Crash

The best was definitely saved for last.  Crash is an intense film that deals with racism at the heart.  No one could watch this film and think that the director had any other intentions than dealing with this issue.  This is a well written film that is a must see for all mature audiences.  The reason I say mature is because children, although may understand a little, will not grasp the weight of this film.  But to the same effect, due to where I live, might not fully understand it completely either. 

I think the directors theme (pg.405) in the film is that everyone, no matter what race, needs to overcome there prejudices’ towards other race groups.  The director does an excellent job with this diversity by having several story lines, which are intertwined with the others in some way, that go through their own struggles with racism and rising above them. Because of these factors, I feel the director’s level of ambition (pg.405) if extremely high. He didn’t just focus on one particular group’s racism but strove to tackle the problem in its entirety.  Did this level of ambitions pay off?  Absolutely!  Not once during the film did I think that something was over done or under emphasized.  It’s hard for me to think of the strongest contribution to the theme of the film. (pg.405) I say this because each time one of the many characters overcame there racism was a strong contribution to the theme.  Whether it was the policeman saving the women, from a burning car, who he had molested earlier, or when the rich white lady overcame her racism toward Hispanics because she realized that their Hispanic maid was her only true friend.  And there are many other instances where someone overcame there racism in a time of true need. 

In evaluating the film subjectively (pg.408), I felt that this film is definitely not one that I would go and rent when I have a lot of friends over on a Friday night setting.  Reason for this being is that it is a tough film to watch.  Its not one you walk away from feeling great and happy.  Not that it doesn’t have a good ending; it’s just that this film requires a lot of quite pondering to grasp the weight of what you just saw.  I would definitely give this film two thumbs up.  My personal reasons for this are that I think it is a very important topic and that it exposes everyone’s own racism inside of them whether its outright hate for a certain race or  a deep set distrust for someone based on the color of their skin.  I also really like this film because it doesn’t claim to fix the problem in the end.  Even though several people overcome their racism, the director throws in a short scene at the end which shows racism happening. The problem is still there but every person has opportunity to take two different roads when faced with a situation, the high road of forgiveness or the low one of selfishness and distrust not based on actual facts.  And I think the director is trying to say with this ending that one thing isn’t going to cure this disease of racism quickly, but that the cure is a snowball effect, and that the cure has to be personal.  Each person has to be cured of this; it can’t be treated as a corporate or government treatable thing. No law can fix it but kindness and forgiveness from one person to another is the treatment we all need.  This movie has inspired me take an honest look at where I may have some prejudices and learn to let them go.