Crash Movie Analysis
Movie Review: Crash
Jason T. Rettinger
Ohio University
Abstract This paper will investigate and review the motion picture Crash that I recently watched. During the course of this paper, I will be identifying the four theories (prejudice, stereotype, collectivistic culture and individualistic culture) and discussing said theories while providing movie examples that support those theories. I will conclude the paper by noting that although issues such as prejudice and stereotyping exist and affect all of us we can overcome the negative as evidenced by the characters of the movie, Crash.
The movie, Crash, revolves around the issues of race and social tensions in the city of Los Angeles, California. The ethnicities that are affected …show more content…
The definition of prejudice is the preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. According to Neuliep (2006), prejudice is a controlled process which is an intentional process that requires the conscious attention of the processor (p.193). An example that I noticed during Crash was when off duty Officer Tom Hansen (played by Ryan Phillip) picks up Peter (played by Larenz Tate) who was hitchhiking. While they were chatting during the car ride, Peter mentions that he was ice skating in reply to Hansen’s question of “What was going on in the Valley tonight?” Peter also mentions that he wanted to be a hockey goalie when he was younger. Due to Hansen’s prejudice that African-Americans don’t like hockey or can’t ice skate he is suspicious. Eventually, Hansen’s prejudices and nervousness get the best of him when he shoots Peter who was attempting to show him his statue of St. Christoper “the patron saint of travelers” which is the same statue Hansen had on his dashboard. Another prejudice in a more extreme form occurred when Farhad’s store was broken into and vandalized. Inside of the store, the contents are strewn about everywhere and “Rag Head” (a derogatory term used towards Arabs/Muslims) was spray painted on the wall. When prejudice escalates to such a violent act it turns into bigotry which is intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself. Obviously, in this extreme case the bigots were the people who broke into, ransacked and vandalized Farhad’s store due to his
Jason T. Rettinger
Ohio University
Abstract This paper will investigate and review the motion picture Crash that I recently watched. During the course of this paper, I will be identifying the four theories (prejudice, stereotype, collectivistic culture and individualistic culture) and discussing said theories while providing movie examples that support those theories. I will conclude the paper by noting that although issues such as prejudice and stereotyping exist and affect all of us we can overcome the negative as evidenced by the characters of the movie, Crash.
The movie, Crash, revolves around the issues of race and social tensions in the city of Los Angeles, California. The ethnicities that are affected …show more content…
The definition of prejudice is the preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. According to Neuliep (2006), prejudice is a controlled process which is an intentional process that requires the conscious attention of the processor (p.193). An example that I noticed during Crash was when off duty Officer Tom Hansen (played by Ryan Phillip) picks up Peter (played by Larenz Tate) who was hitchhiking. While they were chatting during the car ride, Peter mentions that he was ice skating in reply to Hansen’s question of “What was going on in the Valley tonight?” Peter also mentions that he wanted to be a hockey goalie when he was younger. Due to Hansen’s prejudice that African-Americans don’t like hockey or can’t ice skate he is suspicious. Eventually, Hansen’s prejudices and nervousness get the best of him when he shoots Peter who was attempting to show him his statue of St. Christoper “the patron saint of travelers” which is the same statue Hansen had on his dashboard. Another prejudice in a more extreme form occurred when Farhad’s store was broken into and vandalized. Inside of the store, the contents are strewn about everywhere and “Rag Head” (a derogatory term used towards Arabs/Muslims) was spray painted on the wall. When prejudice escalates to such a violent act it turns into bigotry which is intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself. Obviously, in this extreme case the bigots were the people who broke into, ransacked and vandalized Farhad’s store due to his