Racial Crash

The movie Crash can be described as an analogy of how we as a human race deal with life, people and our own experiences. Racial differences and physical characteristics seem to separate us and even keep us apart, and I think it is this interpretation that leads to many abstract questions that the film addresses and illustrates. For instance, what are the origins of personal prejudice? Some say it is in the way you’re raised, if your parents are racist, there is a good chance you’ll be racist. Matt Dillon’s character seemed to display these characteristics with the relationship he held with his father, but I was wrong. His father was not racist despite his negative experiences. It was Dillon who, in relation to his father and his job at the LAPD, formed his own perception towards blacks.

Another issue raised is stereotypes. Do individual experiences fuel stereotypes? And is it easier to perpetuate existing stereotypes because we think “things will never change”? It seems like certain stereotypes have stood the test of time, despite the efforts made for racial equality. Sandra Bullock’s character made a statement about the relationship between white and black people:

“If a white woman sees two black men walking towards her and she turns the other way, she’s a racist. Well I got scared and didn’t say anything, and the next thing I knew, I had a gun shoved to my head.”

It is stereotypes such as this that have stood the test of time because there are so many people that perpetuate them. I would even blame the media for their role in maintaining the prevalence of stereotypes.

Crash also raises the question, can people battle internal struggles within their own ethnic group? Ludacris’s character seemed to address the struggle between one ethnic group, “Rap music is the music of the oppressors”.