The movie “Crash”, directed by Paul Haggis, illustrates the racial stereotypes that exist in the present day American culture. The characters’ lives are impacted by the decisions one another make based on these racial stereotypes. Throughout the film, different races ‘crash’ with each other, creating conflicts that are a constant part of culture in the modern United States. Although the movie gives examples of many different races conflicting, it appears that the main focus is between minorities (blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Arabs) and whites. This film reinforces the idea of racial tensions between minorities and whites and shows the audience that there still are conflicts occurring between the races. Through just a handful of the many characters in the movie the viewer can see how “Crash” breaks down the barriers of these stereotypical relationships to show that no matter one’s ethnic background, everyone can co-exist in the world and that no body is perfect, everyone has flaws.
In the beginning of the movie all of the characters are shown in their respective racial stereotypes. There are black car thieves, bad Asian drivers, rich white people, and Arab convenience store owners, or so they seem. Following the stereotypical opening, more characters are introduced going against the usual ethnic stereotypes, a wealthy black man, an honest working Hispanic and an unbiased rookie police officer. The mix of characters collide with each other to show who every character truly is through their choices, whether they are good or bad. In the end, every person is responsible for his or her actions and every person is left with a different, but connected message.
The Essay on Crash the Movie and Racial Stereotyping
This film was released to illustrate the reality or the outcomes of racial prejudice in the society. The story took place in the bustling city of Los Angeles. The major theme of this movie is about the result of racial stereotyping in the society particularly in America. Ever since people know that there is a gap or tension that exists between Whites and Blacks. Additional to these, there are also ...
Anthony (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) is an African American inner-city car thief who steals vehicles for money. He believes that society is unfairly biased against blacks, and at one point in the film he justifies his actions by claiming he would never hurt or steal from another black person. However, Anthony goes against his supposed opinion when he tells his partner to shoot a black man. This event shows that Anthony is unbiased as a carjacker, and would steal cars from anyone, even other African-Americans in order to benefit himself by making some money. Towards the end of the movie, Anthony steals a van which was full of trafficked people from Asia. He brings the van to the owner of the chop shop in order to make some cash for himself. The chop shop owner offers him $500 per head for the ‘Chinamen’ with the intention of selling them as slaves. Anthony refuses the money and instead, he lets them free in the Asian district of LA in the closing scenes of the movie. He then gives the ‘Chinamen’ all of the money that he has in his pockets. This shows that despite Anthony’s beliefs and money making habits, he makes the right choice by letting the Asian people go, and even gives them money, which Anthony usually lacks.
Peter Waters (Larenz Tate) is Anthony’s friend and partner in carjacking, although he does not agree with Anthony’s obsession with racism. Peter is atypical from the stereotypical black man. He is unsuccessful in his usual carjacking and decides to ask for a ride instead of stealing one. He is picked up by an off-duty white police officer, who finds Peter to be disrespectful to white people because he tells the white officer that he also enjoys country music, hockey and he even carries the same religious figure with him. When Peter reaches into his pocket to show the white man that he has the same figure, the man assumes that Peter is reaching for a gun so he can steal his car and shoots Peter. Although Peter’s personality is a lot different from his friend Anthony’s, Peter is treated the same as Anthony would have been, a stealing black man.
The Essay on Black Like Me White Griffin Man
Greg Trumbold Black Like Me In the Fall of 1959, John Howard Griffin set out on a journey of discovery. A discovery of his own nature, as well as a discovery of human nature. With the help of a friend, Griffin transformed his white male body into that of an African-American male body. Through a series of medical treatments, the transformation was complete. He spent the next several months as an ...
Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) is an African American detective, who is detached from his stereotypical, poor, black family, which consists of his drug-addicted mother and criminal younger brother. Graham receives a case concerning a suspected racist white cop who shot a corrupt black cop. He finds out that the white cop shot the black cop with a good reason, but the assistant district attorney wants Graham to withhold evidence that could possibly have helped the white cop’s case. Graham is an honest police detective that does not agree with the assistant district attorney who tries to convince Graham that the black community needs to see the black cop as a hero, and not as the drug dealer that Graham sees him as. Graham is both offended and opposed to the assistant district attorney’s desires. He only agrees to withhold the evidence in order to have the assistant district attorney forget about his brother’s arrest warrant. Although Graham is an honest detective, he goes along with this corruption so he could keep his job.
Officer Tommy Hansen (Ryan Phillipe) is a Los Angeles police officer who observes his partner sexually molest a black woman and consequently requests a different partner because of guilt over the incident. While on patrol, he ends up responding to a call that resulted in the chase of Cameron Thayer. Here, Tommy has a chance to redeem himself with Cameron and saves him from being arrested and possible killed. Tommy wants to be a good, unbiased police officer by treating everyone fairly. But when he is confronted with a suspicious black hitchhiker, Tommy shoots the man out of fear. This shows that not everyone can be perfect.
Officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon) is a prejudiced white police officer who physically molests Cameron’s wife. John is trying to get help for his sick father, and because of this father’s lack of treatment he gets racially angry and attacks the black health care worker. John later has the opportunity to redeem himself by risking his own life to save Cameron’s wife from a fiery car accident. Although John is a racist police officer, he does not think twice about saving the black woman’s life, which shows that people are not always what they seem to be.
The Essay on Citizen Complaint Officers Complaints Police
Citizen Complaints and Problems Officers Examining Officer Behavior Chapter thirteen talks about the police being a public institution, that relies on a grant of legitimacy rooted in public trust and confidence. Complaints that become news events can wear away confidence among an even wider audience. This chapter provides the unique opportunity to combine citizen complaint data with actual ...
The message I got from the movie “Crash” is that everyone can be discriminated against or is capable of discriminating no matter what their race or social status is. I do find this to be very true, but I also found that not everything appears as it actually is and that everyone is racist in one small way or another. One example would be the young police officer, Tommy, who did not believe that he was racist. He was upset and feeling guilty over what his partner had done, yet at the end of the day Tommy shoots a black hitchhiker because he is afraid of him. Although the movie has one main message, each character and his or her story provides a message of their own.
