Crash

Crash, as a film, is structured to be a huge coincidence. Throughout the 24 hours the film is set, the characters overlap, "crash", into each other in scenarios that always play on the theme of racism. And, from this racism, stems oppression, which is what the ACLE organizers lectured on.

According to the lecture, three levels of oppression exist: Gender, race, and class. All three exist in the film, but focus is given to race. For example, when the Persian immigrant Farhad seeks to buy a gun, the seller discriminates him as an Arab immediately after Farhad claims to be an American citizen. While this is outright racism (the seller even goes as far as make references to 9/11 and Iraq), it can be understood where he's coming from. He was, in a way, provoked--although it took very little to provoke him. This 'provoking' of racism is a common tool throughout the film, as would be cited in other examples.

When we are introduced to them, Farhad misunderstands the seller's bargaining as insult and interprets it as racism. This immediately set up the racist platform for the seller who at the beginning had, although he had discrimination issues, an intention to treat Farhad as a customer.

Although it was Farhad who was wronged here, I personally found it difficult to be compelled to him because he basically asked for it. He sought

for the racism when it wasn't there, so when he did find it, he shouldn't have been as upset. Another incident in which Farhad repeated himself is the case with the Latin locksmith, Daniel. Farhad hired Daniel to fix his door. He is told that, as a locksmith, the door is already beyond repair and that they should get a new door. Farhad again misinterprets this as a deliberate refusal to work because his client is Persian. Daniel is easily one of the most-liked characters in the film (mostly due to his close relationship with his daughter), so this particular scene sealed Farhad's fate for me. Later, thieves break (not really since, as said before, the door was broken) into their store spray-painting "Arab" on the walls. Again, the audience' compassion is begrudged to Farhad because he had every opportunity to avoid said scenario.

Another example of 'provoked' racism is at the beginning of the film when two African-Americans Anthony and Peter discuss how their being 'black' in a mostly white city was being used to discriminate against them. Immediately right after they hold the D.A. and his wife at gunpoint and steal their SUV, after the wife leans in closer to her husband at their sight. Anthony felt strongly against the racism, and yet here he was playing into it. Later in the film, he even tries to justify himself by saying that he "only steals cars from white people". This plays nicely into Cameron, another African-American, who was struggling with his upper-class status, since