Parker American History X

The one scene, in my opinion, that makes Nazism/Fascism attractive to some people is the basketball scene.

The reason why I feel this way is because in this scene, Seth is getting beat by the black team. Derek, being a "good" friend, steps up to the challenge to help his friend. Some people may feel lost and that they don't have a group of people willing to help them out and defend them if the situation arose. But, this scene shows this group as being like a brotherhood.

In mise en scene, we learn about how tight frame and the object of focus really have an impact on the film. In this scene, Derek seems to be the main focus. When he wants to talk, the frame becomes tight. We focus all of our attention on him, hanging on to every word he says. When the focus switches to the basketball game itself, we still hear Derek talking in the background. This makes Derek the more dominant character.

In the white supremacy article, the author is stating that American History X perpetuates classic stereotypes of white and black characters. In this scene, one person on the black team cheats by elbowing Derek in his face. Instead of backing down, Derek tells the player that he's ready for him. He goes back on the court and ends up getting the game point. When this happens, there's music playing in the background that adds to the feeling of triumph the DMC group feels. Classic racial stereotypes have the black people being the low-life, cheaters going nowhere in life and the white people are often seen as the heroes.