Crash & Stereotypes

When I first saw the movie Crash, I thought it was a masterpiece, and my high esteem of the film remained through repeated viewings. The myriad plots were well written, the acting and characters were intriguing and well-rounded, and the aspect of interconnectedness weaving its way through the film was masterful. As a film-buff I was impressed. And then I sat down to watch it again, so that I could have a clear and undiluted memory of it, so I could post in this blog how proud I was of the filmmakers for creating a film about racism and intolerance that was a straightforward, honest look at our culture. Sadly, when looking at the film through the lens of MaMeMi I walked away with a different impression of the film – that it wasn’t all that different after all. Yes, I still believe that it was a great movie and I agree with my last impression of the film – that it takes a look at racism in our culture in a new and different way that really brings issues to the forefront of the viewers’ minds without shoving them down their throats. I still think that the movie’s portrayal of the spoken and unspoken prejudices that people of all races, ages, and dispositions feel and face in day-to-day life. But upon the most recent viewing, I’m forced to admit one thing – Crash, like a large part of mainstream Mass Media, portrays minorities in a negative and stereotypical light. And the fact that it does this while creating the positive effects I’ve already mentioned makes this sad fact all the more devastating.


Let’s take a look at the minority portrayals, shall we?


The two young Black men, one of whom sees – and complains (constantly) – about real and/or imagined racism, and then steal cars. (Stereotype – the complainer, the thugs)


The Black man who stands back and watches while a white man feels up his wife, allows racist stereotypes to be reinforced in his work, and then loses his mind and starts breaking laws and aiming a gun at cops. (Stereotype – the ‘Uncle Tom’, the Black man that’s one step away from being a thug). And his wife, who is mistrustful of white people and is constantly on her husband’s case. (Stereotype – the harpy)


The older Black woman who does drugs and can’t take care of herself, and is clueless about her surroundings and her family. (Stereotype – the dependent)


The Latina with a short temper, who is quick to judge and verbally attack. (Stereotype – the feisty Latin woman)


The Asian couple who are involved in human trafficking. (Stereotype – the heartless Asian)


The Hispanic man with all the tattoos who is just trying to make ends meet and keep his family out of a neighborhood where bullets come through the front window. (This one’s actually not too bad)


The Middle-Eastern man that is sick of being called a terrorist and therefore buys a gun for protection, and blames his troubles on anything other than his own refusal to properly learn the language or trust other races. (Stereotype – the foreigner)


Even the White people get a pretty bad rap, with each of them at some point showing overt racism and hatred of one minority or another.


With this cast of characters, the message the movie is trying to convey – that Racism and Stereotypes are Bad gets slightly lost in the overwhelming evidence that even a movie meant to reinforce equality and tolerance can’t help but fall back on ages-old stereotypes about minorities.