Racism In The Movie Crash Essay

1. Name the different types of racism that were apparent in the film Crash and give examples.

 Overt Racism can be seen when District Attorney’s wife speaks about Daniel, who was in the process of fixing the couple’s door lock, in a negative fashion by using derogatory words to describe his character. She even goes far enough to accuse him of giving copies of the keys to "his other gang members".

 Internalized racism can be seen throughout the movie, particularly with Anthony who goes on his soliloquy relating to the idea that society views white people as superior than black people. He accepts that the dominants group is the standard barrier in society and that black individuals have relatively low chance of succeeding in that environment

What is the definition of race? What is racism? What does Omi and Winant mean when they state that race is a “pre-eminently sociohistorical concept?”

Definition of race is a group of individuals who share common history, beliefs, and physical characteristics such as skin color. Additionally, it’s used to categorize humans into a system of large populations. Racism can be described as “abusive behavior towards members who are different from us.” (Hughes) Omi and Winant state how race is “pre-eminently sociohistorical concept” which basically means that although the meanings of racism and stereotypes may change over time, the racial belief about the subordinate group will always be the main factor in the eyes of society.

3. What does Omi & Winant mean by “amateur biology?” What do they state “Race is one of the first things we notice about people? What do they mean?

Omi and Winant state what “amateur biology” explains the different aspects of the human race, particular with physical characteristics such as skin color. Several decades of racial barriers have set up a basic framework that individuals use to formulate opinions of other person based on their race. Although society has progressed to reduce the amount of racism in society, we as individuals still hold these beliefs about racial minorities that paint a picture in our minds of what that person is like as oppose to the content of their

The subordinate’s characteristics are usually as follow: submissiveness, passivity, dependency, the lack of initiative, and the inability to act, think, and decide. As a consequence, the subordinate usually has several obstacles in their way such as folk takes, stereotypes, etc. that prevent them from rising above the glass ceiling.

7. What does Ching mean when she states, “I don’t think class and race can be compared side-by-side as equally rated factors?”

 Ching is essentially comparing social class in direct relationship with race. There two variable aren’t equal factors in determining a groups position in society because it’s one thing to be poor, it’s another thing to be poor and black or any other minority for that matter. When you add race to the mix with class, it creates an environment where this group is not only looked down upon by the dominant group, but also the potential for racial discrimination, particularly with minorities.

8. What are Subversive Stereotyping, Accent and The Onus as discussed by Sethi in the article, Smells Like