Crash Review

Crash: An Alternative View of Modern Day Multicultural American Society
Crash is a movie based on the lives of several protagonists whose lives come into contact during the course of two days in modern day Los Angeles. The ensemble cast is made up of seasoned artists whose collective performance provides a spectacular experience for the viewer. The hijacking of a district attorney’s car by two male African Americans car sets off a series of events that culminate in several ethnicities “crashing” into each other with intense consequences.
Theoretical Perspectives
The volatile interaction between different cultures is extensively exposed in this movie. Different types of exchanges are portrayed, and the film presents an alternative view to the theory that the USA is a multicultural society that acts as a melting pot for different cultures. Assimilation, as portrayed by an Iranian storeowner’s daughter and a black director may have both positive and negative outcomes. While the Iranian doctor is able to adapt to a new society by learning the cultural norms and adopting them during her dialogue with a gun shop owner, the black director fails to realise that his assimilation is at the cost of his humility and basic human rights. By conforming to his adopted class, he acquires a subliminal fear of his own ethnicity and tolerates racism and debasement for the sake of fitting in. The district attorney’s wife is the image of monoculturism and views all other races unfairly as inferior, easily forming stereotypes. Despite these specific examples, the film attempts to represent Los Angeles as a pluralistic society whose different cultures maintain a comfortable distance from each other and try to avoid interaction as much as possible.
Racial Identity
Each race is given an identity that tries to provide clues to certain racial responses to situations. The African Americans are given a dual identity, one being a criminal duo and the other a successful director and his wife. The criminal duo, Anthony and Peter, are the stereotypical African Americans who rely on crime to maintain a living. In Anthony’s case he views crime as retribution for oppression against African Americans, yet he does not realise his actions further reinforce the prejudicial perceptions other races have against his race. Terrence Howard provides a stellar performance as a successful director that has abandoned his culture as a means to progress in a profession dominated by white people. He dresses differently to typical “gang banger” African Americans; and pretends not to notice his different ethnicity from that of his co-workers.
The Iranian storeowner and his family struggle to fit in post 9/11 society and he feels angered by a society that labels him as a terrorist based on his ethnicity and is not afraid to commit hate crime against his family.
The white district attorney, played somewhat convincingly by Brendan Fraser, represents white people who are sensitive to racial differences, and try to paint a façade over a ticking time bomb. His wife, brought to life by Sandra Bullock, prises the role of the stereotypical affluent white housewife who feels superior to other races and finds nothing wrong in discriminating against others based on their ethnicity.
The two white police officers offer two opposing yet similar portrayals of modern white men. Matt Dillon, a veteran officer, depicts a jaded and abusive man whose hatred of African Americans is a result of his father’s bankruptcy due to black empowerment. The rookie officer, Ryan Phillippe, is however a principled individual who does not realise he has preconceived perceptions of African Americans until he kills Peter mistakenly in his car.
The Asian ethnicity was however not fully portrayed in this film to adequately provide a comprehensive identity.

Racial Tensions
The movie depicts interracial interactions as explosive and dramatic affairs that have notable repercussions for the parties involved. The most notable interactions provoke the audience’s emotions and vividly reveal the results of unjust racial prejudices. The veteran officer’s abuse of the black director’s wife, though justified to himself, is repugnant and strains the black couple’s relationship. She is disappointed by his inability to protect her, and he is angered because he believes her actions put him in a difficult position that required immense self-control on his part.
The Iranian tries to change the lock on his store door, and when the Latino locksmith tells him to change the door, the Iranian immediately believes the locksmith is trying to fleece him. When the Iranian’s store is destroyed as a result of hate crime, he chooses to take out his revenge on the locksmith, not realising his actions are a result of racial prejudice and not accepting responsibility for failings on his part.
The black detective’s personal problems affect his relationship with his partner to an extent that he fails to realise his insensitivity towards their different ethnicities.

Racial Reconciliation
Crash offers no solid solutions to combating racial tensions, but rather implies that a shift in mind-set can be brought on by a significant event. When the white housewife falls down the stairs, she realises that her only true friend is her hired help, who has been the subject of her casual racism and inferred superiority.
The miraculous altercation between the Latino locksmith and the Iranian provides a sobering experience to the latter that will hopefully lead to a different perspective on his part.
The veteran officer reflects on his conduct later in the film when he saves the director’s wife from a burning car. She herself ponders how the officer’s humanity and dedication of duty may not be in tandem with his racist tendencies.

This movie forces us to re-evaluate our long-held belief that being racist means someone is inhuman, and rather suggests that we are all defined by our actions. In all of us there is a slight prejudicial tenet regardless of how broad minded we may believe ourselves to be. By learning to approach intercultural interactions open-mindedly, our perceptions can be less distorted.