American History X Essay Example for Free

American History X EssayAmerican History X is a film that centered on two brothers and how their lives changed when their give died. The story revolved around discrimination and racism. But most importantly, the characterisation emphasized the capability of an idiosyncratic to change. The main character, Derek Vinyard, transformed into a racist when his father died in the line of duty by a minority and when he killed two black men who tried to rob him. Before he entered prison, Derek had already a preconceived notion that Blacks were menace to the society and that the Whites were the superior race. However, inside the penal complex, he embed out that there is good and bad in every race. So to prevent his younger brother, Danny, from committing the alike mistakes, Derek encouraged him to be open-minded and disregard all the things that were inculcated to him when they were members of the Neo-Nazi group (IMDb). This movie was able to show cardinal sociological concepts name ly differential association, racism and social inequality. Differential association is a learning possibleness which focused on the processes by which individual(a)s come to commit criminal acts (Hamlin).In the film, this was shown when Derek joined the neo-Nazi group he started to adapt a more delinquent lifestyle like thrashing the local grocery store. Meanwhile, racism is defined as the idea that race sets the difference in the personality or competency of an individual which results to some race being better than the others (Eckert). This concept was portrayed when Seth and Danny were having a conversation. Seth asked Danny who he hated and Danny replied, I hate anyone that isnt white Protestant. Theyre a burden to the advancement of the white race (Kaye). at long last would be social inequality which refers to the ways in which socially-defined categories of persons (according to characteristics such as gender, age, class and ethnicity) are differentially positioned with rega rd to access to a variety of social goods like education (Centre for East European Language-Based expanse Studies). In the movie, this was represented when two Black guys were trying to steal Dereks truck. This shows how some races are salubrious off than the others because they have better jobs, houses and benefits.I think American History X is an eye-opening film intimately the presence of discrimination, prejudice and hatred in the society due to difference in race. More so, the movie tried to relay the message that delinquency is learned and it can be unlearned if an individual is posture in a better environment. When Derek went to prison, he realized that race was not a major guinea pig that separated one individual from another it was more on how a person presented himself/herself to a group. In the end, it would always be every man for himself in this dog eat dog world.Works CitedAmerican History X. 2009. IMDb. 28 May 2009 http//www.imdb. com/title/tt0120586/plotsummary American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. New Line Cinema, 1999. New Dimensions of cordial Inequality? n. d. Centre for East European Language-Based Area Studies. 28 May 2009 http//www. ceelbas. ac. uk/research/socialinequality Eckert, Susan. What is Racism, Prejudice, Discrimination, Bias, and Xenophobia? 7 declination 2007. Suite101. com. 28 May 2009 http//racism. suite101. com/article. cfm/definition_of_racism_other_terms Hamlin, John. Differential Association Theory. March 2006. University of Minnesota Duluth. 28 May 2009 http//www. d. umn. edu/jhamlin1/sutherland. html