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Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a work.  

The Structural Nature of Racism  

In Nickel Boys, racism is not just a form of personal bias, but a structural force in American society that goes far beyond any one individual’s personal feelings or prejudices. In the film, racist attitudes and policies are upheld by the newspapers that present biased coverage of protestors, by a criminal justice system that discriminates against Black people in both open and covert ways, and even by educators, who use textbooks that justify racial hierarchies. Almost all cultural and legal institutions presented in the film collude in order to disenfranchise and oppress Black people.  

When a police officer arrests the man who offered Elwood a ride, the arresting officer uses racist slurs and admits that he had been searching for a Black man based upon his own racist assumptions about crime. Later, when Hattie attempts to reason with the police sergeant, he refuses to hear her out, despite Elwood’s clean record and his acceptance into the Melvin Griggs Technical College program. Hattie’s later suggestion that her father was murdered by the police after being arrested for failing to move out of a white woman’s way on the sidewalk underscores the racism at the heart of the legal system in the Jim Crow Era. In the film, Black people cannot rely on the legal system for justice because that same legal system was created to uphold and enforce racial discrimination. 

At Nickel Academy, Elwood observes structural racism operate in a particularly open and inescapable manner. Black and white students are immediately segregated from one another, and white students enjoy greater rights, better treatment from staff, and superior accommodations. He watches as white students play football, an activity that Black students are barred from participating in. Yet again, racism is built into the structure of Nickel Academy, enforced by white staff such as Spencer but also by Black staff such as Blakely, who proves willing to cooperate with the school’s abuse and exploitation of Black students, despite rumors that he was once a student at the school himself.  

Later, Elwood’s attempts to reach out to the school inspectors in order to expose the illegal actions at Nickel further reveals the complicity of the authorities. Instead of investigating Elwood’s claims and attempting to help the students, the inspectors pass the journal onto school staff, who immediately imprison Elwood in the torturous sweatbox and plan to execute him. Nickel, the film reveals, is not a “rogue” institution. Rather, Nickel is one of many organizations that work in tandem to uphold racism as a social structure and to imprison and harm Black children and teenagers.   

Cynicism and Idealism 

Elwood and Turner quickly become friends at Nickel Academy, and their life-changing friendship lies at the heart of the film. Nevertheless, the two friends have very different attitudes and worldviews. As the film shifts between their perspectives, allowing the viewer to observe the world through their eyes, it also contrasts their very different philosophies. Elwood is an idealist who believes firmly in his vision of a better and more equitable future. He refuses to sit idly by while injustice occurs in front of him, as he believes that this would make him complicit in that injustice. When, for example, he sees students bullying another student, he intervenes even though he is both outnumbered and new to the school. Because of his strong ideals, he is unable to adjust to life at Nickel or compromise his values in order to make his life easier. Ultimately, he regards Nickel as an exception to an otherwise fair and reasonable world.

Turner, however, is far more cynical and pragmatic in his overall worldview. For him, Nickel is not an exception but the rule, and the world beyond the school operates on the same violent and racist logic. He gently chastises Elwood for acting like the “Lone Ranger” in his belief that he can make a difference at Nickel, suggesting that he does not think that meaningful change is possible.  

The conflict between their values comes to a head during an inspection of Nickel Academy. Rather than enjoying the ice cream and other treats offered by the staff, Elwood recognizes them as a bribe that buys the students’ acquiescence during what he believes to be a rare opportunity to improve their general conditions by testifying to the inspectors. He is uncompromising in his values and willing to deny himself simple pleasures in order to maintain them. Further, he retains his faith in the authorities, believing that they will put an end to the abuses and deaths at Nickel if they were informed of them.

Turner, far more realistic in his expectations, believes that any attempt to report the crimes of Nickel’s staff to the inspectors will lead to his and Elwood’s deaths. Tragically, Turner’s prediction is accurate, and the school responds with immediate violence to Elwood’s attempt to reach out to the inspectors. Though Turner’s pessimism is corroborated by the obvious corruption of both the authorities and the school staff, his decision to adopt Elwood’s name at the end of the novel signals his respect for his late friend, as well as his desire to keep Elwood’s ideals alive. In his adult life, he attempts to adopt Elwood’s attitude, deciding to publicly testify, as Elwood surely would have, to the crimes he witnessed at Nickel despite his earlier skepticism in change and progress. 

Ideology and Education 

Nickel Boys reveals that education is not neutral; it can be used as a tool for liberation or for oppression. In Tallahassee, Elwood is taught by Mr. Hill, a former “Freedom Rider” who was violently attacked while protesting for equal rights. Mr. Hill’s teaching style is deeply inspired by his beliefs and values. He trains his students to identify the biases and prejudices contained within the second-hand textbooks that have been passed down to their school, even encouraging them to use markers to cross out what he considers to be the distortions and lies in their American history textbooks. Mr. Hill believes that their textbooks, previously owned by a white high school, are ideological tools used to distort the truth about racism in American history and to justify the political system that disenfranchises Black people. Elwood watches as another student examines the “flip book” animation doodled onto the bottom of his textbook. As he flips through the pages, it shows a small, cartoon-like image of a Black man being lynched, validating Mr. Hill’s concerns. At school, Elwood learns that he must turn a careful and critical eye towards the educational materials provided to him by the state.  

At Nickel Academy, Spencer, the superintendent, claims that the school aims to educate and reform troubled teenagers. Elwood’s observation of the sub-par education offered at Nickel, however, calls this aim into question, as the teacher discusses elementary math in a disinterested fashion, making little effort to command the attention of his students. Depriving the Black students at Nickel of an education is one of many ways in which the school upholds inequality and hinders its students from reintegrating into society after “graduating” from the program.  

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