Introduction
“Crash” (2004) is directed by Paul Haggis, a director who won the Academy Awards for the screenplay of “Million Dollar Baby”. Aspects such as serendipity, coincidence, and luck have been employed in this movie, as the lives of the characters crash into each other as would pinballs. The movie makes it easy for the viewer to understand the character’s life and history, but it does not necessarily conclude how they would behave, because it is all dependent on the accident. The movie presumes that people feel bitterness and prejudice towards members of different groups, and helps its viewers see the consequences of such mentalities.
The ideas of “Crash”
“Crash” combines the stories of blacks, whites, Koreans, Iranians, Latinos, police, criminals, the impoverished, the wealthy, the powerful, and the powerless, and the way they are defined by racism. The movie shows how they are both victims and guilty of perpetuating racism. Such mentalities prevent the characters to see the people around them for who they are. A simple example of this would be Shaun Toub, playing an Iranian in the movie, he is thought to be an Arab, but in reality, Iranians are Persians. Another example of this would be, the Iranian and the white wife of a district attorney, Sandra Bullock, mistakenly believes that the Mexican-American locksmith, Michael Pena, is a gang member and a crook. As the story progresses, the Mexican American is revealed to be a family man, contrary to what was believed.
The movie does not use any political filters with regards to what the characters would say; the characters are very transparent and say what is in their minds. The district attorney’s wife was frightened by the street encounter and has the locks changed, and supposes that the locksmith would come back later on with all his “homies” to attack them. The white cop, Matt Dillon, tries to get medical attention for his dying father but fails to do so. The cop then accuses a black woman at his HMO, of being a racist, and states that she is taking advantage of preferential racial treatment. The Iranian on the other hand, can’t understand what the locksmith is saying and freaks out. The Iranian ends up buying a gun to protect himself from the locksmith and ends up having a shouting match with the gun dealer.
Matt Dillon, frustrated and in anguish with what happened to his father, pulls a needless traffic stop. He stops the car of the black TV director, Terrence Dashon Howard, and his fair-skinned wife doing something they shouldn’t be whilst driving. In reality, Matt Dillon wouldn’t have stopped an ordinary black couple or a white couple. He thoroughly humiliates the couple, invasively searches the woman’s body, and forces the husband to just stand and watch powerlessly in fear of the cop’s gun. Ryan Phillippe, Dillon’s unseasoned rookie, hates the sight but can’ do anything else but to support his partner in what he is doing.
The traffic stop that Dillon pulls was vile and terrible. Later on, we see him taking care of his sick father, which shows us the reason why he was unreasonable with the way he dealt with the black HMO worker. This shows us how he was able to exercise his authority and power over helpless victims, but is unable to help his ill father. Ironically, the story develops in such a way that the two cops find themselves needing to save the TV director and his wife. Aside from being an irony, we can see that there is justice in this movie, and there is a chance for them to make up for the mistake they have done earlier.
Haggis shows us how the characters may not necessarily end up having happier or calmer lives but instead shows them to be living better lives. This movie shows how Racism has deeply impacted people to exercise their power and be corrupted by the system. But somehow, the movie can show a valuable lesson to its viewers. The movie invokes the sympathy of the viewers towards people that are different from them. May the person be white or black, rich or poor, powerful or powerless, and cop or criminal, they deserve to be given a chance to be known for who they are and not what they are. The movie strives so hard to explain the differences between each character but does not neglect to show a common denominator, Los Angeles. All the characters are found in one city and show the viewers how they are trying to progress through life, different races meeting in one place and striving to get to know each other and live.
Conclusion
“Crash” is a movie that is not only intelligently made but also takes its time discussing serious subject matters. Racism, in general, is a very gentle issue to tackle, yet Haggis approaches it universally and reasonably. The main principles employed in this move are racism and its manifestations, anger, social conditioning, hatred, and intolerance. Crash makes the viewers see the errors in the attitude and the belief systems that they have.
References
Berardinelli, James. “Reel Views”. 2005. Crash. Web.
Carruthers, Avril. “MOVIE-VAULT.COM”. Crash(2004). Web.
Douglas, Edward. “ComingSoon.net”. Crash. 2008. Web.
Ebert, Roger. “rogerebert.com Movie Reviews”. 2005 Crash. Web.
Lewison, Martin. “The Internet Movie Database”. Plot Summary for Crash(2004). Web.
Schwartz, Dennis. “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”. 2005. A preposterous view of American life that bleakly covers the surface of the social problems it tried to paint with such broad brush strokes. Web.
Travis, Peter. “Rolling Stone”. 2005. Crash. Web.
“NYC Film Critic”. Crash. Web.