Rahman 1

Aurnee Rahman
May 29th, 2012
Soc 362 Section AB
Final Project
Crash and The Joy Luck Club
In America, race has always seemed to be a touchy subject. The way the media has
portrayed this has been equally unnerving. It is a difficult thing to talk about, especially within
the context of our nations history with different races. Even though race is a social construct, the
implications of its perceptions bear real consequences, and this can be seen in both the movie
Crash (2004) and the movie The Joy Luck Club (1993). Both bring up tensions that amount
because of race and the effects this may have on ones life. Both movies can also be seen in the
contexts of assimilation theories, color-blind racism, and social mobility and how all these things
can be affected by racial attitudes in the United States.
In the movie Crash (2004), characters often use race as a means of explaining situations
and problems. While there were many different races and ethnicities portrayed in this movie and
many subplots that interwove to create a bigger picture, three of the main characters were
Farhad, Daniel, and Officer John Ryan. Farhad is a Persian shop owner who has moved to the
United States. While his English isnt perfect and he sometimes has difficulty understanding, he
is an American citizen. Its clear that hes Persian because he often speaks in Farsi throughout the
movie and at one point, his wife explicitly states that they are Persian. Daniel, on the other hand,
is a Latino locksmith. While he never comes out and says he is Latino, there are implications
when people talk to him and assume hes in a gang or untrustworthy. He also looks Latino, and
since race is often based on phenotype, this fuels the perception of his identity. As Howard
Winant (2000) writes, Although the concept of race appeals to biologically based human
characteristics (phenotypes), selection of these particular human features for purposes of racial

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signification is always and necessarily a social and historical process (Pg. 172). Daniel can be
identified as Latino because he fits the perception of what a Latino person is in the context of the
United States. Finally, John is Caucasian. This is clear by how he looks and especially when he
talks to Shaniqua and says there are more competent white people who could be doing her job.
The main plot of Crash (2004) revolves around intersecting lives, beginning with a crash
at the beginning of the movie that introduces racial tensions. The crash occurs at a location where
a dead body has been found. As the movie flashes back to the day before the crash, we see the
stories of Farhad, Daniel, and John play out, as well as many other characters. Daniels story
most clearly shows how stereotypes are used with regards to race and ethnicity. At one point
during the movie, Daniel is changing the locks at the Cabot residence after the Cabots car had
been hijacked earlier in the evening. As hes changing the locks, we can overhear Jean telling her
husband that she wants the locks changed again in the morning. She assumes that Daniel is in a
gang and that hes just waiting to give his gang banger friends an extra key to their home. She
bases this off of Daniels race and his tattoos. After listening to this conversation, Daniel sets two
sets of keys in front of Jean as he leaves the residence. Daniel is once again subjected to racism
when he is fixing the locks at Farhads store. When Daniel tells Farhad that he changed the locks,
but that its the door that needs to be fixed, Farhad accuses him of being a cheater and a liar. He
thinks Daniel is just looking for a way to get one of his other friends employed, someone who
knows how to fix doors. Frustrated by being called names and being misunderstood, Daniel
leaves the store without getting paid. Through the entirety of the movie, we find that Daniel is
the only person who does not use racism as a weapon against others.
Part of Farhads story can be viewed through the ideals of assimilation. Assimilation
theories assume that someone of a different culture from the dominant culture will begin to

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assimilate by adapting to cultural norms, increasing contact with the dominant group, and
changing biologically and psychologically to fit in to societys standards. Ruben Rambaut (1997)
cites Park and Burgess in saying that assimilation is a process of interpenetration and fusion in
which persons and groups acquire the memories, sentiments, and attitudes of other persons and
groups, and, by sharing their experience and history, are incorporated with them in a common
cultural life (Pg. 484). Assimilation theory also assumes that the host culture or country is
willing to take in these new members. Farhads story does a good job of providing a
counterargument to this theory. There is always the possibility that the host is not willing to
accept a new culture. Through the course of the movie, people act as if Farhad does not belong.
When he goes to buy a gun, his inability to speak completely in English makes the man question
whether he is American and if he should have the right to purchase a firearm. This raises the
question of what makes someone American and what cultural (language) traits are expected of
Americans. People do not seem to be willing to understand that Farhad is an American citizen.
Stereotypes also play a role when Farhads store is broken into. The graffiti on the wall implies
that they vandals think that Farhad and his family are Arabian, just because they appear to be. In
actuality, Farhads family is Persian, and this is completely different. The lack of exposure to
various Middle Eastern cultures, as shown in this movie, make people make wrong assumptions
about people and incorrectly stereotype them.
Johns actions and attitude throughout the movie sometimes fit well with some of
Eduardo Bonilla-Silvas theories on color-blind racism. John Ryan is a police officer who works
for the LAPD. At one point in the film, John is talking to Shaniqua Johnson about his fathers
medication. During the meeting, John claims that Shaniqua got her job because of affirmative
action and that someone who was more qualified than her was passed up because of her race.

