“Crash” by Paul Haggis – Film Studies

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Of all well-trodden subjects in the world history, the one concerning crime and punishment seems to be the most clichéd and abused in all sorts of movies, starting from Saturday morning cartoons up to third-are B movies. It seems that there is no other way to make the movie about criminals or having a subplot about the latter without making the film as corny as it can get.

However, Paul Haggis’ Crush, which was released in 2004, managed to introduce another facet of the issue which had slipped the attention of the rest of movie-makers before. With the key idea concerning the clash of a personality and the society, Haggis managed to reinvent people’s perception of a criminal drama, introducing such issues as racism in the present-day society, the way in which law is executed in the modern world and the way in which law relates to justice, as well as touch upon a painfully topical issue concerning the racial bias in the present-day society.

Very conveniently starting with a theme statement, the movie offers quite a lot of food for thoughts with the very first line spoken by the omnipotent narrator:

In any real city, you walk, you brush past people, and people bump into you. In L.A, nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other so that we can feel something. (Crash)

It is truly weird that in a movie about criminals, the issue of social alienation is touched upon. Anyway, the narrator allows pondering over whether people in megalopolises feel completely out of place. The above-mentioned phrase gives away the existential angst which every dweller of a big city has ever felt in his/her life.

Appropriately enough, the claustrophobic ideas of living in a big city are followed by the problem which can be defined as the collision of the personal and the social. A constant battle between an individual and society is depicted in the movie in a very graphic way.

Also, Haggis shows a different take on the existing social stereotypes of various racial minorities. Haggis illustrates that the existing manner of labeling certain groups of people is extremely offensive: “Listen to it, man. Nigga this, Nigga that. Do you think white to go around callin’ each other “honky” all day, man? “Hey, honky, how’s a business?” “Going great, cracker, we’re diversifying!” ” (Crush). With the help of tabooed words and expressions, Haggis creates a vivid image of what the people of different ethnicities feel in a megalopolis dominated by white people with no respect for any other nation whatsoever.

As it has been mentioned, the movie does not hesitate to touch upon the most complicated and controversial social issues which any other film would not touch with a ten-foot pole; however, one of the most risqué topics which Crash raises is the one concerning racial slurs. Such lines as “They think we’re Arab. When did Persian become Arab?” (Crash) Show clearly that the problem of the today society is not as much about the unwillingness to accept other nationalities and cultures, as it is about general ignorance about the general information about the national minorities. The climax of Haggis’s argument concerning the relationships between the representatives of different nations and the depth of the social misunderstandings spawning from numerous prejudices comes in the following dialogue:

Bruce: He’s Iraqi.

Rick: He’s Iraqi? Well, he looks black.

Bruce: He’s dark-skinned, sir, but he’s Iraqi. His name’s Saddam Khanum.

Rick: Saddam? His name’s Saddam? That’s real good, Bruce. I’m going to pin a medal on an Iraqi named Saddam. Give yourself a raise! (Crash)

Haggis makes it obvious that in the society where people consider a name and the skin color decent reasons to suspect someone in mischievous plans is doomed.

However, the movie does not revolve around the social concerns solely; it also makes one consider the problems of law, and justice like a crime movie is supposed to. To start with, Haggis offers a new interpretation of the good old crime-and-punishment topic. While the common idea is that for every crime, there will always be a corresponding punishment, Haggis denies the idea of redemption completely, making it obvious that, when the law fails, crime sets its own rules for everyone to follow. Moreover, Haggis makes it clear that in some cases, crime is the only way to restore justice: “Listen. You can give me the gun, or give me back the money, and I’m hoping for the money” (Crash). Hence, Haggis drives the line between justice and the law, making it clear that the latter is only the means to do justice, and a very flawed means, for that matter. Haggis’ world is a place where law no longer exists and where people do not trust the law, but still believe in justice.

Finally, the aspect of fear should be brought up as one of the key issues which Haggis explores in his movie. With its complex structure and diverse characters, Crash elaborates a lot on the issue of fear, even though most of the time, the fears of the characters are not voiced. The given tactics, however, proves even more efficient than the explicit statement of the characters’ fears, for it allows to build up the tension and help the audience guess throughout the movie. Among the fears which the characters have, the fear of being misunderstood should be mentioned as the number one issue.

The stereotypical ideas shown in the movie make it obvious that being judged on the merits of some ridiculous prejudices instead of their assets is what troubles people most. Since the characters in the movie often refer in a rather disrespectful way to the representatives of racial and ethnical minorities, they must feel not quite certain about their social status, which they are trying to improve by humiliating the social outcasts. Hence, the movie offers a peculiar study on people’s fear of not fitting in.

Crash, like any other movie, or any other visual medium, for that matter, uses a lot of generalizations and does not attempt at representing the existing reality accurately; instead, Haggis rather offers the audience a grotesque interpretation of the real world. Stretching the existing conflicts to the point where they turn into disasters, Haggis manages not only to grip the essence of the modern world problems but also to provide a subtle hint about how one can right the wrongs. Offering an interesting opinion on the way the today society is run, the movie is worth checking out.

Works Cited

Crash. Ex. Prod. Paul Haggis. Santa Monica, CA: Lionsgate. 2004. DVD.

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“Crash” by Paul Haggis – Film Studies

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