Using examples from Crash, analyze how stereotypes influence decisions that characters make in the film. Do the plot and characters of the film reinforce stereotypes or deconstruct them? Explain. – (just write about story of film not setting of the film)

Racism in Crash (2004

There is very little doubt among scholars that racism , or the belief that racial groups have superior or inferior characteristics (Baez 2000 :330 ) remains pervasive as ever , and that it influences individual 's behavior towards others by way of differential treatment (Baez 2000 : 330 ) This problem is latent in American society , the veritable melting pot of different cultures where a high level of social segregation based on class , race , and gender inevitably result in conflicts and antagonisms between people of differing socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds (Boyd , 2007

: 259

Feagin (2000 ) notes that racism as the ideology of the oppressor is rooted deep in America 's historical slavery of Africans and subjugation of other people of color , including Native Americans , that has unfortunately been socially reproduced and passed on from one generation to the next , ultimately being webbed into most arenas of American life , including places of work and residence , and activities as diverse as eating , procreating , and child-rearing (p . 70 ' The complexities of racism and racial stereotyping as lived out in the homes and streets of Los Angeles is explored in Paul Haggis (2004 ) highly-acclaimed movie Crash ' The film , which follows the intersecting lives of fifteen individuals coming from different cultures , shows how conflicts and antagonisms arise from false assumptions and narrow-minded ideas about racial identity

Examined closely , Crash is the narrative of how the character 's individual biases and bigotry point to a particular stereotype based on their racial identity that affect the decisions they make in the film As expected , the characters in the film have to contend with each of their own devils in the form of their own bigoted and racially prejudiced selves . It shows , for instance , how white , upperclass couple Rick and Jean Cabot for instance , live with their constant fear of people of color , or how a simple incidents often demand the price of life in the alienating streets of Los Angeles . The conflicts also give rise to the alienation and emotional segregation of the characters where they are unable to see people of colour as emotional equals or as capable of sharing the same human emotions and experiences (Beeman 2007 :687

The general mood of loneliness and depression resulting from the characters ' inability to feel a general affinity with their fellow human beings is encapsulated in the film 's opening lines : In L .A . nobody touches . We 're always behind this metal and glass . I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something ' This is stated by one of the main characters , Graham Waters , as he bumps his head on the dashboard at the beginning of the film when the car they are riding figures in a road accident caused by a dead kid ' who happens to be his runaway brother . The story then backtracks to yesterday ' in to trace the events which have led to the collision

The influence of racial biases on the perceptions and...