So hi all, I didn't get a chance to say what I wanted in class, so I figured why not put it on the blog.
So basically, I think everyone in Crash isn't all that racist. They are only put in situations that make them seem more racist than they really are.
I'm going to go through the list of characters that were supplied on the sheet (if I can remember all of them)
Rick Cabot (Brendan Fraser)- To me he didn't seem racist at all. He just happened to have his car stolen by two African American people and he knew that the public would take that the wrong way.
Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock)- Even though she acts racist towards Daniel Ruiz (the Locksmith) I think it's because she's stressed over just having had a gun pointed in here face. I don't think she's really racist, it's just that because it was someone from a group that where she lives is a minority that she makes the assumption that all minorities will act the same way to her.
Anthony (Ludacris)- He makes broad assumptions about how white people treat African Americans, which seem racist. But I don't think they really are because he is in a situation where he has nothing else to believe. He's not being racist out of hatred, he's being racist out of what he's seen. So I guess that brings up the question, Is being racist out of what you've experienced only, as bad as racism out of teaching?
Peter (Larenz Tate)- I don't think he's racist at all. For most of the movie he keeps telling Anothony that all the assumptions he's making are wrong. He's just put into a situation that makes it seem that at times he can be racist, but he can't do anything about it.
Officer Tommy Hanson (Ryan Phillipe)- I think that he isn't so much racist as nervous. I think that after he saw what Officer Ryan did to Christine that he's put on edge about the police. And then when he gets re-assigned to a one person car Officer Ryan tells him "you think you know who you are, but you don't". That just makes him more nervous, and he starts to think about how he his, and how other people are and how they react to things. That's why when he's in the car with Peter, he shoots him. I really think that it could have been another white person and he still would have shot them because he was just nervous about everyone.
Officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon)- I think he is slightly racist. But not as much as he seems. He just seems to be really racist because he has anger issues. He thinks that because one African American receptionist wont help him that every minority is like that. So basically he does the same thing that Jean does, only she does it with hurtful words and he does it with hurtful actions.
Cameron Thayer (Terrance Howard)-I don't think he's racist at all but once he sees his wife get mad at white people he starts getting mad at them too because he doesn't know what else to do. But then once Officer Hanson helps him he starts to realize he's wrong.
Christine Thayer (Thandie Newton)-I don't think she's racist I think she just gets annoyed at Officer Ryan and that's all. If any other cop had come to help her when she was stuck in the car it would have been fine. She was just afraid of what he would do to her in that moment.
Daniel Ruiz (Michael Pena)- I think he isn't racist as much as in tolerant. He got mad at Farhad for not understanding what he was saying and I don't think that was a racist action. He was just someone that had a rough day and wasn't able to get his point across. It could have happened to anyone.
Farhad (Shaun Toub)- Same as Daniel. He's not racist, he's intolerant. Only instead of just leaving it be, he decides to take revenge.
And those are the main characters.
So, in the words of Aragorn, "What say you?"
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17 comments:
i believe THAT ALL VICTIMS WERE OFFENDERS EXCEPT for Daniel Ruiz.
yes, at some point the characters were victims. we feel bad for them at first then all of a sudden... they become offenders! so really all the characters except Daniel Ruiz see both sides of the fence.
What about Daniel do you think makes him the only non-offender. Isn't he almost exactly like Farhad, only Farhad is more violent about it?
Well number one I believe that farhad deserved whatever he got. He is a really unnecessarily nasty man and was ridiculously ignorant during his confrontation with Ruiz.
I think that's a little harsh. I think he's just easily frustrated by things he doesn't understand. I don't think that's a reason to have your family business torn to shreds.
I guess you could put it that way. Then what you need to look at is this; this movie is based around the year two thousand and seeing as how we are very modernized, the least this guy could have done was learn English.
i do not find Daniel to be anything like Farhad. Daniel was trying to help out Farhad, as Farhad gave him trouble and insulted him and such. Daniel was the victim in the Daniel-Farhad situation. i do not believe he did anything to offend anybody else. and Farhad really took it to the extreme.
What do you think Daniel did to make him an offender?
I don't think either of them was an offender in the racial way. I think they both just need to take some anger management courses and learn how to deal with people that don't understand them.
WHOA! Farhad was completely an offender in the racial way! From what i remember, wasn't he making fun of Daniel? Blaming the whole situation on him, and thinking Daniel destroyed the door presumably because of his race?
i'm sorry - i meant store. not door. it does rhyme though.
I don't remember him making fun of Daniel... But that could just be me.
And I also thought that Farhad blamed Daniel because he didn't fix the door and that caused his business to get ransacked, not that Daniel did the ransacking.
Either way farhad is an idiot. The genius put blanks in his gun.
I just want to note that I LOVED this movie! All the characters are connected in one way or another. It shows reality and proves how one misunderstanding can lead into a series of unfortunate events. Every character had their reason for their actions, and I find it very interesting how in a life and death situation, race isn't an issue.
To respond to someone's post earlier; Fahrad didn't put blanks in his gun, his daughter did.
Continuing with Fahrad, he is exactly like my dad. I catch my dad yelling at telemarketers and tech support over the phone all the time. Most of his conversations lead to him being very upset simply because of a misunderstanding. My dad's English isn't the best, and Fahrad's isn't either. I feel like there is a constant struggle for foreigners like them to communicate. I would love to show my dad this movie, but he would never watch it because he thinks all American movies are a waste of time. Which leads me to think... is this movie only going to be seen by the people who are already aware of the problem? Or are the racial offenders out there going to sit at home on a Saturday night and watch Crash for kicks and giggles?
Whether Farhad or his daughter put the blanks in the gun, it doesn't matter, he is still an idiot.
i disagree with you. Even though a lot of the characters showed signs of racism in reaction to a certain situation, they still are racist people. Sometimes it takes a bad situation for somebody to show their true colors. If these character truly were not racist, they would not have said the things they said no matter what; They would have moved on and would forgive the offender. I do agree, however, that Daniel Ruiz is the only victim that wasn't also an offender. He was the only character that bad things happened to that he didn't deserve. As for Farhad, it may be hard coming to a new country and hard to understand people, but he treated Daniel terribly and went to the extreme of shooting him because he assumed it was Daniel's fault he was robbed and he assumed Daniel was trying to get more money out of him.
The movie proves that everyone is a little racist sometimes but also a victim to racism. People need to interact in stride and not be closed off from other groups so that way there isn't a "crash" but more of a "bump".
Andrew E.
Maximus
I think that totally sums up exactly what I was saying.
Except mine was a lot longer and drawn out.
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