...Racism in "Crash" Physical Characteristics and racial differences are distinguishing traits that keep people in our world apart from each other. Crash is a movie that showcases prejudice and racial stereotypes. The movie is set in Los Angeles which is a city with the cultural mix of almost every ethnicity. Crash is a perfect analogy of how the different people intersect with others in society. The movie crash shows differences between the lives of different people. It displays the interactions of several multiethnic groups such as African American, Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, and Arabs. All of the groups are striving to overcome their fears as they weave in and out of each other’s lives. They are all tied by an invisible chain of events, so the movie shows how we all have an effect on one another whether we realize it or not. The basic premise is that we can not live our lives without crashing into others. Others may look different and come from all walks of life but ultimately we are all the same. We are ultimately connected and the sooner we realize this, the better society as a whole will be. The opening scene begins with a crash and the statement is made that we don’t touch each other enough, so we have to crash just to interact. We need each other to survive, so connections have to be made. The ultimate goal should be to touch each other’s lives in a positive and lovely way and not to violently “crash” into one another. This makes one question their own personal prejudices...
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...Classism and Racism A Narrative Analysis of Paul Haggis’s Film: Crash By: Alexis Couillard Introduction: In 2004, Paul Haggis directed the Oscar winning film crash, a drama about race and class and its effects on those residing in Los Angeles, California. This film paints a vivid picture of the harsh reality that classism has and will always exist and it is intertwined with racism in this film and in our realities. This film promotes racial awareness which is a topic not typically seen on the big screen and it demands a close inspection. Haggis wanted us to understand each character and to see them as real flesh bleeding humans that make mistakes and aren’t perfect. We see different races involved in the film such as African American, Persian, Hispanic, white and several Asians. Each scene intertwines with the next and we find out that all the characters are connected in some way or another. This technique of the characters being connected keeps the viewers on their toes. The audience is not stuck on one story or scene for too long. An idea or event is presented from the perspective of one person or family, and then the same event is expanded on by another characters connection to that particular event. Different ethnic stereotypes and racial prejudices are presented within the film such as the so called “gangbanger” who has tattoos and is Hispanic, and the black man who steals cars Anthony aka “Ludacris”. The director delivers and promotes this awareness but...
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...apart. The writers of Crash managed to extend my viewing experience beyond the 90 minute film, thus forcing me to analyze my own prejudices and racial stereotypes towards others. I always thought that racism occurred as a result of a person's upbringing. If your parents were racist, there is a good chance that you will be a racist too. At first glance, Matt Dillon's character exhibits characteristics typical of this theory. Dillon exhibited a close bond with his father and later, we discover the roots of his racism. I naively assumed that Dillon was absorbing external cues from his father regarding his attitudes towards black people. It turns out that his father was not racist towards black people. It was Dillon who, in combination with his father's negative experiences and his own as a member of the LAPD, formed his own perceptions towards blacks. Another example of this occurred at the beginning of the film when the Persian family was attempting to purchase a gun. The clerk at the gun shop made a few blatantly racist comments about the perceptions of the customers. There were several references to the twin towers and planes. It didn't matter that the two were Persian, not Arab. A reoccurring theme was that post 9/11, all Middle Eastern people became potential terrorists. It is amazing that people have the ability to interpret bad events and cast their own prejudices on different ethnic groups to mask their feeling of anger and frustration. We as a society have gotten so...
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...Mayhew, 2014, p. 14-15). Indeed, if we look at the world today, there are many conflicts among ethnic ethnic groups that seem physically indistinguishable, for example Jews and Arabs, Indians and Pakistanis, and the like. Omni and Winant further argue that racial categories and their meanings are defined by specific contexts of society and history and that they vary over time and between different societies. They point out that in the United States, there exists a rigid line between “whites” and “nonwhites”; whereas in countries such as Brazil, there exist many “intermediate” racial categories (as cited in Rothenberg & Mayhew, 2014, p. 14-15). In some societies, the categorization itself is different. For example, according to Navarro (2012), whereas the US Census categorizes people by race, Latinos identify themselves more in the context of cultural characteristics, such as language and customs. According to Omni and Winant, one of the first things we notice when we meet someone is their race. From which, we draw preconceived notions of who the person is. They further add that in modern times, film and television have played a vital role in defining and disseminating racial stereotypes of minorities (as cited in Rothenberg & Mayhew, 2014, p. 16-17). In her article, Sethi (1994) recounts how an American audience reacts with appreciative laughter during a scene in the 1993 film “Falling Down”, in which they showed a Korean-owned store is being destroyed with a bat. Sethi...
