Brennan American History X

The scene which stood out the most to me as a scene which showed how a group of young people are attracted to this idea of Facism and Naziism is the scene at the basketball court. The scene is one of Danny's earliest memories of his brother's extreme pro-white ideals and actions. The scene, since it is a flashback, is filmed in black and white, like many other flashbacks throughout the film. The scene shows how dedicated Derek is to his (well, Cameron's) cause. The camera follows Derek and his teammates up and down the court during the match between the blacks and whites. Derek is the main person of interest, or the dominant, in this scene, because the entire idea is his thinking. The black and white film doesn't allow the audience members to clearly identify the different races; the two seem to blend in until Derek decides to segregate the teams. The background music also makes this competition seem more important and more warlike than it actually is. Also, the camera goes from filming the actual game to filming the crowd's response to different plays in the game. The slow motion filming shows Derek and the main Crip against each other, and allows for emotional appeal.

This scene specifically targets the younger people because it focuses on a sport and how competition is a way of settling arguments. It is easy to see, after watching this scene, how a group of young kids could fall into this disgraceful attitude and way of living. When older individuals like Cameron, and young adults like Derek and his girlfriend egg this behavior on, it is hard not to say yes. The article states that blacks are depicted as thugs, drug dealers, violent criminals in many films. The specific African Americans in this scene fit this stereotype, allowing Derek and his followers to have a "reason" to dislike them. They ruin the neighborhood where these young whites grew up. The Crips also egg the Whites on by calling them names and shoving them, showing that it was their fault in the first place, making the Whites' action seem justifiable.