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Quinn Barnette
Prof. Julie Hicks
Arts + Society: Film
Nov. 4, 2014
Crash Response
Paul Haggiss Crash is a complex and emotionally charged film highlighting
several stories of personal prejudice. Haggis leaves no soul untouched in effectively
blaming everybody for some kind of racial insensitivity. Through this film we see
the complexity of racism as an issue and just how ingrained it is in society.
The title Crash has several layers of meaning that are each interconnected.
Besides the actual car crashes that are sprinkled throughout the film, we can see
how individual people throughout the film also seem to crash into each other by
simple misunderstandings. Crash is a perfect term for this because there is no
malicious intention from either side of the collision. The misunderstandings from
cultural discrepancies cause conflict that is unfavorable to everyone involved. As
Chimamanda Adichie states in her Ted Talk, the problem with stereotypes is not
that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the
only story. No character in this film is innocent of seeing one story. However, just
like in a car crash, there are side effects. People are hurt, sometimes killed, and the
result is contempt for an entire race. Crash represents these inadvertent altercations
between people that are a result of accidental over generalizations. More
importantly though, these accidents between characters are just that: accidents.
They are a result of ignorance, and, just as nobody is immune to a car accident,

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nobody is immune to personal prejudice, one of the key social commentaries being
made by Haggis in this film.
The characters in Crash are made intentionally to be complex just like the
social issues that Haggis is highlighting throughout the film. Every character, no
matter the race, exhibits a personal prejudice in some way; however, each character
also shows a moment of grace. These moments of grace show just how complex the
issue is and how there is no bad guy. One of the first moments of grace we see is
the one displayed by officer John Ryan. If there is a single person that I hated the
most at the beginning of the movie, it was Officer Ryan. He is incredibly racist and
sexist, and we see him violate Christine Thayer after wrongly pulling her over
because her husband was black. However, later we see Officer Ryan save Christine
from a potentially fatal car accident that frames Ryan as a hero. Additionally, we see
a moment of grace when Ryan is at home taking care of his father and how that
ultimately fuels an inappropriate conversation with Shaniqua Johnson. In addition
to Ryan, there were several other moments of grace that highlight the same ideal
that Haggis is trying to emphasize. Jean Cabot is originally depicted as extremely
racist toward Blacks and Latinos; however, when she falls at the end of the movie
she realizes that her best friend is her Latina maid. Similarly, Anthony expresses a
groundbreaking act of compassion. When he turns down thousands of dollars to free
trafficked humans, he is making a 360-degree turn from his normal behavior.
Although he doesnt seem to understand the implications of what he has just done,
Anthony makes an astounding leap from thoughts of general hatred to those of
understanding and compassion. Anthony, like the other characters, learns what

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Haggis is attempting to instill in us after watching the movie: to recognize our own
prejudice and consciously make an effort to see every story.
Crash is definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. It is so complex and
emotionally charged that one cant help but fall in love with it even though it breaks
you down and blames you for it. I appreciate any art form that can create a social
commentary that is complex and spares no one. There is almost never a clear-cut
answer to any social issue, and Haggis recognizes this. I hope that everyone has the
opportunity to watch this film because it is a rare virtue to have a holistic
perspective on any issue that involves prejudice, and I believe Crash has the ability
to instill and transfer that virtue.