Prejudice In The Movie Crash

In 2005, Paul Haggis’ exploration of prejudice was vividly captured in the film, Crash, which was directed by him. The small episodes that interconnect the lives of several characters takes place in Los Angeles. Some of the questions that are reflected in them movie consists of hating or disliking a certain type of person; can a person’s appearance cause others to make a quick judgement; is there truth to stereotypes in regards to other cultures, and it is natural to fear what’s culturally different.

The movie begins and ends with car accidents as an expressive form of how beliefs, and prejudices causes major collisions in society. Some of them are subtle and deemed acceptable, while others are more obvious and creates less tolerance. For

The car accidents are symbolism of the reactions and fatalities of viewing other cultures, races, religion or gender in a certain light without actually looking at the individual for who they are and their contribution to society.

The most pervasive theme of prejudice depicted in the movie is racism and how individual interpret certain behaviors, gestures, and meaning of words based on appearances. To emphasize, the movie examines the reaction of the DA’s wife to two black men walking toward them as motive to fear. She immediately gets closer to her husband and grabs her purse. Furthermore, she yells at her husband that the locks must be changed again the next morning when she notices the Latino locksmith and immediately assumes he is a gang member.

Other symbolisms are used in the movies to represent power, socioeconomic status, and religious beliefs, to name a few. The characters themselves are also symbols of the points the director is emphasizing. Law enforcement is shown to have power both on the victim and the aggressor. Politics, both its power and weaknesses are demonstrated in his ability to influence the public opinion and his helplessness with his own personal experience of