Flashback Movies:"American History X"(1998)

While surfing the channels this evening I happened upon "American History X"(1998) airing on FX.One of the most controversial modern films dealing with race relations,it follows the story of an angry young white man,Derek(Edward Norton) who becames entangled with a neo-Nazi movement in Venice Beach,California after his father is killed in the line of duty by a black man he was trying to rescue from a fire.It comes to a boil when a group of black youths comes around to rob Derek and he kills one of them,and goes to prison for 3 years for manslaughter.He joins the Aryan Brotherhood for protection behind bars and comes to disagree with their practice of dealing drugs with minority gangs,which in his opinion is sleeping with the enemy.Derek is sexually assaulted by AB members after speaking his displeasure over their dealings and befriends a black inmate named Lamont-who keeps Derek safe from black gangs after the AB dumps him.
Derek comes home a more mature and changed man and he is disappointed to see that his younger brother Danny has fallen in with the neo-Nazi groups and with the help of a dedicated black teacher that both brothers respect,Derek attempts to save his brother from the same violent and hate-filled lifestyle he once led-but he might be too late.There is a graphic prison shower rape scene,and two violent death scenes but the overall story that plays out makes me cry everytime.It is offensive to some,but it accurately portrays what goes on in the streets of alot of cities everyday and it proves once and for all that people CAN change.It is brutal,raw and almost real.All of the scenes portraying flashbacks are filmed in black & white and show the destruction of Derek and Dannys family,as well as happier times when their patriarch was alive.Ten years later,it remains a powerful film.