement with neo-Nazis, and that he is on the same path as his older brother. Sweeney confides in Derek that he used to hate white people as a youth, but he realized that racism is pointless. Sweeney asserts that Derek has spent his life pursuing answers, and then asks: "Has anything you've done made your life better?" This proves a turning point for Derek, who further distances himself from the Aryan Brotherhood and changes his outlook on life. Lamont emerges as Derek's only true friend in prison, and is part of the reason Derek stays alive as he uses what influence he has to persuade a contingent of the other black prisoners not to attack Derek.

The morning Derek is due to be released from prison, Danny's history teacher, Murray, reports Danny to the now-principal Dr. Sweeney on account of Danny's history paper on Mein Kampf. Dr. Sweeney convinces Murray to give him another chance. Dr. Sweeney tells Danny that he will no longer attend Murray's class, instead being taught history by himself, a class they will call "American History X". For their first lesson, Dr. Sweeney asks Danny to write a new paper on the events leading up to Derek's incarceration. Danny reluctantly agrees after Sweeney threatens expulsion. In the evening, when Derek returns home, he finds that Danny has a D.O.C. tattoo and then tries and fails to persuade him to leave the gang. Later that night, at a neo-Nazi party which Derek and Danny are both attending (despite the fact that Derek told Danny not to attend), Derek confronts and tells the leader, Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach), that he will no longer associate with him and the gang and tells him to "Stay away from me and Danny", at which point Cameron provokes and insults Derek. Derek beats him up and finally, kicks him in the head, which knocks him unconscious before leaving his office. During an ensuing confrontation, Derek's neo-Nazi friend Seth Ryan (Ethan Suplee) runs after Derek and aims a pistol at him, which Derek wrestles from him, and points at the angry crowd before running away from the party. Danny angrily confronts Derek, who tells him about his time and transformation in prison. The confession seems to prompt a change in Danny. Back at their home they remove all the Nazi and white power posters from their bedroom walls.

The following morning Danny finishes his paper, and Derek gets ready for a meeting with his parole officer. Derek walks Danny to school before his meeting, and on their way they stop at a café where they are met by Dr. Sweeney and a police officer. They tell Derek that Cameron and Seth were attacked the previous night and have been hospitalized. Derek claims no knowledge of the incidents, yet they ask him for help. Derek reluctantly agrees.

At school, after Danny uses the urinal in the bathroom, he is confronted by a young black student named Little Henry, with whom he had a confrontation the previous day. The student pulls out a gun and shoots Danny in the chest, killing him. When Derek arrives, he runs into the bathroom and tearfully cradles his dead brother in his arms. The film ends with Danny narrating part of his paper, in which he quotes the conclusion of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address: "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."