This bold and often thought-provoking film from director Peter Hutchinson broaches the always-difficult subject of race-hate groups and the lost souls that populate these organizations. But the tone of the film is not one of reactionary spite or elitist condescension toward those who populate such fringe groups—whether neo-Nazi skinheads or anti-white hate groups—but one of empathy in trying to understand what in their psychological makeup or upbringing makes youngsters join such groups and what kind of experiences lead those featured in the film to reject hate and embrace those they once vilified.
The film also importantly traces the rise of the alt-right movement, which is explained as the result of a conscious image makeover that saw neo-Nazi's swap bald heads for slick hipster hairstyles, Swastika t-shirts for suits and ties, and Doc Marten’s for penny loafers (see current well-dressed white supremacist, Richard Spencer).
Director Hutchinson organizes the film around the group Life After Hate, some of whose members are featured as interviewees, sharing their own personal stories of how they conquered their own prejudices over the years and became essentially de-radicalized, now just trying to get on with normal lives without fear of the Other. (One prominently featured interviewee is Frank Meeink, whose own life story was the inspiration behind the 1999 feature film, American History X.) Along the way, we also encounter pro-tolerance activists like Dr. Michael Kimmel, whose approach to de-radicalization is, again, one that utilizes compassion and empathy to get at the heart of what makes people hate.
As we see in the film, it can sometimes be a frighteningly fine line between weekend warrior-type race hatred and the kind of extremist commitment that leads to truly dangerous activism, as was the case with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. The case of more recent internet-age white supremacist killer Dylan Roof is used as a disturbing example of how much faster radicalization tends to now happen online. This is a well-produced, instructive, eye-opening project from beginning to end: the ultimately humanistic sentiments at the heart of Healing from Hate allow the film to become something more substantial than just another outrageous Nazisploitation freakshow. Recommended as an educational documentary for professors teaching racial justice. Aud: C, P.