American History X Genre Question?

What other genre could American History X be instead of Drama?--something more specific maybe.

Also, what other movies are sort of like History X, I can think of Higher Learning and Do the Right Thing...Anything else?

Thanks much
Madcat

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Another high quality post by Fez Wizardo

That's very funny, but I'm trying to write a report, need some help here.

how about social drama? is that a genre or did i just make up a term? actually, i'd commend you for doing a report on that movie. movies that come out that are like it are few and far between...... have you tried any of the spike lee movies? i know you said do the right thing..... how about malcolm x? that's very socially concious and represents racial struggle very well, imo.

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I shall use this new genre you call social drama

Only I have to draw other parallels than just equality. Perhaps injustice, violence, intimidation, sadness, dispair, anger, hate, ignorance--all things that Do the Right Thing, Malcom X, Higher Learning, ur...Need to think of some others...uh...Jungle Fever...damn. Anything else you can think of?

Thanks man

Rosewood..... Remember the Titans...... Get on the Bus (another spike lee joint)

my all-time favorite (next to american history x) drama regarding race issues would be To Kill a Mockingbird. it's from 1962 and stars gregory peck. a true classic. and read the book if you're interested.

is the focal point race relations or other forms of social equality?

The focal point is film genre--

What makes these films similar in respects to genre. Like musicals say:
Props are used, dancing and singing, etc...just an example.

oh, that shouldn't be so hard, you've already come up with some interesting parallels. good luck, and let me know how it turns out.

sorry i didn't reply till today.

Turned out very cool-- you don't gotta read this but I used your social drama genre...It really makes perfect sense when you think about it. This is page 1 of 6.

The Declaration of Independence talked of, 'Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' Of course, this did not apply to African Americans. Today, anyone willing to keep their eyes open can see the holes represented in these concepts. Thomas Jefferson wrote these words understanding the flaws intrinsically woven so deep into the text. The American government made African Americans slaves and looked down on them as mere beasts. It is no wonder that today in cinema we find people trying to work out their problems making films devoted to race and the struggle for equality after such tumultuous conditions. Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863, just 139 years ago. This freedom had nothing to do with true freedom; African American privileges were next to null and have only changed for the better within the past 40 years. American History X, directed by Tony Kaye, is an excellent film highlighting the frustrations for all white, black and yellow peoples living in America. Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) represents a very real dispositon, ignorance and hate. Both ignorance and hate are commonalties shared by films in the social drama genre.

American History X? If you're doing a report on socially conscious films, don't you think you ought to do it on a film that isn't a temporizing liberal exercise in easy moralizing?

I'll be honest. I can't dismiss that movie completely, because, well, it's powerful and thought-provoking. But it seems like, at every turn, it does exactly what holds such movies back from greatness. In Tony Kaye's world, there is no in between - the world consists of white supremacists and liberals.

For me, Spike Lee joints say so much more about American society, and don't shy away from gray areas. Also, I strongly recommend Menace II Society, Boyz N the Hood, Rosewood, and Baby Boy, all of which, apart from being better movies, contain more actual thought on society than American History X.

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Menace II Society shows ignorance at the same exact degree just flip, turn upside down the race. I would even venture to say that American History X has one of the most grounded views on race relations yet. Baby Boy? Isn't Snoop Doggy Dog in that?

Spike Lee is cool as hell and agree with that comment, however, I just can't see how the film is temporizing anything. Are you saying that it is lacking hard truths about the way our society behaves? What's it comprimising?

I dunno.

Menace II Society is an indictment of the society that spawns the ignorance and lack of opportunity for young black males. It points out the tragedy of the entire system, and is still compelling on a character-based level. That's why I think it's great.

Yeah, Snoop Dogg is in Baby Boy, but don't let that throw you off. It's a terrific movie.

I think that American History X shows nothing but extremes, and I especially dislike its "noble" liberal pieties, ex. "your rhetoric isn't going to save you now." At every turn in the movie, it goes to the brink of greatness, only to shy away from the real sticky situations. I hate how Edward Norton comes out of jail and basically says "well, I was an angry kid. I was wrong." It should have been so much more difficult than that, don't you think?. The movie is like going to a 5th grade lecture from a guidance counselor. And it's fitting that the counterpoint to the brothers' hateful extremism is, in fact, a black high school guidance counselor.

it's still just a movie. i think it's a lot more daring than most of the stuff out there. how many movies are made about hate crimes at all?

hmmm...

yes. i see your point about menace. still, norton and the other skinheads are a product of a society they feel is threatning in American History X. after i watched the movie i asked myself was his transition after jail a bit too easy...

the way i see it is that he is an angry confused kid constantly getting fed bull****. he was forming an opinion about other races based on the ignorance fed to him by his influences, then his father gets killed by those he had already developed some hatred for and bada bing, we have an intelligent grudge...a desire for vengeance.

three years worrying about getting plugged or killed is enough time for a kid who was just torn apart and confused to get his head on straight. perhaps it was because a black kid saved his life? it is extreme to me because i consider myself rational...but i know that there are people like that out there...people that just get the wrong idea and have no idea how to handle themselves until they are shown the light.