1 Our movie analysis is based off of the gritty and intense movie Crash.

The film consisted of a variety of stereotypes, discrimination and violence against people because of their race and ethnicity. It depicted historical accuracy, marginalization of a family and negative stereotyping that leads to discrimination occurring within and outside different groups. Crash also portrays differences between gender, visible and invisible culture and family values versus individual values. Crash was made in 2004 and set in modern day Los Angeles. Both the movie and todays L.A. is home to a multitude of different races and ethnicities from Caucasian to African American to Persian. Since this movie was made just a few years after the 9/11 event, it accurately depicted the views that many non-Middle Eastern Americans had towards any and all Middle Easterns, even if they were not of the Arab ethnicity. For example, when the Persian mans store was robbed and vandalized. The thief's wrote Arab and other derogatory phrases toward the Arab ethnicity all over the walls even though the Persian man and his family werent Arab but only resembled that ethnicity. Though this movie was not one based off of actual historical events, it still resembled our society, especially that of Los Angeles, during 2004. To be marginalized means that one is pushed to the edge of society by those around them not allowing him/her a place within it. The main characters that were clearly marginalized, or pushed to the outside of the American society, were the Persian family. This was first shown when the Persian father was trying to purchase a gun, a right available to every citizen, but the gun storeowner did not allow him to because of his supposed Arab ethnicity and called him Osama. This man was yet again marginalized when his store was robbed and vandalized. With the thieves ruining the familys only source of income the scene portrayed how those around the father and his family believed they were lower than the majority population and shouldnt belong in their society. Negative stereotyping, or the negative portrayals of some groups, can lead to some very harsh effects. For instance, Sandra Bullock plays a character in this movie who, because she was carjacked by two African American males, believes she has the right to act or speak negatively about other races without actually being racist. At one time in the film she wants her house locks changed twice because of her negative stereotyping that all Hispanics are gang members with prison tats. Yet, by the end of the film she comes to the conclusion that one of the only people who cares for her is her Hispanic maid. This relates back to Chapter 2 in the textbook when it discusses that how racial groups are stereotyped influences the interactions among members of different racial groups, (Gollnick, 2009). Bullocks character had her own negative stereotypes of African American males that bled into her views of the other non-Caucasian races around and in her life. Matt Dillon is another character who is affected by his negative stereotyping of another race. Throughout the film, his character is trying to get better health care for his ailing father and has to talk with an African American woman by the name of Shaniqua who works for the insurance company. After finding out her name he says Of course, implying that because of her name she is obviously African American and therefore why she isnt helpful-in his eyes. His negative views come up again when he refers to her as you people and says that she only got the job because of her race when there were probably 5 other qualified white men who should have gotten the job. This all comes into effect when she denies him any extra care through the insurance. At one time in the movie he tries to defend his negative stereotypes on the fact that he is a

2 police officer and has seen too much harm done upon people from African Americans. Overall, Crash is a movie that shows just how much negative stereotypes can affect not only an individual but a group as well. Discrimination is action that can be taken against others outside of ones group or occur just as easily within. Intragroup discrimination is showed when Ludacriss character is leaving a restaurant and talking about how the African American waitress didnt wait on their table half as much as she does for the Caucasian customers. He says that this is due to the stereotype that Black people dont tip; so even though the waitress was of the same racial group she committed a discriminatory act against them due to negative stereotypes. Now, intergroup discrimination is also portrayed when Ludacris and his partner in crime steal Sandra Bullocks character and her husbands nice black SUV. Ludacris committed this act of discrimination because he felt it was his due since they were entitled, rich white people while he and his buddy were part of the poor Black minority. Another act of discrimination from outside of a racial group occurs when Matt Dillons police officer character sexually harasses a Black woman who he had pulled over with her husband. The effect is that the woman is emotionally scarred, as well as confused and afraid for not only herself but also her husband; this is typical behavior and responses of people who have been sexually harassed (Gollnick, 2009). Later on in the film, this same woman is in a car accident and the responding officer is Dillons character. She was so much affected by the harassment that she did not want him touching her even though her life was on the line. Obviously, the effects from discrimination can be lasting and quite trying. The movie also contains many examples of gender differences. Gender differences are usually characterized by physical appearances alone, but in fact there are personality characteristics as well as expectations for gender that help define what society expects it to be. Some examples of gender differences found in the movie include Sandra Bullocks character being a stay-at-home wife and mother while her husband works as a lawyer, which reflects the traditional American views of a nuclear family and the expectations that many people have of women. Another example of gender differences deals with femininity, which is characterized as emotional and dependent on others. This is displayed when Sandra Bullock grabs her husband tightly when she sees two Black men walking across from her showing that she is scared and she needs a mans support in supposed dangerous situations. In addition, Terence Howards character defies the Boy Code when he is not aggressive and assertive to defend his wife when she is inappropriately touched by the police officer. This in turn leads to a fight because as a woman she expects her husband to defend her. These scenarios happen not only in films, but also real life when these multitudes of gender differences come into play. America is extremely diverse in the cultures that flourish among society. Many choose to assimilate while others continue to practice their beliefs and combine it with the American culture. This is displayed in the movie when considering the Persian culture. Because women are meant to be covered the mother chooses to stay true to her religion and conceal herself with a Burqa. Language was another factor that remained intact although they were in a different culture. The Persian family, as well as the Hispanic family, continued to speak their own languages while also speaking English. Now, when considering invisible culture an example from the film is when a movie director must talk to an actor that is not talking black enough. Society expects the

