Romper Stomper vs. American History X

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. SRSLY.

I recently rented Romper Stomper (1992). The first time I saw it was years ago. I remember seeing it on the shelf and thinking two things:

1) RussellCroweRussellCroweRussellCrowe, and

2) "romper stomper" sounds like one awesome move to break out at the next school dance while all the kiddies be grindin'.

But soon I was to find out that this wasn't the Russell Crowe I'd grown to froth at the mouth over (he's a superb actor, but never had I seen him quite like this), and that no, "romper stomper" is not something I want to break out in a gymnasium sagging with streamers and construction paper hearts/pumpkins/clovers/stars/awkwardly phallic pieces of Christmas candy. Not at all.
Romper Stomper turned out to be one of the most disturbing and substantial films I have ever seen.

Of course, the fact that the main characters in Romper Stomper are Neo-Nazi skinheads led me to automatically compare it to other "Nazi movies" I'd seen, such as The Believer (2001) , White Lies (1998) (clever title, yes?), This Is England (2006) (WATCH IT), and American History X (1998).

Up until then, I'd thought of American History X not only as the best movie to tackle the whole "Nazis are people too" theme, but also as one of the best movies period. Since then, my opinion has changed in regards to both. But I'm still compelled to compare American History X and Romper Stomper, even though their similarities pretty much end after the observation "they both got Nazis".

If thou hast not seen either of these films, and thou hatest spoilers as much as I, henceforth no further yonder chap sir (read: stop reading).

Where American History X is artistic, Romper Stomper is uncomfortably realistic. Where American History X plays dramatic background music as it pulls away from actually showing a hate crime, Romper Stomper sticks with filming the gruesome violence head-on, accompanied by stark silence that is disrupted only by the sound of breaking bones, labored breathing, and hate speech. Where American History X's main character - Derek Vineyard - conveniently sees the error of his bigoted ways (in prison, no less), Romper Stomper's psychotic antihero Hando fiercely adheres to his self righteous hatred 'til the end.

I've always thought of Romper Stomper as the superior film. Don't get me wrong, American History X is fantastic. It's strangely gorgeous, manages to inject hope into a seemingly hopeless storyline, and all the while comes off as surprisingly eloquent.

But that's the problem, isn't it? Racism is not gorgeous, hatred is not hopeful, and violence is certainly not eloquent. And while people really can, and do, change for the better (Nazi to "good guy", even), they just tend not to do so quite as easily as American History X wishes they would.

Derek Vineyard (played by Edward Norton), is an intelligent man. But that intelligence is steered in a dangerous direction when his father dies because of some non-whites, and Derek ends up adopting a racist dogma that leads him to use his intelligence and charisma to enlist new recruits in the White Pride/Fuck Everyone Else movement.

But the real clusterfuck begins when some black men attempt to steal Derek's car, and Derek responds by forcing one of the men - at gunpoint - to put his teeth on the curb in front of his house and stay there as Derek stomps on the back of his head (a practice aptly titled "curb-stomping"). A brutal act? Yes. But did the makers of this flick film it as such? Not really. They would have to of actually filmed it in the first place for that to have been possible.

Anyway, our poor little Nazi boy Derek goes to prison. He falls in with some fellow "White Nationalists" - I assume they're meant to be the Aryan Brotherhood - and cozies in. But when he discovers that his White brothers are doing business with some inmates of color, Derek is displeased. See, he's a true racist, not just some impressionable fuck who's in it for the parties and sense of belonging. He actually believes in what he's been saying.

So Derek gets pissy. Then Derek gets raped.

His fellow Aryans take it upon themselves to teach Derek a lesson by assaulting him in the prison shower. When Derek is finally up to moving about again, he doesn't join up with whitey anymore. Instead, he befriends the black dude that he does laundry with and starts playing basketball with some ethnic inmates.

Where has his belief gone? Well, I guess he had a change of heart.

What, you thought it was hard to change someone's entire way of looking at the world in the space of a few weeks?

He's really a sweet guy!

I kid, I kid. But really, regardless of all the great things about American History X, something about it simply does not ring true for me. And the tragic - though somewhat predictable - ending doesn't help. Sure, I was moved when I first saw Derek's mini-skinhead brother slain by a gun-wielding black kid in a fantastic display of poetic justice, and still am. But at the same time, it leans a tiny bit too close to saying "why can't we all just get along?" or "think of the children!". American History X just tries too hard to offer answers to mind-numbingly hard questions.

Romper Stomper, on the other hand, has no answers. It starts with violence, it ends with violence. There are a few subtle moments of tenderness throughout (Hando affectionately scratching Davey's shaved head at the bar, becoming an older brother of sorts to Bubs, the littlest Nazi, etc.), but overall it's an incredibly brutal movie. Painfully real. While watching Romper Stomper, I feel mesmerized, yet disgusted. Fascinated, but repulsed.

Technically, it is not the most violent movie I've seen. But it feels as though it is, because the violence it contains is so frank, so cold. Some may watch Romper Stomper and cry "gratuitous violence". But if you're telling the story of a violent gang of Neo-Nazis who commit hate crimes like most commit jaywalking, wouldn't toning down the violence be, I dunno...dishonest? A sanitized reality tailored for mainstream taste?

I don't think Romper Stomper's corrosive protagonist (antagonist?) Hando would approve.

Hando, who is played brilliantly by Russell Crowe (before anyone in America knew who the fuck he was), is a psychopath. He appears stoic one moment, furious the next, ready to kill someone with his bare hands at the sight of slanty-eyes. He must prevent racial blood poisoning, he must protect his family and his country. His hatred is so pure, it's seductive.

Intellectually, I know he is wrong. But oh, how I wish he were right, because then I would be free to give in to his stirring-yet-skewed belief system, and become a part of his inner circle. A snarling, cackling "family" brimming with animal loyalty, and brandishing a sense of security that only the most limited, simplistic, and wrong bodies of thought can encourage. Know thy enemy, and you are correct in all you do.


I love that Romper Stomper doesn't discourage or encourage excessive violence or Nazism. It simply presents a story as realistically as it can. No flashbacks on sleek, black and white film. No insightful essays or romanticism can be found within the script or the performances. Just a short, violent story, and the opportunity for you to draw your own damn conclusions.

American History X is beautiful and touching. It makes me want to cry. Romper Stomper makes me want to snarl.