Derek’s family is too common in the United States. His father doesn’t bother about his children’s ideological issues. He occasionally finds that he has read books he doesn’t like, so he expresses his dissent without beginning and ending. . The synopsis said that it was these few words that "the seeds of hatred were planted in Derek's heart" and he began to gradually move closer to the neo-Nazi gang. Until his father was beaten to death by a black man, he completely became a white supremacist.
Suppose that for breakfast that day, father and son talked about ball games or mathematics, and if the seeds of hatred were not sown, would Derek's life change? First of all, there are too many opportunities in one's life to get in touch with hatred, CCAV, the Internet, friends, passersby, a piece of news with impure motives, a complaint, and a curse. Derek's conversation with his father was not the only opportunity to cause trouble. Secondly, without this conversation, Derek would definitely follow the teacher's thinking to understand the racial issue, and finally come to a conclusion of racial equality. But thinking processes that are too smooth are often because they are one-sided and the logic is fragile and disturbing. Unsurprisingly, his father's few complaints brought a new perspective of thinking, and it actually made Derek unable to resist it until he completely surrendered.
I feel that the film is not only about race issues, but its main thrust is more about youth and growth. Impulse is the devil, especially of young people.
It was not until later that Derek, because of his prison experience, returned to the track his high school teacher longed for him to return, re-understood the race, and realized the meaning of life: "Have you tried to make your life better?" (High school teacher's Ask questions).
Many people think that the movie portrays Derek's transformation in prison too abruptly, I don't think so. Racism is keen on grand narratives, and its main strategy of logical reasoning is to ignore individual differences. In prison, Derek had the first opportunity to seriously observe a black man who exists as an individual-swearing, lazy, fond of rival Lakers, fond of girls, talking pornographic jokes, a little loyal. Once we started to observe, the fragile part of his logic was highlighted again: blacks and whites, or what is the difference between him as a black and me as a white? Derek could have a heart attack overnight, and he could become a Buddha overnight.
When 911 happened, the lights in the dormitory just turned off. One of my classmates followed the news through dial-up Internet access. At that moment, everyone in the dormitory building was not asleep, and while delivering new news, it was conveying an expression of schadenfreude. The next day, when we went to class, a female teacher looked haggard, but couldn't hide her joy. She told us that her daughter was working near the World Trade Center. She had just confirmed her daughter's safety. Only then did I know how cruel I was last night.
We all have prejudices more or less. Extreme prejudices create racism. The best way to overcome prejudices is to understand and make friends in the "opposite camp."
We are more or less young, no one is mature enough to understand everything. But the earlier you experience ups and downs and the more exposure to different perspectives, the closer you will be to mature standards. I believe that Derek's concept of race may be repeated in the future, and will be revised due to different events, such as the death of his brother at the end of the film, but his logical foundation is strong enough to withstand any disturbance. And this is growth. Let me say something
fictitious:
The film of freedom and love taught me a truth: Freedom and love, these two concepts are so close. And I didn't realize it before, hate, while eager to limit the other side, also kidnapped myself. The Nazi tattoo on Derek has always been a boulder on his chest, unable to get out easily.
However, there are indeed so many hateful things in this world. Such as corruption, bureaucracy, lies and ignorance. In fact, we might as well pity them, we might as well sing cleanliness, fairness, sincerity and wisdom, we might as well love those beautiful things more because of this. One of my favorite bloggers, Fanfan, once said: "The better Lian Yue's life is, the more patriotic I will be." An anti-system remark, but it sounds so beautiful, I can only see a rose, and I can't smell any blood, which makes me admire. Such a light expression, one of my favorite singers, Zhang Chu, also has the lyrics in the lyrics: "A friend came as a guest and asked him to eat a piece of watermelon peel, and the enemy came and sneezed at them."
There are many things in the world that can be done occasionally, and bystanders can be clear, but not full-time, such as the pro-democracy movement, anti-counterfeiting and one-night stands. Put the same thing in front of you every day, and try all kinds of ways to hate. If things go on like this, you won’t know how to love. Putting different things in front of you every day, trying all kinds of ways to love, after a long time, I don't know what love is. I don’t know that the result of love is terrible, because it loses the ability to experience an important dimension of the world, and thus becomes less like a human being.
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