MovieChat Forums > American History X (1998) Discussion > Ending of this movie , what does directo...

Ending of this movie , what does director/Story writer mean by it ?


That ending got me like Damn why did they(story writers) kill him ?
Even if they have to kill they should have killed other character !

my interpretation :- Even if you try to do good , world may or may not treat you good (This is my personal opinion i am not a Philosophical guy , So this is my simple interpretation. )

reply

Well there were still consequences to Danny's and Derek's former antagonism against blacks and minorities. Despite the fact that Derek was now the good guy, trying to help minorities and cutting ties with his former skinhead friends, doesn't mean the black people are suddenly going to forget about all the bad beef they had with the skinheads. In their eyes, Derek was still king of the skinheads, and Danny as his brother was some white punk that deserved to be shot. This ending was extremely anti-climactic for a Hollywood movie, but it reflected reality and logic pretty darn well.

reply

I fully hope and believe Derek would kill those thugs and the killing would continue on. Black people hate white people and are more racist than white people, that is the theme of this movie. Turn on the TV all I see is laziness with all races so these petty reasons for hating due to a weak sterotype like skin color is kind of pathetic. The movie definitely ends with the idea that killing must continue until the entire lineage/following of one side is annhilated.

reply

Cameron? Is that you?

reply

My interpretation of the ending: Anal rape cures racism.

Total garbage.

"Never eat yellow snow" 

reply

I think it's because the writer/director wanted to show that hate is a vicious circle, hate fuels more hatred, that is at its core the issue. I heard that the film was originally supposed to end with Derek shaving his head again.That would also show this, but it would be unnecessary as the last scene already conveys this.

Besides I like to think that hopefully Derek can be someone that manages to rise above that and not continue thinking that hate is the answer, through seeing all of this.

reply

Besides I like to think that hopefully Derek can be someone that manages to rise above that and not continue thinking that hate is the answer, through seeing all of this.


Exactly. The final narration of Danny's essay indicates that individuals must rise above racial hatred.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

reply