Analysis of Crash Movie by Paul Haggis - Essay Example

US society is full of racial biases and stereotypes existent, this important factor of the society was remarkably depicted in Paul Haggis’s Crash (2004). Movie Crash has many incidents which depict the racial stereotyping which us present in the US society. This movie unfolds some common concerns and questions which exist in the mind of each and every US citizen, from the origin of prejudice to the reasons why these prejudices cannot be eliminated from the society over all. There is a common believe that racism is present because of the upbringing of the people. Racist families inculcate racial believes in their children too and thus throughout their growing period they are trained to become racist however this believe is rejected in the Movie crash where Dillon who was extremely close to his father, whereas his father was not racist at all. Dillon became racist due to the negative experiences he had with his father along with him being a member of LAPD which actually gave birth to his negativity against blacks. There is another scene in the movie depicting the general behavior of US people where a Persian family went to purchase a gun, and the person selling the gun made some racist comments and also spoke about the twin towers and 9/11 incident blaming the Middle Eastern people for that and calling all of them racist. Generally people use such events like 9/11 in order to show their own personal anger and frustration towards different ethnic groups. Sandra Bullock’s character also spoke about the relationship which is shared between the white and black people, where she says that generally if women see black men coming, they will change their way and be called racist however when Sandra did not do that she was caught up with a gun in his head. It is the general concept which is in the heads of US people where all the black men are suppose to be criminals, drug dealers and also thugs. This stereotyping has affected many innocent African Americans as well. Another important black character in the movie was of Ludacris who use to steal cars from white people. Movie also reveals that the stereotyping is not restricted to skin tones only , it is also an integral part of the social class of the people of the US. Cameron is another black character who achieved a lot of success and he was a hardworking man however he was also badly treated by his wife and also his white producer. Cameron was earning a lot of money but for that he was suppose to live a life like a black man but still he always remembered this in his head that no matter how much money he earns, he still will stay a black man. Cameron was a successful actor and demanded privileges just like white man however he was not getting that which ended up in giving birth to shame, frustration and embarrassment for him. The movie talks about the general behavior and assumptions people have and we as a society face and have, from we as a society becoming selfish, labeling others as ganger banger and not acknowledging the fact that others are human beings as well. Sandra Bullock when saw a Mexican locksmith made a judgment about him that he is a gangster due to his head being shaved and the prison tattoo he had however he turned out to be a sensitive and soft spoken family man, this incidence clearly depicts the stereotyping which takes place about even innocent people. The discrimination which Sandra Bullock does is deliberate but somewhat concealed. Also the Persian shopkeeper assumed that the Mexican Goldsmith was a criminal and thus he kept ignorant and thus missed out some valuable information. Both Sandra Bullock and the shopkeeper did not give Mexican a chance to show his reality but believed in their own prejudices. In the movie there are wealthy white men and women roaming around with hatred for black men, this hatred gives birth to the negative behavior of the black men who face humiliation all the time and now they have found a way of getting away from that by hurting the white people. Cameron and Christine who is a wealthy couple also faces discrimination while they are coming back from the party and a white police officer misbehaves with them and Christine is sexually molested. Farhad is another Middle Eastern store owner who is blamed for 9/11 attack and is treated in a bad way. Another character is Graham who is a black office and is dating a Hispanic partner however he wants to hide her identity as well. Our society needs to understand what are the causes of such discrimination and should improve our own thought process and patterns. Movie crash is full of examples of stereotypes and racism which takes place in the lives of US people and also how these people avoid them and also the main causes of such events taking place. There is a transparent racism in the hearts of Anthony, Ryan and even Jean, on the other hand feelings of Rick, Hansen and Peter is not very strong but still it exists and they end up in supporting their racist partner, friend and wife. We as a society needs to understand the reason of such discrimination and avoid it, such movies like crash basically teaches us how we can evaluate our own lives and to look at things which are outside our own lives and personal believes and stereotyping, We basically need to realize our own fears and we need to believe that we all are the same and alike. We need to make our world perfect without any intercultural barriers, the respect should exist for everyone, no matter what their race is, religion is, culture, size or even gender is. The movie crash always depicts such stereotyping along with the possible caused and how to eliminate them. Movie ends up with the situation being resolved well. REFERENCE Healey, Joseph F. Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Pine Forge Press, 2009. Print. Movie “Crash” (2004) Read More