Crash (2004): Racial Tropes in Mass Media and Popular Culture
Crash (2004): Racial Tropes in Mass Media and Popular Culture
The representation of race and blackness in the popular culture and mass media has become one of the cultural paradigms in the United States. This has turned into a culture of discussion, one that constantly decodes and repositions blackness as a ticket into the multicultural America. In effect, blackness seems to offer a functionality that is a dominant media trope for representations and debates on race and ability. Even though Americans have made tremendous efforts in tackling social issues in education, social welfare, crime, the economy and collective rebuilding of their identity as a multicultural and a multiracial society, the trope of blackness still exposes myriads of claims, counterclaims and meanings of the nation as a racially formed communality. This is the trend as more cultural signs of “blackness” are still manifested in roles designated for blacks in mass media such as movies and plays. Director of the film Crash (2004) Paul Haggis puts it in the beginning that “it's the sense of touch… we miss… so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something.” This quote suggests the main theme of the film. The use of the word “touch” and “feel” illustrates a sense of emotion that individuals want to be moved by another to feel the connection between human existences; the search for this human interconnection continues as surrounding issues divide those individuals.
The idea of race trope has been in the public domain for quite a while, with many scholars focusing their energy to understand its origin, effect, and what it means for the future. In terms of mass media representation, the creators of the notion have hinged it on the re-created past with explicit racialized social formations. This formation is properly structured, with rewards based on class, race and gender. In other perspectives, discursive regimes as far as representation, production and construction of
The representation of race and blackness in the popular culture and mass media has become one of the cultural paradigms in the United States. This has turned into a culture of discussion, one that constantly decodes and repositions blackness as a ticket into the multicultural America. In effect, blackness seems to offer a functionality that is a dominant media trope for representations and debates on race and ability. Even though Americans have made tremendous efforts in tackling social issues in education, social welfare, crime, the economy and collective rebuilding of their identity as a multicultural and a multiracial society, the trope of blackness still exposes myriads of claims, counterclaims and meanings of the nation as a racially formed communality. This is the trend as more cultural signs of “blackness” are still manifested in roles designated for blacks in mass media such as movies and plays. Director of the film Crash (2004) Paul Haggis puts it in the beginning that “it's the sense of touch… we miss… so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something.” This quote suggests the main theme of the film. The use of the word “touch” and “feel” illustrates a sense of emotion that individuals want to be moved by another to feel the connection between human existences; the search for this human interconnection continues as surrounding issues divide those individuals.
The idea of race trope has been in the public domain for quite a while, with many scholars focusing their energy to understand its origin, effect, and what it means for the future. In terms of mass media representation, the creators of the notion have hinged it on the re-created past with explicit racialized social formations. This formation is properly structured, with rewards based on class, race and gender. In other perspectives, discursive regimes as far as representation, production and construction of