Cameron Thayer

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When Characters Crash One of the greatest things a human being can ever feel is surprise and discovery. The idea that there is still something that you do not know in the universe is exciting. People often search for those things in exotic and mystical locations, but surprise and discovery can happen to anyone at any point in their daily lives. Whether it is small or large, just the feeling of excitement earned when someone learns something new is delicious to ours brains. However, some humans can be very close-minded and static when it comes to learning new things because it can interfere with their life philosophies. So they are given a choice: adapt, or remain the same. In Paul Haggis’s drama Crash, many characters encounter situations …show more content…

Cameron Thayer is a complicated character in that he is a somewhat wealthy and successful black man who gives off the characteristics of white people more than he does of black people. Cameron struggles with this issue throughout the majority of the film when his wife makes the accusation that “the closest you ever came to being black, Cameron, was watching The Cosby Show” (Haggis 2005). He also faces it when he is conversing with a producer of his TV show on a character who has been “talking a lot less black lately” (Haggis 2005). In both of these incidents, Cameron’s african american validity comes into question because he does not fulfill the requirements that it takes to be black. Cameron struggles with this because he is feels as if he does not truly belong. People are constantly scolding Cameron or treating him in an inferior way, leading Cameron to believe that he has no respect and is a failure. This becomes apparent later on when he is cornered by the police, after Ludacris tries to steal his car, and he is forced to act out and shout “you fucking want me? Here I am, you pig fuck” (Haggis 2005)! In this moment, Cameron has had enough of everyone telling him what he is and is not, so he acts out attempting to gain back his respect and identity. He is tired of being the inferior, the pushover, so he breaks character and seizes as much superiority and respect as he can get his hands on. No longer will his wife, his coworkers, and others see him as a weak, cowardly man who does not fight for justice, who hides when he is scared. Cameron is a man who is willing to risk his life to take back his authority and identity so that he may survive in the world of Los

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