Crash is a movie full of racist comments, victims, offenders and irony. It is dramatic and comedic at the same time and gives us perhaps reasons why we act the way we do. Even if you don’t like this movie, you can’t help but acknowledge the important issues raised by it. There is a broad public policy that says that we should not judge others by color, creed or race. Today’s society is the product of civil rights protests, movements, and changes in law as a result. Therefore, the public will not accept racism in its most raw forms. Inequality is no longer tolerated in this generation. This movie depicts the reality that this public policy is violated often.
The occurrences of stereotyping and racism in this movie are numerous. An upper-class white woman stereotype the two black men as “thugs” out to get her, and then they prove her fear when they carjack her SUV. The same woman stereotypes the Mexican locksmith as a “gang member” after the traumatic experience. A white police officer with a very sick father has troubles with a black hospital receptionist and takes out his frustrations by harassing a black couple during a traffic stop. A white gun shop owner treats a middle-eastern man like a terrorist just because his English isn’t fluent. As a result the man feels like all Americans are out to get him and he turns very angry and vengeful. These are just some of the situations depicted in the movie.
There are reasons why the public feels that discrimination and racism is damaging to society. If a police officer is racist it will ultimately interfere with his judgment and eventually a member a different race will be treated unfairly. This could lead to false arrests or a guilty party being set free. If landlords turn away prospective tenants solely on their skin color, it will leave many without the same opportunities for housing, therefore damaging the whole family unit involved. If a teacher discriminates and favors one race over another in class, not everyone will have the same learning opportunities and education is important in the development of the child. Employers, grocery store associates, and doctors all have similar impacts on others if they are biased. Our society demand’s equality because the United States is a country that was founded on diversity and if people are not treated fairly, they can not live “the American dream.
I don’t believe that racism will ever completely go away. As long as we all are unique and different, others will be uncomfortable and fear those differences. I feel that the movie Crash portrayed incidences of racism rather well and the fear that results from negative interactions. Another factor that promotes racism is violent crime. If someone is a victim of a crime perpetrated by a person of a different color, seeing another person of that race may bring back memory of the experience. They take out that anger on that person and perhaps even become an offender and victimize that person. The pattern can go on and on. Although this movie illustrates this pattern in an unlikely chain of ironic events, it still presents a reality that racism is very much alive today and in a way, we are all victims and offenders.
