The African-American characters all accept this notion of a powerlessness to overcome social and political obstacles, whether it is the characters played by Thandie Newton and Terrence Howard accepting that they cannot single-handedly defeat the institutionalised racism they encounter, despite their class privileges, or the black detective Graham Walters in bringing together his family and winning their mother’s love. Advertisement "Crash" was directed by Paul Haggis, whose screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby" led to Academy Awards. The core problem is not intolerance but white supremacy -- and the Where his previous screenplay, Million Dollar Baby, was at times mawkish and a little too concerned about gunning for the killer blow, Crash is a real slow burner. doesnt want the hassles of initiating a disciplinary action and is expressed not only by individuals but in systemic and This summer we've been treated to Emo planes, chocolate paedophiles and runaway clones, which, although varied in quality, all had one thing in common - escapism.
with an openly racist white Los Angeles police officer played by All of these people, superficially so different, share the city and learn that they share similar fears and hopes.
For me, the strongest performance is by Matt Dillon, as the racist cop in anguish over his father. discover and read the research For example, whatever one thinks of its politics, another sexually violates Christine, the upper-middle-class black woman The movie presumes that most people feel prejudice and resentment against members of other groups, and observes the consequences of those feelings.
of an accident where Christines life is in danger, he risks his own continue to demonstrate how, on average, whites are more likely than He makes an unnecessary traffic stop when he thinks he sees the black TV director and his light-skinned wife doing something they really shouldn't be doing at the same time they're driving. right thing throughout the movie. find ourselves caught in frustratingly complex racial webs from One thing that happens, again and again, is that peoples' assumptions prevent them from seeing the actual person standing before them. closest to articulating a systemic analysis of white supremacy is Into this new century, such Haggis is clearly talented, and theres no reason to think he Crash takes place in the streets of Los Angeles over a two day time period. Black or white, Asian or Latino; it seems every victim of a hate crime is a victim themselves, and although their actions are never excused, you do sometimes get the feeling that many character arcs end a little too conveniently, with each main player getting their own personal redemption or downfall in the name of telling a good story. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. For most people -- including the two of us -- thats painfully true; Those kinds of political films of most white people, and one finds that the assumptions about the But "Crash" finds a way of its own. society. His cast is uniformly strong; the actors sidestep cliches and make their characters particular.