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However, before he states this, he says something about how hes not racist. In chapter 3 of his
book Racism Without Racists, Bonilla-Silva (2010) states that phrases like Im not a racist or
other roundabout ways of saying just that act as discursive buffers before or after someone
states something that is or could be interpreted as racist (Pg. 57). John does just this, and then
launches into a story about how his father hired black people when no one else would. His father
even paid them equal wages. In chapter 4 of Racism Without Racists, Bonilla-Silva (2010)
describes how white people will use stories to show how they are not racist. Sometimes, these
stories will talk about how someone didnt get a job because of affirmative action. These stories
often lack specificity and real facts, just as Johns story of his father that he tells Shaniqua. The
whole movie shows that perceptions of ones race often dictate outcomes in the future and can
lead to undesirable and unintended consequences.
The movie The Joy Luck Club (1993) also deals with race, albeit on a much looser and
less focused scale than Crash (2004). The purpose of the movie is to explain cross-generational
ties between mothers and their daughters, however, being Asian Americans, race plays a small
role in their stories. The culture of each of women often dictates the way they view the world,
and in turn, the way the external world they live in views them. Three of the main characters in
The Joy Luck Club are Rose, who is An-Meis daughter, Waverly, who is Lindos daughter, and
June, who is Suyuans daughter. The ethnicities of all three these women is Chinese-American.
This is clear because the story often references the mothers lives in China, and then their
immigrating to the United States, where they had their daughters. In terms of a broader racial
category, the women would be classified as Asian.
The main plot of the movie, The Joy Luck Club (1993), is an intersection of the stories
between mothers and their daughters. The mothers lives in China were filled with great struggles

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and injustices. They experienced great loss and injustices. They were able to come to the United
States in hopes of a better life for their soon-to-be American children. The daughters themselves
also often face great challenges that come from living in the shadow of their mothers
expectations and hopes. For the daughters, race sometimes begins to play an issue when dealing
with the greater context of where they live and how they believe they should be allowed to act.
Although this is true, race begins to play a factor for the daughters living in the United States,
where the dominant race is Caucasian and the dominant language is English.
For example, in Junes story, English becomes an important thing for her. At the
beginning of the film, June is telling a story about a swan feather and how it symbolizes all the
good intentions her mother has for her. One of these good intentions is for her daughter to have
perfect American English so that no one will look down at her; her stomach will be filled with
food so that she never has to swallow sorrow. This fits in well with Gonzales (2011) notion of
human capital. In his article Learning to be illegal: undocumented youth and shifting legal
contexts in the transition to adulthood, Gonzales notes that many children of immigrant parents
have higher levels of English ability than their parents in an attempt to gain upward social
mobility (2011). In fact, gaining human capital, like the ability to speak accent-less English, is
sometimes the only way to be socially mobile. Junes story can also represent her progress
through the assimilation process. At one point, June cannot read the Chinese that is written on a
letter; instead, she must ask her Auntie Lindo to do it for her. This points to cultural assimilation,
as June has almost completely adopted the dominant language, English.
Aspects of Waverlys story are slightly similar in that she believes her grasp of English is
better than her mothers. At one point during the movie, Lindo remarks that her daughter speaks
to her as if shes translating English to her mother. As if Lindo is incapable of understanding,

