Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
- 157
- 2
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I rewatched "American History X." It's both as good and on-the-nose I remember. But one good way in which it's on-the-nose is that Derek (Norton's character) gives long monologues about rational racial grievances, showing how radical ideologies tempt a certain kind of person in a certain situation. Any other good examples of media doing a good job at this?
Some misc. thoughts:
The main plot has two inciting incidents that co-occur, with one being Derek's younger brother getting in trouble at school for choosing Mein Kampf for an English assignment about works related to civil rights. The school principle defends him to his English teacher, pointing out that it met the requirements of the assignment... but didn't do so by calling it "work to rule," which was a missed opportunity.
Norton was too old for the role and it really showed in the flashbacks... but his performance justifies willingly suspending disbelief.
The overqualified high school teacher/principal and community outreach something-or-other is played by Avery Brooks, filmed concurrently with Deep Space 9, in which he played Captain Benjamin Sisko (the one who responded to Q placing them in a boxing ring by punching Q in the face - totes the best Star Trek captain). This made me wonder if this role was the reason his character on DS9 grew a goatee mid-season, rather than between seasons, but it was filmed two years after the debut of the goatee.
The rest of the supporting cast was also great, including Ethan Suplee, best known for playing Randy Hickey (the brother) in My Name Is Earl. .
There are a lot of obvious continuity errors, confusingly mismatched sightlines, and things that just don't make sense. Again, the impact of the performances justify willingly suspending disbelief.
It was filmed disproportionately in close-up, with few wide shots. It's unclear if there was a thematic intent to this, but it's interesting.
All but the youngest character in the family (including the dead dad) have first names starting with the same letter, but nobody lampshades this.
Ed Norton is great but what a dumb premise. There is no neo-nazi culture. They essentially don’t exist outside of places like prison. Also no fucking way Edward Norton can dunk. It’s basically escapist fantasy for liberal whites.
Was this true circa 1985-1995? The script was written 30 years ago.
There absolutely was in Sweden, not a big one, but it existed. Nowadays people are violent rightwing extremists in different ways and people crying about skinheads are living in the past.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link