Crash:the movie

[landmarker]

I watched this last night and it deserves comment.
A disparate bunch of American's (and others) living in L.A.
A story which intertwines the many characters until they eventually impinge and encroach onto each others lives to varying degrees, some of them quite shocking.

As someone who recognises racial & cultural differences and often comments upon them I'm re-assured that this Oscar winnig film backs up one of my central ideas:that a multi-cultural melting pot society is naturally torn with tension and will struggle to survive, much less thrive.

However, the message was a positive one the motives of good over evil seemed to triumph for the most part. America has been struggling to reconcile ethnic tension since the abolition of slavery, it is a much more recent phenomenon which bubbles to the surface occassionally. I feel films like 'Crash' can only help both in showing the nature of prejudice, and the fact that sometimes, prejudice is sheer folly. Totally fixed mindsets, either side of this moral chasm, are not good.

I'm pleased this film won the Oscar over Brokeback Mountain, a movie well covered on this board but which seemed to be feted for the unusual loving & sexual relationship between the main characters and some pretty Wyoming locations. This demotes it to the 'lightweight' category in my book, though I confess I have not seen it, and am not likely to.

Filmed relatively cheaply in the streets of Los Angeles 'Crash' has gravitas and a message of sorts . It is well worth seeing, and commenting upon. Have you seen it yet ?

[knightofeth]

I watched this recently and it was enjoyable, with a good message. But I feel it simplified the message way too much. Why was everyone in the film somewhat racist and why did they come together in so many coincidences?

[landmarker]

I watched this recently and it was enjoyable, with a good message. But I feel it simplified the message way too much. Why was everyone in the film somewhat racist and why did they come together in so many coincidences?

Do you mean they were 'racist' in a perjorative way? or just that they recognised racial differences and formed judgements on those differences. I feel there is a difference. I'd say that if the second category meets your definition of a 'racist' then the majority are. It's a subtle distinction and not always appreciated by closed minds either side of the divide.

I didn't feel the message was 'simplified' though any messages on this matter do need to be simple. On that basis I'd substitute 'believable' . I did not find this film an example of Hollywood escapism. Far from it. It was politically incorrect in parts and a refreshing blast of pseudo realism.

[knightofeth]

Do you mean they were 'racist' in a perjorative way? or just that they recognised racial differences and formed judgements on those differences. I feel there is a difference. I'd say that if the second category meets your definition of a 'racist' then the majority are. It's a subtle distinction and not always appreciated by closed minds either side of the divide.

I didn't feel the message was 'simplified' though any messages on this matter do need to be simple. On that basis I'd substitute 'believable' . I did not find this film an example of Hollywood escapism. Far from it. It was politically incorrect in parts and a refreshing blast of pseudo realism.

Neither category is what I mean. I don't want to go into the definition of racism here though.

I feel the message was simplified as it seemed to ram the fact that racism is wrong down our throats which is the wrong way to do it. Why did so many people who actively hate each other because of race come together in all these ways several times. And I want to cite some specific examples to illustrate my point but I don't want to spoil the film for other who haven't seen it. Suffice it to say that I find it exceedingly unlikely that certain people would change as fast as they did in that film.

[landmarker]

Neither category is what I mean. I don't want to go into the definition of racism here though.

I feel the message was simplified as it seemed to ram the fact that racism is wrong down our throats which is the wrong way to do it. Why did so many people who actively hate each other because of race come together in all these ways several times. And I want to cite some specific examples to illustrate my point but I don't want to spoil the film for other who haven't seen it. Suffice it to say that I find it exceedingly unlikely that certain people would change as fast as they did in that film.

I'm not sure they did 'hate' each other. Just that they were mightily suspicious and fearful. I think perspective and judgements CAN be influenced by single chance meetings and experiences. It's happened to me. Not enough to change my whole outlook, but enough to make me think.

'Happenstance' is often the only way people of different cultures will encounter one another.
I dont want to spoil the film for anyone either. I dont think we're doing that here, more likely get them to rent the dvd if they haven't seen it.

[knightofeth]

Yes 'hate' was a bit harsh. And I didn't mean anything we had said was going to spoil the film, just that if I continued down the line I was going I was going to give away a part of the story.. and it is infuriating to read that before you see it.

[rich]

It was written and directed by a Canadian - Paul Haggis. Same guy who wrote the script for Billion Dollar Baby.
The point about coincidence is well taken. There is too much of it in this movie and it weakens things.
However I don't think too many North Americans would dispute the fact that racism is on the increase.
The primary reason for this is the reaction by society at large to the blistering invective being spewed forth by militant Islam. The fuss over the Danish cartoons was yet another in a sequence of over-reactions.
Add to the brew the US Christian evangelical movement with its murky ties to the Bush administration and you have a recipe for a real mess.
I am struck how bigoted Islamists and bigoted Christians are on the same side over evolution, the role of women in society and a host of other issues.
For the millions of people who keep their religion to themselves whatever creed they may espouse in the privacy of their home or in their church, mosque or temple these are discouraging times.
I think these - dare I call them the silent majority - are the people at whom the movie is aimed. We dont feel quite so lonely and threatened when a humane work of art like this comes along. Truly there are heart-breaking scenes in this movie.
Not only that there is a heart breaking reality coming down the pike here in North America as a backlash builds against what we call "muliticulturism'
Canada and the United States have always welcomed strangers and given them the opportunnity to start new lives. Why not? We need their laboour - now more than ever. Yet this new racism I detect is aimed at what politicians call multiculturism. Multiculturism, in its negative form involves making a fuss over the beliefs and customs of the new arrivals in order to get their votes.
But the other side of the coin is legitimate recognition of the enormous contribution emigrants have made to North America. Modern Toronto for example was built by italian labor. In the USA the movie industry and show business was Jewish. (And every ethnic group can add their own citation. The Scots created Harvard, Princeton and Yale and the insurance and banking industries)
I think the pendulum here is swinging to the negative stereotype. And this is crazy because our population is growing old. We need new young people to run our hospitals and our transportation systems and to puht up new buildings. And instead our leaders are speaking in code about maintaining Western values - whatever the hell they are.
Anyway this is a round about way of saying this is a timely movie. And yes, I did see it!