The Theme of Racism in Crash

The movie Crash involves an assessment of issues related to race and genders that caused residents in Los Angeles to collide in an emotional and physical sense with the film director Paul Haggis. Graham is a police detector but his brother is a criminal in the streets and is depressed by the fact that his mother cared more about his brother than him. His partner Ria is, however, emotionally insensitive from the fact that they are of two different races because while he is African-America she was Hispanic. The LA district attorney Rick has his wife Rick’s fear about racism confirmed when African-American men car-jack a vehicle. The carjackers are Anthony who hates whites and Rick hates Blacks and Peter who is an open-minded individual. The outcome is that there are different stories in the movie that eventually balance. The movie is thus great because it makes the viewer to think about the subject of racism which warrants that the film was a deserving winner for the Oscar for Best Picture in 2006 because it inculcates xenophobia, indolence and diversity in a powerful way.

            The theme of racism is one of the most prevalent ones that Haggis discusses in the film. One of the key incidence of racism is in the context of Rick who thinks that it is presented on a superficial level. He thinks that there was a need to have an image of a black man being pinned down because she used to despite them so much. He asserts “Why did these guys have to be Black? I mean, why? No matter how we spin this, I’m either gonna lose the Black vote or I’m gonna lose the law-and-order vote” (Haggis). The relevance of the statement is that for Rick, the subject of racism could be perceived as a political headache that was challenging and it is thought to be a political tool. It is intriguing for the reader how he responds to the subject of black men because one then wonders the extent to which his attitude is racist. The other depiction of racism is that which features Anthony’s response in his car-jacking activity. He argues whether they looked threatening from the way they looked based on how they are dressed and the color of their skin. The author states, ”Are we dressed like gang-bangers? Huh? No. Do we look threatening? No. Fact, if anybody should be scared around here, it’s us. We’re the only two Black faces surrounded by a sea of over-caffeinated white people, patrolled by the trigger-happy LAPD.” The statement underlines the fact that the police were only interested in them because of their race while they did not have anything that showed that they were dangerous. Lastly, racism on the movie could also be described in the context of Antony arguing that black people often do not tip. It is a statement that he makes while criticizing the waitress who ended up treating him in a discriminative manner much to his annoyance.

            It is also worth highlighting that the start of the movie is relevant in enabling the viewer to conceptualize the theme and the plot that is featured. It begins by a commentary by Detective Graham Waters where he is a passenger while Ria, who is also his partner, is driving. They are later involved in an accident and the theme of the movie is illustrated immediately (Haggis). It thus follows that the relevance of the way the movie starts is that it ensures that the viewer gains an understanding of the theme of racism at an early instance. The start of the movie also makes it clear that the director’s goal was consistent with the background of historical events at the time. The movie is written post the 9/11 fable that had got the whole of America in tension and the issue about racism was considered to be at its prime. It is especially worth highlighting an opening scene where a Middle Eastern immigrant is harassed and described to be Osama. The way the movie is presented is, however, unique because the issue about terrorism and the link it has to notable races is given a hint in the earlier scenes. During the 1990s fashion for anti-PC satire that made the NYPD bosses much more powerful even though they were being despised for being black. Overall, the beginning of the movie is especially significant in setting the viewer up for the primary theme that the director intended to communicate.

            While watching the movie, it became apparent that there are instances when it became apparent that the director had included elements that could be perceived to be perplexing or unfamiliar. The portrayal of the subject of gender roles was intriguing considering that the director intended to ensure that the viewer reanalyzes what the societal expectation hold as pertains male and female traits. It would be expected that men behave in an aggressive and decisive manner while women comply through submissiveness, non-aggression and intuition. However, this is not the case when one examines the thematic presentation of the movie Crash when assessing Dorri’s character. The scene involved the Persian shopkeeper who went to purchase a shotgun that he would use as a defence tool for his wife and daughter. The daughter, Dorri, however, loses her cool as she had a bad feeling about what his father had intended to do and she, therefore, purchases a box of ammunition. The family shop is vandalized and the family is threatened which leads to the pursuit of a locksmith who is to blame for the ordeal. The locksmith then insists that he is given money as compensation as he showed them the gun. It is at this point that the movie becomes significant because Dorri’s response makes her circumvent her father wishes and she opts to get blanks for ammunition, which is intriguing because it shows that despite being a girl, she was decisive instead of submissive. It is worth noting that despite the behavior that could be considered contradictory, she embodies her feminine traits nevertheless because she does not show aggression (Haggis). It is significant that the character depicts these traits because they enable one to acknowledge the director’s efforts in making the movie depict unfamiliar behaviors.

            My overall assessment of the movie is that it is a good film considering the themes that are highlighted with the key being on racism. I was, however, particularly sorry for the lock repair individual who was a subject of racism. It made me realize that it can be quite annoying for people to constantly assume that you are one of the worst characters simply by being associated with a prejudiced skin type. I, however, found it annoying when the old shopkeeper behaved in a repulsive way. I nevertheless realized that the overall presentation of the movie is that it was a deserving winner for the Oscar of the Best Picture in 2006. It explores in details the complexity of racism and intolerance that are believed to be critical issues in any society (Haggis). The fact that they are covered in a powerful and unsettling manner makes it even worth watching because it underscores the fact that while almost everyone is aware of their existence, there are no easy ways of resolving the problems.

            In summary, the title of the movie is also relevant because it is explained in the first live of the movie when Walters states ”It’s the sense of touch. […] Any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass” (Haggis). The effect is that as the viewership proceed, it becomes apparent that the disasters that are perceived as crashes are occurring because of the failure in communication. People are worse and they revert their problem son other which only serves to create a clash and crush effect. The opening credits are thus done in the way they were to enable the reader to understand that the only form of communication that was apparent was that which is destructive. The overall impression is that the movie is a success because Haggis ensures that there is a seamless integration of stories that are structured in a way that all the characters lead to a crisis point that is relatable to the reality.

Work Cited

Haggis, Paul. Crash. United States: Lionsgate Films, 2004. Film.