Film Crash Film Analysis - 1178 Words

MEDIA ANALYSIS Essentialism and non-essentialism views on race as represented in Paul Haggis’ film Crash. â€Å"You couldn’t find a whiter, safer or better-lit part of this city. But this white woman sees two black guys †¦ and her reaction is blind fear† (Cheadle Haggis, 2004). This quote is from the academy award-winning film Crash, by Paul Haggis. Haggis demonstrates both essentialist and non-essentialist concepts through his characters living in downtown Los Angeles. Crash follows various characters over a thirty-six hour period as their lives intertwine through a series of incidents, and how each individual deals with the racial tension that plagues the city. Haggis’ uses repetition to force the characters to ‘crash’ back into each other†¦show more content†¦John then advances himself onto the woman where he inappropriately gropes her. John displays evident essentialist thinking in this scene, specifically othering. John racially profiles the African American race by using language like, â€Å"you people† and â€Å"I canâ€℠¢t look at you [African American women] without thinking about the five or six more qualified white men that didn’t get your job† (Cheadle Haggis, 2004). However later on John saves the same woman he groped after she is involved in a car accident. The scene shows John pulling the woman’s dress back over her legs as he reaches over her to undo her seat belt. This scene shows John in a different light, one where he pushes his prejudices aside and saves this woman regardless of her race. However, it is not evident if this suggests that his racial views have actually changed, but it does allow the audience to perhaps believe that he could be starting to re-think his essentialist views. Stereotyping is commonly shown through the thirty-six hour period for character Anthony (Ludacris). His journey, like most of the characters, sees him start with extreme essentialist thinking. However, at the end, he starts to re-think his racist thoughts and develop a non-essentialist view of life. As opposed to the other characters, Anthony talks about stereotyping from the viewpoint of how he personally thinks all white Americans perceive African Americans. Talking with his friend, he complains that all white Americans refer toShow MoreRelatedFilm Crash Film Analysis1333 Words   |  6 PagesDisconnect: A Study of the Waters Family The Oscar Award winning film Crash, co-written, produced and directed by Paul Haggis, forces viewers to take a long hard look at their own biases while demonstrating the dynamisms of humanity as it takes us through an evening in the racially, financially and emotionally divided city of Los Angeles in the early 2000’s. Starring such actors as Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock and Matt Dillon, this mind-warping film follows several disenchanted individuals as they are testedRead MoreThe Movie Crash Film Analysis1473 Words   |  6 PagesIn the film ‘Crash’ directed by Paul Haggis in 2004, several lives cross paths because of an adage, ‘it’s a small world’. The characters come from different backgrounds and social class, consequently, there is an underlying tone of race, which is a cause for concern. In today’s current tension infested race topic, stereotypes tend to push the notion that one’s perception of race, gender and class must be the reality. The question becomes, where does an individual develop these notions and perceptionsRead MoreMovie Analysis : Film Crash1880 Words   |  8 Pages Paul Haggis directed the Oscar winning film Crash in 2004, a movie based around race, class, gender, ageism, and institutional discrimination. 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In this first sequence, detectives Graham WatersRead MoreEssay about Film Analysis: Crash538 Words   |  3 PagesOver the span of the two days shown in the dramatic film, Crash, we are introduced to several contrasting characters in Los Angeles with differing storylines: Two African-American criminals who possess many theories about the effects race and social class have on their community. A Persian immigrant, who speaks limited English, and his intelligent, Americanized daughter. A privileged white-collar criminal lawyer and his spoiled wife. A pair of Caucasian policemen, a young optimist and his bigotedRead MoreMovie Analysis : Paul Haggis Academy Award Winning 2004 Film Crash Essay1108 Words   |  5 PagesIn Paul Haggis’ Academy Award-winning 2004 film Crash, many narratives intertwine to paint a picture of one of today’s melting pot cities: Los Angeles. Characters are challenged both to play into stereotypes of their races and counter them. The film relies on its viewers being familiar with myriad racial stereotypes; each scene is a guessing game, where the viewer must guess whether or not the character will act in a way that is stereotypical to their race, gender, etc. One such guessing game concernsRead MoreCrash1243 Words   |  5 PagesCrash Movie Analysis Anjelica McCartney HUM/150 January 18, 2016 Victor Armenta Crash Movie Analysis Discrimination, racism, classism, prejudice and more plague today’s society. These horrible issues do not affect one race, sexes, class, ethnicity, or age group; these issues affect all races, both genders, all ethnicities, and all age groups. For this film analysis, I have chosen to discuss the racism portrayed throughout a three-time Oscar award winning movie called Crash. Summary PaulRead MoreDepth Analysis of the Movie Crash2037 Words   |  7 Pagesa broad analysis of the movie Crash, and yet a specific picture of visual narrative techniques and audio techniques. The categories contributing to the nucleus and major movie components are theatrical elements, cinematography, editing, and sound. The Academy Award winning movie Crash is a story about society s controversial subjects projected in an in your face depiction of lives that in some way or another, cross. Depth Analysis of the Movie Crash The over-all theme of the film is racismRead MoreUndeniable Thought(Film Crash) Essay1212 Words   |  5 PagesDiamond Ward Sociology 2060-01 Film Analysis #1 February 7, 2012 Undeniable Thought The film Crash by Paul Haggis is a film involving issues of race and gender, which is viewed through the intersecting lives of strangers seen through an auto accident/crash in Los Angeles which opens the film. This film is trying to symbolize what goes on in the world today in regards to racism and stereotypes. Paul Haggis tries to make a point on how societies view themselves and others in the world based on there