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...two distinguishing traits that separate us. I think it's what keeps us apart. That leaves several abstract questions that the film Crash illustrates. What are the origins of personal prejudice? Do individual experiences fuel standing stereotypes? Is it easier to perpetuate existing stereotypes because "things will never change?" Can people battle internal struggles within their own ethnic group? What prohibits us from overcoming these prejudices? The writers of the Crash managed to extend my viewing experience beyond the 90 minute film, thus forcing me to analyze my own prejudices and racial stereotypes towards others. I always thought that racism occurred as a result of a person's upbringing. If your parents were racist, there is a good chance that you will be a racist too. At first glance, Matt Dillon's character exhibits characteristics typical of this theory. Dillon exhibited a close bond with his father and later, we discover the roots of his racism. I naively assumed that Dillon was absorbing external cues from his father regarding his attitudes towards black people. It turns out that his father was not racist towards black people. It was Dillon who, in combination with his father's negative experiences and his own as a member of the LAPD, formed his own perceptions towards blacks. Another example of this occurred at the beginning of the film when the Persian family was attempting to purchase a gun. The clerk at the gun shop made a few blatantly racist comments about...
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...The birth of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm led to the ‘Double-Victory’ campaign against racism and fascism as well as the rise of ‘Internationalism’ and the ‘women’s movement’ from 1940s onwards. (Tucker, 2000, 166, 172, 167) Founded by Dr. Laurence C. Jones, with the notion of creating an all-female jazz group in Piney Woods, the band consisted of 16 teenage girls of various ethnic and racial backgrounds. (Tucker, 2000, 183) As Tucker argues, Sweethearts represents an ‘alternative social vision’ to discrimination. They exemplify variety within restricted ‘black space’. From the lyrics of ‘Jump Children’, ‘waist-long hair’ suggests the white Euro-American beauty standards that the Sweethearts are constantly stacked up against white bands. (Tucker, 2000, 172) On the other hand, the phrase ‘something that takes them anywhere’, ‘something’ can be interpreted as a ‘racial pride’ with instrumentalists’ mothers as disseminators of African American cultural heritage, or as a confirmation of women’s culture that is beyond restrictions. (Tucker, 2000, 172)...
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...John Stuart Mill's theories on Social Justice and Utility are depicted within the context of the 20th century. Haggis' representation of a multicultural society is one built on racism and inequality, which limits the social justice people can acquire. In this film prejudice and stereotyping are prevalent when discussing legal rights and moral rights. The social situation has profound impacts on the choices people make. This society's foundation is based on injustice, although in the end, justice is served through the concept of `justice of desert'. Social Justice prevails in society where legal laws are practiced and respected. It is considered unjust to: "deprive anyone of his [or her] personal liberty, his [or her] property, or any other thing which belongs to him [or her] by law" (Social Justice and Utility, pg. 168). In this movie there is an inconsistent application of legal laws, which is especially applicable to those individuals considered `foreign' or `immigrant'. The storeowner (no characte... ... middle of paper ... ...esert. This demonstrates to us that no matter how much your legal or moral laws are violated, what matters is how you as an individual react to the situation, justly or unjustly. This movie is centered around the notion that if you are a person of ethnic background, that alone is reason for others to forsake your rights, although in the long run justice will prevail Bibliography John Stuart Mill, "Social Justice and Utility"...
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...The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Society The fall of 2016 at California High School marked a turning point in the evolution of racism and fueled the issue of racial inequality in America. Students walked into the school bathrooms to find the words “for whites” and “for colored people” written along the stall doors. Staff members and the student body witnessed the heinous presence of racist graffiti on the white tinted walls of the school bathrooms. Blacks were pressured to enter separate stalls than whites and reexamine their status in society. Students and faculty members were compelled to analyze the role of white supremacy and the effects of racial prejudice throughout our nation. The notions of race and ethnicity have been negatively...
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...Acculturation is not easy for these several Racial Groups such as Hispanics, Asians, or Africans, as the incidents in the film covering a time span of 36 hours, reveal. The characters are portrayed in the context of several ethnic stereotypes in prevalence, even in the 21st century due to ethnic differences. To illustrate, “The predominant modern stereotypes are the violent, brutish African-American male and the dominant, lazy African-American female - the Welfare Mother (Green, 1998-1999, p. 1).” Set in a mixed society of different cultures the aim is to prompt the audience into ‘looking into themselves’ and acknowledge their own personal prejudices; they are overt or covert racists too. The 3 elements of cultures openly portrayed are the language used, the norms maintained by society, both formal and informal. As far as how many viewers actually have the courage to accept their faulty mindsets, is left to them. While at first glance, the movie appears to send out a passionate appeal about ending racism and discrimination, an in-depth probe reveals that the ‘wrongness’ of proclaiming Whites as a superior race, albeit subtly, is actually not acknowledged at all; the excuse of personal problems suffices to let them off the hook quite easily. Symbolic Interactionism Theory: It seems as if the director is in a dilemma regarding the acceptance of underlying racism and the total abolishment of existing racial tensions in the U.S. This might be better understood via an...
