“Crash” is the Oscar-winning movie directed by Paul Haggis which was released in 2004. The movie includes several short stories which are connected by the interrelated characters with the help of depicting some automobile accidents and crimes in Los Angeles, California.
The main idea of the movie is the representation of racial issues developed in the society with references to the tensions between characters as the example of discrimination which is based on the development of their stereotypes and prejudice.
The inner conflict of the characters, their conflicts with each other and society are presented on the base of their cultural differences. Thus, African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians are opposed to each other about their racist views; there are no victims and offenders because all of them have the negative visions of each other, but these people can change and find their redemption in spite of their deep conflict.
The problems of racial prejudice and discrimination are discussed in “Crash” (2004). Paul Haggis concentrates on the complex representation of all the aspects of racism in the American society which is based on the developed stereotypes about the people of the other race or ethnicity.
The population of Los Angeles consists of people who have different cultural backgrounds, and they have to interact with each other regularly. In spite of the fact this situation is typical for American society, the problem is in increasing social tensions based on race and gender stereotypes and, as a result, prejudice.
The complicated relationship between race and class is explored in the movie with references to presenting the opposition between the representatives of different races. The movie characters are not ready to understand different cultural backgrounds as the usual reality, those characters who are inclined to discriminate the others according to the color of skin are not ready to consider these people as the representatives of the same class.
Moreover, ethnical differences are not focused on; they are discussed only with references to bias and discrimination. Thus, the character of Marina Sirtis accentuates this problem, “They think we’re Arab. When did Persian become Arab?” (Crash, 2004).
The aspect of the race is predominantly discussed with references to stereotypes influenced by the media and developed in society. For instance, the character of Brendan Fraser, Rick, discusses as a dark-skinned man as a black when he is Iraqi, and Rick’s stereotypical vision is revealed in his phrase about the man,
“Saddam? His name’s Saddam? Oh, that’s really good, Bruce. Yeah, I’m gonna pin a medal on an Iraqi named Saddam. Give yourself a raise; will you?” (Crash, 2004).
Nevertheless, in spite of their biases, the characters of the movie experience redemption from their stereotypes after being challenged by the critical situations in which all their prejudice is revealed.
Facing their fears based on racial and class biases, feeling the great emotional distress, the characters of “Crash” complete their cycle of injury and healing with changing their considerations about the other persons and concentrating on similarities rather than on differences.
The characters of Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, and Ryan Phillippe can be discussed as such characters who faced their fears and overcame their emotional isolation. From this point, the concept of crash emphasizes the isolation of people in the American society and the turning point for the characters’ changing themselves because according to Don Cheadle’s character, “in L.A., nobody touches you.
We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something” (Crash, 2004).
Reference
Crash. (2004). Web.