Crash is an Academy Award-winning drama film directed by Paul Haggis. It won three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing of 2005 at the 78th Academy Awards.

            “Director/co-writer Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby) creates a movie that challenges the boundaries of divisive perception regarding American racial relations.”

“In the intense and sobering ensemble urban drama Crash, Haggis refreshingly tells a sordid yet solid tale about the race issue from an emotionally raw standpoint. Saddled with caustic overtones that weave in and out comparable to an overactive threaded needle, Crash is a gritty examination of misplaced tension and despair wrapped up in its makeshift boiling point.”

These are the type of comments many movie critics have made about the movie Crash.  This makes me wonder if we saw the same movie, or if indeed stereotypes have warped the consciousness of the general public to the point that people truly believe that this movie “dares to challenge the boundaries of divisive perception regarding the theme of American racial relations.”  Is this film really “the type of movie that would lead to some serious soul-searching.”

The creators of this film and apparently many of its viewers think that it is dealing with social and psychological issues that generally get swept under the rug of the Mainstream American consciousness. In actuality, this film has won awards and accolades while contributing to the subliminal prejudice, pre-conceived notions and stereotypes that Blacks continue to struggle against in day-to-day life.

In terms of recreation, this was an entertaining movie with a great ensemble cast of actors and actresses. On the surface Crash is an examination of conflict, tension and despair based on racial issues.  As an analogy of how we as a human race deal with life, people and our own experiences or as a meditation on the often-unacknowledged undercurrents of racism in everyday life, Crash appears to have the best of intensions for a movie in quite a long time.

            However, in terms of its theme of ‘divisive perceptions regarding American racial relations” or its “examination of misplaced tension and despair,” I think it could be one of the worst stereotypical movies about Blacks. Ever! 

Here is why I think it the worst stereotypical movie: They all are number one.

1. The movie opens with Anthony (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) and Peter (Larenz Tate), the film’s only reference to black men in their 20s.  They are portrayed as stereotypical Black, gun-toting, criminals. Reinforcing young black men stereotypes:  deranged, carjacking, bumbling, philosophical criminals.  Who, when they are not jacking cars, are thinking about sports -- hockey in particular. The writer must of thought if he had them discussing hockey instead of your stereotypical black man sport (basketball), nobody would be offended.  But this is just the introduction for two hours of offensiveness. 

1. Anthony and Peter carjack a white couple,  Jean (Sandra Bullock) and Rick (Brendan Fraser), for their Escalade.  Rick is the district attorney of Los Angeles County.  NOW HERE COMES ONE MAJOR ISSUE WITH THIS MOVIE.  After the carjacking, Rick is concerned that being robbed by black men will cost him the black vote and instructs his aides to locate an African American on whom he can pin a medal. So in one heavy subliminal blow the movie just told us THAT BLACK PEOPLE WILL THROW ALL THEIR POLITICAL ISSUES AND IDEALOGY OUT OF THE WINDOW JUST BECAUSE OF TWO BONE HEAD CRIMNIALS, and THAT ANY BLACK WHO RECEIVES AN AWARD IS A TOKEN WINNER. (But of course those Academy Awards are true earned honors.)

1. Jean takes it to another level.  She was afraid of Black men for no reason.  But now, because of the carjacking, she now has a reason to be a racist.  She freaks out at the sight of the Hispanic locksmith, whom she has the newfound freedom to stereotype as gang member. Of course, the writers make sure that the audience knows that HE is really a good father, but offer no such characterization for the Black men they have just defamed. Also, she is now treating her Hispanic maid negatively.  This is the greatest subliminal job done in movie since “Birth of a Nation”:  trying to send this subtle message that white people have reasons to be prejudice towards Blacks or minorities.  Message to Jean.  There weren’t any carjackings two hundred years ago. What was the excuse then?  Did a brother steal your great, great, grandfather’s horse?

1. I’m not even going to go into the stereotypes beneath the character of the Black detective (Don Cheadle).  It is more than enough let the public make its own call about the upstanding big brother of one of the bone heads at the beginning who is having interracial relationship with his Hispanic partner. But in real life she is white. So you got this classically historic stereotype of the ‘good’ Black man with a white woman.  He also is the unloved son of a drug-addicted mother.  Good thing they decided to keep him well rounded.

1. Then there is a white cop on his third African American murder.    Also the D.A.'s who wonders "what it is" with black people who "can't keep their hands out of the cookie jar.  This leads us to….

The biggest issue:

 A racist cop.  Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon). Here is where they try to bring in the reverse racism theme, AND ONCE AGAIN SNEAK A MAJOR CURVE BALL BY US WITH THE MESSAGE THAT WHITE PEOPLE HAVE REASON TO BE PREJUDICED.  Ryan is trying to get help for his father, who has been diagnosed with a bladder infection, is suffering through an ineffective treatment.  His anger manifests in prejudice, as is evident when he indicates a racist attitude towards his father's doctor's secretary. His racial prejudices seem to stem from the destructive impact that local affirmative action policies had on his father's business.

HOLD UP! Look what they did with a racist cop.  Not only did they try to tell us this man has reason to be a racist, but they made him a compassionate, sympathetic character that wants to help his sick father. This, in terms, gives him the right to take out his frustrations by harassing a Black couple during an unwarranted traffic stop. The Black upper-class couple is Cameron Thayer (Terrence Howard) and his wife Christine Thayer (Thandie Newton). Officer Ryan physically molests Christine by feeling under dress, under the pretense of searching for a weapon after pulling over her vehicle. Her husband, a 30-something year old Black man who is powerful in his own circle, watches helplessly the whole time.

NOW HERE COMES THE MOST OFFENSIVE THING IVE SEEN FROM HOLLYWOOD SINCE LUKE RAPED LAURA ON GENERAL HOSIPITAL IN THE 80’S AND THE WRITORS DECIDED LATER.   IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA FOR THE CHARACTERS LUKE AND LAURA TO GET MARRIED.

They take this racist cop and turn him into a hero.  Ryan later puts his own life on the line to save Christine, the woman he molested earlier, from certain death in a fiery car wreck. She is trapped in an overturned car due to a car accident; by a twist of fate, Officer Ryan is the man who willingly endangers himself to save her life.

How the hell you going to take a racist cop and then have him save a Black women, that he molested earlier in the movie?!?!  I know it is just a movie, but it is a movie from Hollywood.  And Hollywood has a long history of not showing any quality black heroes.  So now black people have to watch “Super racist cop save a helpless black person” and hear it described as a “provocative narrative of American race relations”.  This is one of the most offensive things I have ever seen in a movie.

I could go on about this movie but I’ll just end it here.

Peace

Hurt yaaams movie critic.