3 Black race and other races to sound a certain way because of their culture, therefore when this character does not talk black it is insinuated a Black man cant be seen as black if he talks smart. Another example of invisible culture is when Ludacris character refers to Black men always having to act tough, this is referring to the boy code, in which, boys do not run from danger or ask for help. There are not only differences between visible and invisible culture today, but also family values versus individual values. Even though we grow up within a family unit with values as a whole, people also develop their own individual values. This is commonly seen in different scenes during the movie Crash. For example, Sandra Bullocks character has racist views against the Black and Hispanic races, while her husband does not typically show these same beliefs. Another example can be seen when the Black couple feels differently about reporting the cops who treated them inappropriately. Terrence Howards character believes that they shouldnt call because nothing will be done as opposed to his wife who feels strongly that the cop should be fired or reprimanded for her crude and inexcusable behavior. In addition, Don Cheadles mother expects him to look out for the family because that is what a family does for each other but, he does not want to be completely involved with his drug addict mother and his felon of a brother. This in fact changes when his brother is shot and he realizes he could have been around more. Another occurrence is when Matt Dillons character had different individual views when it came to race compared to his father who believed that their family unit went by the idea of all equality. The differing views between individual and family ultimately got in the way of his father gaining help from the health insurance agency because Matt Dillon kept making racial slurs at the woman who worked there. Lastly, although the Persian mother continues to wear her Burqa and practice her beliefs, the daughter chooses not to wear a Burqa and work at a hospital when typically Persian women do not work. Family values versus individual values is something that is as real in the film as it is for todays society; we all must decide which way our opinions and values go no matter what we grew up with. Before completing this project we were under the impression that racism and discrimination were not as prominent in our society as they used to be. After watching the movie we determined that our society does not promote equality as much as we would like to think and violence towards different races and ethnicities is still very much alive to this day. Although many individuals claim to not be racist they still commit racist acts or say racial slurs to other members of society, whether they are Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, Persian, or Asian. The movie depicts the struggles that different racial groups face in America in and outside their own racial groups. We believe that if we educate the youths in society it could help alleviate some of the misconceptions that our culture applies to those around us. Upon finishing the movie, we came to the realization that people in this world are malicious when it comes to races that are not their own and match their beliefs from the way they act to what they say and do. It could be subtle things, for instance, when Detective Graham Waters jokes innocently with his girlfriend about how all Hispanics park their cars on the lawn knowing that she is Hispanic. In addition, it can be a blatant act, such as when Officer Tom Hansen shoots the black man because he was under the impression that he was pulling out a gun when he was simply reaching for his pocket. Crash is a movie that you love for its realness and intensity when portraying such delicate subjects as stereotypes, discrimination and gender differences. Yet at the

4 same time you want to hate the film because it shows what violence, hate and inequality clearly still exists in our society. It took the concepts and ideas we learned about during class and from the textbook and made it life size; for that we are grateful because it opened our eyes and broke our heart to realize, yet we hope that we can take these new finds and apply them to situations where we deal with diversity.

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5 Reference: Gollnick, D., & Chinn, P. (2009). Multicultural Education In A Pluralistic Society. New Jersey: Pearson Education.