Andersson American Curb Stomp

American History X is a film that speaks about the purpose of hate and racism in the world. This film is quite disturbing in parts but is incredibly well made and affects any audience a great deal. One particular scene that haunts me is the scene in which three thugs try and steal Derek’s car. Derek fully displays his rage and hate by shooting two of them and brutally murdering the third by stomping on his head. The third thug is told to put his teeth on the curb, which we see in an extreme close up. Derek then tells the thug to, “Say goodnight!” and stomps on the back of his head. This whole scene is shot in black and white, which adds to the feeling of emotional darkness. The music in the background is built up of dramatic strings. After Derek kills all the thugs, the scene switches to extreme slow motion. We see extreme close ups of both Derek and Danny’s face. The scene is top lit and very dark. Some may say that this scene fuels racial stereotypes. The thugs are all dressed as stereotypical thugs with baggy clothes and bandanas. One of them has short dredlocks, which is a common stereotype for black criminals. I do not believe that this scene’s stereotypes affects the over all anti-racial message of the film.