Crash Character Analysis
“Crash” Character Analysis
Emily Nostrant
SUNY Fredonia
2015
The character I chose to analyze was Jean Cabot, who was played by Sandra Bullock. I feel that she really embodies all the topics we have talked about in class so far. The first time we see her, she and her husband, are heading to their car. While walking she catches a glimpse of two African American males and holds on to her husband harder and gives them a slightly disgusted look. She thinks that because she is a white women, married to a wealthy white male, she is inherently better than the two African American males. This is an example of power and privilege. She has more than one type of power and privilege over these males; white privilege and class privilege. White privilege is “an invisible package of unearned assets” (McIntosh p. 1-2). Jean Cabot exhibits white privilege in that she is obviously white and that she does not realize that this privilege of hers did not come from hard work. I do not think she even realized what she did to offend the African American males, her actions just came so naturally to her because she is oblivious to her privilege. She also exhibits white privilege when the locksmith is at her house. The man changing her locks is Hispanic and she starts screaming racial stereotypes about the locksmith, to her husband. This relates to the second point on Peggy McIntosh’s list, which is “I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me” (McIntosh p. 6). This is relevant to both the examples of the African American males and the Hispanic locksmith. She tried to avoid the African American males by crossing the street because she has learned that they cannot be trusted. In turn they steal her car because they feel that they cannot trust her because of her white privilege and the fact that they cannot be trusted by her. The last example of her white privilege is the way she treats her house keeper.
Emily Nostrant
SUNY Fredonia
2015
The character I chose to analyze was Jean Cabot, who was played by Sandra Bullock. I feel that she really embodies all the topics we have talked about in class so far. The first time we see her, she and her husband, are heading to their car. While walking she catches a glimpse of two African American males and holds on to her husband harder and gives them a slightly disgusted look. She thinks that because she is a white women, married to a wealthy white male, she is inherently better than the two African American males. This is an example of power and privilege. She has more than one type of power and privilege over these males; white privilege and class privilege. White privilege is “an invisible package of unearned assets” (McIntosh p. 1-2). Jean Cabot exhibits white privilege in that she is obviously white and that she does not realize that this privilege of hers did not come from hard work. I do not think she even realized what she did to offend the African American males, her actions just came so naturally to her because she is oblivious to her privilege. She also exhibits white privilege when the locksmith is at her house. The man changing her locks is Hispanic and she starts screaming racial stereotypes about the locksmith, to her husband. This relates to the second point on Peggy McIntosh’s list, which is “I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me” (McIntosh p. 6). This is relevant to both the examples of the African American males and the Hispanic locksmith. She tried to avoid the African American males by crossing the street because she has learned that they cannot be trusted. In turn they steal her car because they feel that they cannot trust her because of her white privilege and the fact that they cannot be trusted by her. The last example of her white privilege is the way she treats her house keeper.