Crash Critical Review
Rachel Hilbrecht
Gollhaufer
English 11-5
14 March 2014
“Crash” Critical Review
“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says: "It's a girl.” Shirley Chisholm once said this, only going to re-affirm the persistence of society to judge a person based upon the gender of that individual because of a stereotype. Looking through this gender lens at cinema, it is obvious to see the representation of sexism in society because the proper use of acting and mise-en-scene throughout a film. A fine example of this view of society is the work “Crash” directed by Paul Haggis. Throughout this film, due to proper cinematic effect, a person can be manipulated into viewing women as a lesser product of society than men. In the film “Crash” a husband and a wife get their car stolen and when the two arrive at home, the woman is frantic and crying, however, the male is confident and carefree. The man is also being rude and sarcastic with the female, showing his authority over her just like in modern society how men have to be strong and upheld to show dominance. A common stereotype that society has created is that women are much less emotionally strong than men. In society women are constantly looked down upon for the tendency to be very vulnerable and easily emotionally broken.
This effective use of acting to affirm the stereotype of women being weaker than men. When the woman tries to fight back at the husband, the two are standing in a darker hallway with the women standing in the shadows. Showing that what the female has to say is less important. In the film there is a shot of a dark looking gun store. Here is where two men are fighting; the camera holds an eye level shot of both of them. Whenever the woman comes into the image the camera immediately shows a high angle looking down on the woman. The camera will also track out; making the woman appear blurry compared to the men, showing that a woman’s opinion goes unstated
Gollhaufer
English 11-5
14 March 2014
“Crash” Critical Review
“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says: "It's a girl.” Shirley Chisholm once said this, only going to re-affirm the persistence of society to judge a person based upon the gender of that individual because of a stereotype. Looking through this gender lens at cinema, it is obvious to see the representation of sexism in society because the proper use of acting and mise-en-scene throughout a film. A fine example of this view of society is the work “Crash” directed by Paul Haggis. Throughout this film, due to proper cinematic effect, a person can be manipulated into viewing women as a lesser product of society than men. In the film “Crash” a husband and a wife get their car stolen and when the two arrive at home, the woman is frantic and crying, however, the male is confident and carefree. The man is also being rude and sarcastic with the female, showing his authority over her just like in modern society how men have to be strong and upheld to show dominance. A common stereotype that society has created is that women are much less emotionally strong than men. In society women are constantly looked down upon for the tendency to be very vulnerable and easily emotionally broken.
This effective use of acting to affirm the stereotype of women being weaker than men. When the woman tries to fight back at the husband, the two are standing in a darker hallway with the women standing in the shadows. Showing that what the female has to say is less important. In the film there is a shot of a dark looking gun store. Here is where two men are fighting; the camera holds an eye level shot of both of them. Whenever the woman comes into the image the camera immediately shows a high angle looking down on the woman. The camera will also track out; making the woman appear blurry compared to the men, showing that a woman’s opinion goes unstated