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even though Lindo is an American citizen. In her paper Constructing citizenship: exclusion,
subordination, and resistance (2011), Evelyn Glenn argues that citizenship is not simply a fixed
legal status, but a fluid status that is produced through everyday practices and struggles (Pg. 1).
It is implied that Waverly believes her mom cannot fully assimilate because of her mothers
language barrier. Further than language as human capital, Waverlys story also deals with culture
as a human capital. As Waverly begins dating a white man named Rich, she brings him along to
her mothers birthday celebration. Here, Rich lacks human capital in knowing how to act in
certain situations, like how much to drink with the first sip, or how it is customary for the hostess
to criticize her own cooking, but only with the dishes she is most proud of. Even when he
accidentally insults Lindo, he is unaware because its not something he understands quite yet.
Roses story is similar to Waverlys in that there is also a Caucasian man involved.
However, it is Teds family that causes racial tensions to surface. Teds mother uses color-blind
racism (Bonilla-Silva, 2010) to criticize the relationship between Ted and Rose. Teds mother
says that while she is understanding of their relationship, others may not be quite so
understanding. Ted will be judged to different standards and his relationship with Rose will cause
people to talk. She even goes as far as to say that its because the Vietnam War was so unpopular,
even though Rose is American. Even if Roses ethnicity were to be taken into account, she would
be Chinese-American. This dialogue that Teds mother uses can be tied to Bonilla-Silvas (2010)
explanation in Chapter 2 of how people will say that they are not racist, but continue to
mention things that could be deemed racist.
When comparing Crash (2004) to The Joy Luck Club (1993), it is clear to see that the
former deals with race in a much more explicit manner. Even so, the aspects of the latter movie
that do deal with race tie in well with some of the theories and frames that can be applied to

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Crash (2004). For example, both movies can be viewed through the lens of assimilation theories.
In both movies, there is at least one character who is viewed as not having perfect English. This
fact makes them not fit in exactly with society. However, the children of these characters are
proficient in English, the dominant language, and as such, fit assimilation theories. Both movies
also deal with color-blind racism in some of the same ways. In both, there is someone who
prefaces a racist comment by either saying they are not racist or providing indirect evidence to
show they are not racist. Differences abound in the scope of racism in the movies. In Crash
(2004), there are many more instances of racist comments and stereotypes that are applied, and
racism occurs between multiple races and ethnicities. In The Joy Luck Club (1993), race
relations are limited to the interactions between Chinese-Americans and Caucasians.
If an alien from another planet were to view these movies, they would learn a number of
things about the U.S. racial paradigm. One thing they would probably pick up on is that there are
many racial tensions among different races. Race in the U.S. is based on appearance, and
generalized appearance at that. As such, there are often mistakes made as to the origin of a group
of people. This can be seen when Farhad is mistaken as Arab and Rose is mistaken as
Vietnamese, or even the assumption that Arab is synonymous with Persian/Middle Eastern, or
that Vietnamese is synonymous with Chinese/Asian. An Alien would learn that race leads people
to make assumptions about the character of certain people. This leads to the mistreatment of
people, or just different treatment in general. Aliens may also learn that English is the dominant
language in the United States, and failing to conform to this can have negative consequences.
Not fitting into the idea of being American can lead to misunderstanding and inequality.
These two movies, Crash (2004) and The Joy Luck Club (1993), show that race relations
can be tricky and touchy. Although they approach race differently, both films deal with how race

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can play a factor in ones life and what others may think of them because of their physical
appearance. It is apparent through these movies that race still plays a factor in the United States,
and perhaps it will continue to do so for some time.

Bibliography
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2010. 2 - The central frames of color-blind racism. Racism without
racists: Color-blind racism and racial inequality in contemporary America (Pg. 25-52).
New York: Rowman and Littlefield.

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Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2010. 4 I didnt get that job because of a black man: Color-blind
racisms racial stories. Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and racial inequality
in contemporary America (Pg. 75-101). New York: Rowman and Littlefield.
Glenn, Evelyn Nakano. 2011. Construction citizenship: Exclusion, subordination, and
resistance. American Sociological Review, 76(1), 1-24.
Gonzales, Roberto G. 2011. Learning to be illegal: Undocumented youth and shifting legal
contexts in the transition to adulthood. American Sociological Review, 76(4), 602-619.
Grasic, Marina (Producer), Korbelin, Jan (Producer), Maksimovich, Dana (Producer), Nunan,
Tom (Producer), Reimer, Andrew (Producer), & Haggis, Paul (director). 2004. Crash
[Motion picture]. USA: Lions Gate Films.
Rambaut, Ruben G. 1997. Paradoxes (and orthodoxies) of assimilation. Sociological
Perspectives, 40(3), 483-511.
Stone, Oliver (Producer), Yang, Janet (Producer), & Wang, Wayne (Director). 1993. The Joy
Luck Club [Motion picture]. USA: Hollywood Pictures.
Winant, Howard. 2000. Race and race theory. Annual Reviews Sociology, 26, 169-185.