Final Film Critique Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Final Film Critique - Research Paper Example Most of the violence and deaths seen in the movie leave lasting impressions in the minds of the audience regarding the meaninglessness and futility of using violence as means to achieve one’s goals. The paper attempts to make a film critique on American History X and in doing so the paper deals with the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style and directing, genre, film criticism and analysis, and the societal impact of the movie. The story-telling of the movie deserves primary attention as the spectator finds a shift in the movie from present to past and vice versa. It is the flashback scenes in the movie that offer depth to the narrative of the story and as such the narration seems to be non-linear. However, the story of the film is narrated in real time and the episodic nature of the movie sustains the interest of the audience. The flash back scenes in the film make the spectators aware of the past incidents that took place in the life of Derek and Danny Vinyard. In the opening scene of the movie, one finds Danny being called to the Principal’s room for writing a paper in praise of Hitler and his neo-Nazi movement. He is asked to write a paper on his brother, who was imprisoned for killing two black guys, instead. On coming out from the principal’s room, he finds three black boys beating up a white boy and this prompts him to think about the good old days of the white gang before his brother was arrested. Thus, the life of Derek Vinyard before he was imprisoned is unearthed through flash back scenes which are very effectively employed by the director. Similarly, the movie can be regarded as an allegory or a satire. The story-telling of the movie aims at satirizing the racial discrimination and racial violence that prevailed in the American society. In the same way, it is an allegory as it offers a clear cut message to the spectators. Towards the climax of the movie one do not find Derek planning to avenge the murder of his brother Danny; on the other hand, the movie ends with certain lines Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address where he states that the whites and the Blacks in America are not enemies but friends. Similarly, the language used in the movie is quite insidious and the dialogues in the movie display racial hatred and racial fanaticism. In the same way, the plot and the characterization of the movie are quite complementary; all the major characters in the movie are round characters who undergo drastic changes in their outlooks and behavior as and when the plot develops. Irony is employed as a powerful tool in the movie. It is quite ironic that Derek fails to save Danny’s life in spite of all his efforts to keep Danny out of the white neo-Nazi street gang. Similarly, it is ironical that Danny’s murderer is none other than a close relative of the Black boy whom Derek murders brutally in the beginning of the movie. Thus, it can be observed that the writer has made specia l efforts to provide a wholesome unity to the story-telling of the movie. The acting as well as the characterization of the film complements each other. No doubt, the director has undertaken a remarkable job in making the most appropriate casting for his characters. All the characters in the