Abstract
CRASH is a movie that puts the issues of racial prejudice on the chopping block. It forces an audience to acknowledge their own stereotypical views in a way that inspires tolerance and forgiveness. Every person can imagine wearing the shoes of one or more characters in this film. Each person has been the victim and victimizer, either subtly with their attitudes or abruptly with hurtful actions. This review holds a magnifying glass over some of the characters in terms of how their prejudiced attitudes affected their lives or the lives of others. Officer Ryan for instance, was happy to sacrifice his professionalism with absolutely no legal accountability. Racial stereotypes among Black people actually carved a wide division in the marriage of a Black couple. Fear played a major role and it was the catalyst that served as a wake-up call. It was also the trigger that fired a bullet at Peter Walters. It sprung the adrenaline that caused Christine Thayer to call Officer Ryan a pig. The shadow of death or severe injury seemed to illuminate the darkness of prejudice. It served to remind the characters as well as the audience that life is very finite and delicate. Despite these incidents, the most obvious point seemed to also be the loudest: Everyone is a human being with feeling and loved ones. They should be treated with respect for that reason alone, regardless of their race, language or cultural background.
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"An analytical discussion of characters in the movie CRASH".
Los Angeles California serves as the backdrop for a melting pot of cultural differences played out in the movie, Crash. There are people in this movie representing various cultural backgrounds including, Black, White, Asian and Hispanic. Surprisingly, they are all united by a common problem of which they are not aware. They are all clouded with prejudiced views of anyone who is not exactly like them. Prejudice is defined as, “Unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.” (“Dictionary.com : Prejudice,” 2014) It is a serious issue because it drums up toxic clouds of fear. The fear influences feelings and negatively impacts the way they choose to treat people. For instance, anyone with slanted eyes is automatically looked down upon and told that they are Chinese and they speak poor English. This is the type of negativity that brought about traumatic problems in the lives of several characters in the film. This fear guided their decisions which adversely impacted their work and relationships.
The first example is the stereotype that Black people impose on one another. Cameron and his wife had a very heated argument. Cameron was told by his wife that he was afraid of appearing “Black” in front of his co-workers. She was bitter for an understandable reason. However, her frustrations were wrongfully directed. It brought out deeply seeded issues about the kind of Black man she perceived Cameron to be. Cameron also told his wife that she has no idea what it feels like to be Black. This resulted in the exchange of disrespectful, verbal punches. Anthony was plagued with stereotypes about both Black and White people. With hatred in his soul, he justified car-jacking a White man who turned out to be Rick Cabot, the District Attorney of Los Angeles who was with his wife.
He also accuses Black people of being disconnected from their strong historical roots. He ranted like a whining victim looking for something to complain about. Since he wasn’t offered coffee in a restaurant, he instantly assumed that the whole place had something against him being Black. Whether being a prejudiced Black person leads to putting one another down or breaking the law, the actions performed in the name of stereotyping can severely injure an otherwise healthy marriage, or lead to a life of racially motivated, criminal activity.
The Rick’s wife, Jean was completely incarcerated by racial stereotypes. It caused her to be angry all of the time. She insulted the Hispanic locksmith who changed the locks on her front door. She was frightened by his tattoos and clothing. She was obnoxious and snapping at everyone around her until she learned (from a slip and fall) that her true best friend was her Hispanic housekeeper, a woman to whom she spoke quite rudely. Another White person in this film had to face a flaming grim reaper eye-to-eye before letting his prejudiced guard down. Officer John Ryan actually saved the life of the same woman that he sexually molested the night before, in front of her husband Cameron.
He was racially bitter and dumped his reasons out onto the desk of Shaniqua Johnson, a woman from whom he needed help. His nasty resentment towards Black people turned him into a crooked police officer. However, he wasn’t the only white person who operated in resentment. A gun shop owner treated a Persian customer like a terrorist based on his poorly spoken English. A final example of prejudice was from Detective Graham Waters’ insult to his law enforcement partner and lover. Because of her Hispanic heritage, he was more comfortable calling her a Mexican than addressing her appropriately. He was every bit as insensitive as the Asian woman, Kim Lee who felt it necessary to insult White and Hispanic people.
The characters in this movie were fueling, upholding and reacting to negative stereo-typical beliefs. Every prejudiced person had a chance to experience a consequence. This was the crazy glue that severely altered and connected all of their lives.
- Harris , M. R. (Director) (2005). Crash [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com
- Dictionary.com : Prejudice. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prejudice
