SLWK 3220: Crash – A Critical Analysis
Melissa Munro-Bernard
Dalhousie University The 2004 film, Crash, offers a unique commentary on racism in American society. In this film, racism does not have clear-cut victims and offenders; rather, the racially oppressed are also shown - in different contexts and situations - to themselves be perpetrators of discrimination and racially motivated biases and beliefs. This paper will highlight some of the taken-for-granted assumptions, biases and beliefs presented in this movie; use examples from the movie to demonstrate how a situation can be framed from multiple perspectives; and finally, consider the presentation of racism in this movie as situation in a broader socio-political framework.
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Two black men, Anthony and Peter, discuss racial stereotyping after noticing a white woman saw them and walked quickly in another direction. Anthony and Peter then carjack this woman, which creates conflicting feelings for the viewers. The two men angrily address the stereotype of black men being dangerous, especially in ‘white’ neighbourhoods, but then proceed to commit a crime and ostensibly ‘justify’ the white woman’s fear of them. Similar to the previous example, both sides in this scene described different feelings of fear. Being black males in a white neighbourhood caused Anthony and Peter to feel judged and apprehensive. On the other hand, for Jean, being an upper-class, white woman led to feelings of vulnerability and danger when confronted with the presence of black men in a white neighbourhood, based on ingrained notions of race and …show more content…
No characters are villainized for their beliefs; rather, just enough backstory is given to ‘explain away’ or rationalize their discriminatory actions. The message seems to be that everyone is ‘a little bit racist,’ which is no doubt comforting for some (particularly white people, who are less inclined to confront their own privilege and oppressive beliefs). Moreover, Crash focuses its social commentary almost exclusively on racism at the personal level (such as the individualistic experiences and roots of characters’ prejudiced attitudes) but does not delve into the entrenched historical and societal inequalities of that racism. Likewise, the move does little to challenge predominant notions of white privilege and the privileges and benefits that accrue from systemic
In the film, Crash by Paul Higgins there is the incorporation of numerous perspectives and theories of societal issues. The film brought up various issues we face in our world today such as racial discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice etc. One theory that is seen is the symbolic interaction theory. There is the usage of different symbols in the film. Each character in the film comes from a different culture; socioeconomic background etc. and they each have their own story.
This movie Directed by Paul Haggis who also directed Academy Award Winning "Million Dollar Baby" and had also won an Academy Award for this movie as well puts a twisted story in this film. This movie is trying to symbolize what goes on in the world today in regards to racism and stereotypes. He tries to make a point on how societies view themselves and others in the world based on there ethnicities. This movie intertwines several different people's lives, all different races, with different types of beliefs. Such ethnicities include Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Middle Eastern. This movie includes conflicts on both sides of the picture from cops and criminals as well
The much applauded and critically acclaimed film, “Crash” (2004) directed by Paul Haggis is a film which appears to want the viewers to observe themselves and their world inversely. This film presents a truthful representation of race relations, racial discrimination, and social and cultural tensions in modern American society. It shows the stereotypes and racial myths that still occur today and continue to create racism. The film presents the intricacy of the relationships between diverse social groups and about the effects of discrimination on the everyday life experiences of a number of people. More specifically, the movie touches on three different types of discrimination. First and foremost, it deals with racism. Next, it depicts
Communication is important in our lives as it enables us to interact with one another, and allows us to form and build upon relationships with other people. However, when communication is not effective or colored by personal biases, it may lead to conflict. In the movie Crash, the characters are faced with a number of social issues, born from their inability to communicate with one another as well as their perceived notions of racial and cultural biases. Through the interactions between the characters this film allows us to understand how interpersonal communication affects individuals be it with strangers, friends, or family.
Most people are born with good hearts, but as they grow up they learn prejudices. “Crash” is a movie that brings out bigotry and racial stereotypes. The movie is set in Los Angeles, a city with a cultural mix of every nationality. The story begins when several people are involved in a multi-car accident. Several stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles involving a collection of inter-related characters, a police detective with a drugged out mother and a mischief younger brother, two car thieves who are constantly theorizing on society and race, the white district attorney and his wife, a racist cop and his younger partner, a successful Hollywood director and his wife, a Persian immigrant father, a Hispanic locksmith and his young
In the film ‘Crash’ directed by Paul Haggis in 2004, several lives cross paths because of an adage, ‘it’s a small world’. The characters come from different backgrounds and social class, consequence, the underlying tone of race is presented in a facet which is a cause for concern. In today’s current tension infested race topic, stereotypes tend to push the notion that one’s perception of race, gender and class must be reality. The question becomes, where does an individual develop these notion and perception and does the blame belong to media and film. Looking at the movie ‘Crash’, it was nominated for over 100 awards and won 3 Oscars; impeccably depicted the intertwining of gender, race and social class that one would assume that the movie’s a depiction of reality. One may conclude that movies are responsible for the perpetual class and virtue given to the middle and upper classes only. Although Parenti’s belief that Hollywood films always attach virtue to the well-off middle and upper classes this is not always the class. Hollywood media and films are guilty of assigning privilege to some and strife to others, however the characters in the movie Crash, Brenden Fraser, Chris Bridges and Thandie Newton all form different economical classes display different types of class and virtue.