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...Post-National Enquiries Post-National Enquiries: Essays on Ethnic and Racial Border Crossings Edited by Jopi Nyman Post-National Enquiries: Essays on Ethnic and Racial Border Crossings, Edited by Jopi Nyman This book first published 2009 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2009 by Jopi Nyman and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-0593-9, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-0593-3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ..................................................................................... vii Chapter One................................................................................................. 1 Introduction Jopi Nyman Part I: Crossing Racial Boundaries Chapter Two ................................................................................................ 8 Between Camps: Paul Gilroy and the Dilemma of “Race” Tuire Valkeakari Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 30 Breaking the Apartheid: Blocking Actors of Color in Globalized Multicultural...
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...COMM 3673 Test #2 Study Guide, Fall 2015 Media/Society, Ch. 6: Social Inequality & Media Representation · Comparing Media Content and the “Real World”: four issues raised by this comparison (pp. 188-189) o First – literature in media and cultural studies reminds us that representation are not reality, even if media readers or audiences may sometimes be tempted to judge them as such. § Representations are the result of process of selection that invariably mean that certain aspects of reality are highlighted and others neglected. § All representations re-present the social world in ways that are both incomplete and narrow. o Second – the media usually do not try to reflect the “real” world. o Creators of media products use entertainment media to comment on the real social world. Readers and audiences develop at least some sense of the social world through their exposure to both entertainment media and news media. · Third – Concerns the troublesome term real. o The concept of a “real” world may seem like a quaint artifact from the past. o Social constructionist perspective. § No representation of reality can ever be totally “true” or “real” because it must inevitably frame an issue and choose to include and exclude certain components of a multifaceted reality. o Fourth- Seems to imply that the media should reflect society. o For many people, media are an escape from the realities of daily life. o Therefore, how “real” media...
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...Ro e ll Intercultural Training with Films ilms are a great medium to use not only to practice English, but also to facilitate intercultural learning. Today English is a global language spoken by people from many countries and cultural backgrounds. Since culture greatly impacts communication, it is helpful for teachers to introduce lessons and activities that reveal how different dialects, forms of address, customs, taboos, and other cultural elements influence interaction among different groups. Numerous films contain excellent examples of intercultural communication and are highly useful resources for teachers. Additional reasons for teachers to incorporate films in class and encourage their students to watch movies in English include: • Films combine pleasure and learning by telling a story in a way that captures and holds the viewer’s interest. • Films simultaneously address different senses and cognitive channels. For example, spoken language is supported by visual elements that make it easier for students to understand the dialogues and the plot. • Students are exposed to the way people actually speak. 2 2010 N u m b e r F • Films involve the viewers, appeal to their feelings, and help them empathize with the protagonists. • DVDs usually come with subtitles in English, which facilitates understanding and improves reading skills. After discussing the importance of teaching intercultural communication and suggesting films that match specific cultural categories...
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...The logos and numerous images often depict an untruthful beliefs about an entire culture. These biases have affected limitless cultures for countless years and caused others to discriminate against someone based on their deficiency of valuable information on the topic at hand. There is a massive concern in today’s society associated with stereotyping and prejudice due to a lack of knowledge about these various heritages and the succession of racism and prejudice needs to end here. The first step to ending this cycle of offensive labeling begins by teaching students about the implications of discrimination and replacing controversial sports mascots with a more appropriate and politically correct symbol and...
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...world. Frontiers cannot bar him. Neither barracks nor barricades impede. Nor does barbed wire scar him. Lenin walks around the world. Black, brown, and white receive him. Language is no barrier. The strangest tongues believe him. Lenin walks around the world. The sun sets like a scar. Between the darkness and the dawn. There rises a red star. – Langston Hughes In the early 1900’s there were very few political parties focused on the plight of African Americans and their quest for civil rights. Communism had inherent within its philosophy the idea that all men and women are equal and focused on an economic model that purported to promote that equality. Karl Marx believed that capitalism thrived on exploitation and he had very concrete notions on slavery. He stated: Direct slavery is just as much the pivot of bourgeois industry as machinery, credits, etc. Without slavery you have no cotton; without cotton you have no modern industry. It is slavery that has given the colonies their value; it is the colonies that have created world trade, and it is world trade that is the pre-condition of large-scale industry. Thus slavery is an economic category of the greatest importance (Marx, 1975). Without slavery Marx believed that it would have been impossible for America to thrive. They needed that free labor to be able to build a profitable industry and forge the nation. Thus the enslavement of an entire race of people was necessary for a capitalist country to survive and prosper...
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...Is she a real new “Princess”? Media has grown into the ultimate medium of mass communication, a popular agent used to illustrate a “reflection” of the societies throughout the ages. In general, media has overcome multiple issues of representation of different genders, sexuality, classes, ethnic and racial groups (Hoynes and Crouteau). Nevertheless, these matters are not completely evolved yet. Media producers substitute the blunt way of displaying their demeaning opinions, into a subtler version of prejudice defined as: “modern” racism and sexism. Fundamentally, rather than discriminating and showing direct hatred towards who they claim are “genetically inferior”; producers present a positive evaluation and acceptance towards the “minorities”...
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