Crash - Movie Review Example

Discuss the role that stereotypes play in how race, class, and gender are portrayed in the film.

The movie “Crash” directed by Paul Higgins is about social and racial tension in Los Angeles which is inspired by real-life incidents. The movie has many stereotypes like gender, race, and class. In the movie, in the beginning, there is a white wealthy man and a woman walking on the street, and, being the woman Jean moves closer to her husband Jack when confronted by two black men walking toward them. The black men hijack their car and also steal purses which confirmed Jean’s negative feelings towards them.

Even Jean shows racism towards a Mexican guy who comes to fix their lock at the house. Jean, the wife of a District attorney who is white makes false assumptions about all the minorities she meets. She thinks the Mexican locksmith is a gang member of his tattoo intent so. She thinks he will sell the keys to his gang members and will ransack their house in the future. The Character of the Persian delivery man is also subjected to racism due to his profession as a domestic worker. Even Cameron and Christine a well-off black couple face racism. According to ( Lakesy)“Cameron and Christine are a black well off couple. They experience stereotyping and racism when they are driving home from a party”. On the way, they were harassed by a white police officer who ran fingers on Christine’s body and Cameron felt helpless. Also Farad a Muslim shop owner in the movie faces discrimination as he is Muslim and it was a time prior to the 9/11 terrorist attack. Also, Graham, a black police officer with a Hispanic woman called Rita tells his mom that he is with a white woman which makes her angry.

Discrimination due to class is also evident in the movie. Jean is a woman from the upper class who looks down upon all minorities. She looks at blacks strangely and shows an offensive attitude as she walks down the street. We can see that she also acts badly toward her maidservant who is black. Even with a Mexican locksmith who was Hispanic, she reacted in an offending manner. She blamed the locksmith for being a gang member and a potential threat. Also, the shop owner Farhad who is from a working-class has to live in a neighborhood with no security where his daughter was almost shot.

As per ( Blunt) “Because this is a movie about connections, some of the most painful moments in Crash show classism and racism supporting each other in people's personal lives”. The movie depicts that whites are superior class and this can be evident in the scene where the white producer tells the black actor to act dumb to make him look more like a black man. The movie also shows the distinction between the rich and poor classes. Here in the movie, Jean and her husband are rich and afford a luxurious car but poor Farhad a shop owner is struggling to live in a scary neighborhood. He keeps a gun to save himself from Hispanics and blacks. Also, the movie shows the Chinese slaves who are imported to the US. So in the movie, there is the upper class, middle class, and even slaves.

Gender roles are also portrayed in many scenes throughout the movie. In the beginning, when Jean and their husband are walking on the street and when she finds two black men coming towards them, Jean hold on to her husband which shows the traditional role of the male as a protector. Although he is not armed, society’s traditional view is depicted in the movie where a man is a protector and a woman is in need of protection. Another example is when Jean and their husband are in a career with traditional gender role notions.  Rick, the husband is an Attorney while she remains a housewife. Here, the roles reinforce the male as a “breadwinner” and the woman as a “domestic”.

Another scene that showcases gender roles is when Cameron and Christine are stopped by the police while driving home. Here there is a depiction of male versus female struggle which is much more obvious in society. The female is sexually assaulted by Ryan, a police officer while her husband watches helplessly. Although this instance has racism, the gender struggle is a much more obvious factor where man is in power and women stay as a victim.  As per (Harris) “Cameron and Rick both serve as symbols of the sometimes unrealistic gender expectations” the most prominent gender role we observe in the movie is when Ryan protects Christine from Climatic fiery car crash. As history suggests, here man is the protector, and the woman needs help.