Crash is a movie about race and stereotypes and its effects on the various people living in the Los Angeles area. The movie boost racial awareness and it requires close observation from the viewer. We see a variety of races including African American men and women, several Hispanics, a Middle Eastern family, and a few Asians. We see the ups and downs of each character and it helps us see where they are coming from, and potentially why they are racist against different people. It seems that we almost begin to feel sorry for the different characters regardless of what they are doing or how they are acting because of each of their circumstances.
The movie “Crash” tells complex stories of caucasian, african american, latinos, koreans, iranians, law enforcement, criminals, low and upper class in which all is characterized under racism within each group. Each race is guilty and are victims of racism. Throughout the movie, it portrays racism against other members of different races which results in repercussions of those perceptions. By stereotyping people, this causes people to be judged by their cover. Most people do not understand a person's culture, so they will be first to judge them based on what they have heard from outside sources.
While the film “Crash” has several complex characters with storylines that all become interconnected in various ways, the movie is predominantly about how prejudice plays into people’s everyday lives and how such prejudice usually has negative implications. The characters in the film all had their own prejudices, or attitudes judging others in negative ways, which set the stage for discrimination, stereotypes, racism, and scapegoats. Thus, one can see how prejudice plays such a pivotal role in people’s relations with each other. As a result, it is best to analyze this film from a symbolic interactionism point of view by analyzing how the labels the characters encounter in this film affect their perception and in turn create prejudice
The movie “Crash”, by Director and Writer Paul Haggis, follows 8 ethnically diverse families/ individuals facing the struggle of modern day racism and stereotypes created and faced in modern Los Angeles, California. These individuals take the roles of individuals living their daily lives within Los Angeles, California while facing stereotypes. The cast portrays: 2 caucasian white male police officers, an African American director and his wife, a white district attorney and his wife, a Persian immigrant family, and a Hispanic father whose occupation is a locksmith. The scene chosen from this film involves the police officers (Officer Ryan and Officer Hanson) pulling over the African American Director (Cameron Thayer) and his wife (Christine Thayer) at a traffic stop. This scene establishes two different types of theoretic sociological concepts of Thomas Theorem and cognitive dissonance.
Discrimination, racism, classism, prejudice and more plague today’s society. These horrible issues do not affect one race, sexes, class, ethnicity, or age group; these issues affect all races, both genders, all ethnicities, and all age groups. For this film analysis, I have chosen to discuss the racism portrayed throughout a three-time Oscar award winning movie called Crash.
Crash is a movie that had several detailed events of sociological concepts. The movie Crash showed that everyone created has good intentions and good hearts but unfortunately they may grow up and learn the prejudices of the world. "Crash" is a movie that brings out racial stereotypes; as the movie is set in Los Angeles, a city with a diverse race of every nationality. The movie starts off with several people being involved in a car accident. We are then taken back to the day before the crash, where we are shown the lives of many of the characters, and the difficulties they may encounter during that day. An LAPD cop is trying to get medical help for his father, but he is having problems with an African American receptionist who won't give
Prejudices are the strong backbone to the concept of racism. They are the labels and images that we designate to a group of people on the basis of what we imagine to be the characteristics of all members of that group. More often than not, they are incorrect and incomplete. The film Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, addresses the strong existence of prejudices against many groups from various perspectives in today 's society.
In the film Crash (2004), the director’s use of internal conflict reveals that the main idea of the film, which is that some people stereotype others based on their skin color or countries of origin without knowing them, which is dangerous because it can lead to violence and unrest. Haggis, the director, uses the film to suggest that people should not judge anyone just because of their skin color or countries because it may cause people to hate each other.
One must never judge or discriminate a person based on their physical attributes. Prejudice and discrimination directed against someone of a different race is known as racism. It is evident in the movie “Crash” directed by Paul Haggis, that people misconceive others due to judgement on their physical traits. Throughout the movie, the characters living in Los Angeles face the challenges of fitting in a town populated by people of different colours. The offenders are the “white” people whereas the victims are everyone else. The presence of racism is the main cause of every conflict that occurs in the movie.