"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, 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, just so we can feel something.” - Graham
“Crash”—you should see it.
Themed around differences in color of people, the film brings out a profound lesson about love & hate. All along I thought that these two words, love and hate, were opposites—until I heard Brad Wilcox, at one time, quote Elie Wiesel about how they’re not. “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”
Rick & Jean walks out of a café to a street in L.A. Two black youngsters (Anthony & Peter) mob them and steal their car. Prior, one of the mobsters noticed Jean steered clear from them (because of "blind fear") as if they didn’t exist. It wasn’t until towards the end of the movie that she became conscious of the existence of good among “colored people.” That type of indifference from Jean set off the mobsters to initiate their ploy.
Officer Ryan, who seemed to be weary of black people, who used to work with his father, harasses a couple (Cameron & Christine) caught making out in their car. Cameron was obviously frightened at the fact that two white policemen came to look into them. It was an outrage when Officer Ryan started to put his hands on Christine's body & discreetly molested her. Cameron just stood and pleaded in distress.
A Persian man (Farhad) with his daughter (Dorri) buys a gun for the purpose, perhaps, to guard their own store. People around them think they were Arabs. He’s apprehensive about people and sensitive to believe that he and his family are detested in their community. He hires a locksmith (Daniel) to fix his door lock. He was told to fix his door instead as there was nothing wrong with the lock. He was so narrow-minded that he refused to pay the man. Later his store got mugged and he blamed Daniel for the unfortunate incident. The insurance company’s rejection to cover for the damages furthered his resentment that he went to look for Daniel with the intention to kill.
These are but instances in the movie that demonstrated bigotry. People are either afraid or are upset with differences that they begin to hate or become indifferent towards other people. Sometimes it’s got nothing to do with color. We sometimes become intolerant of someone who talks a lot or someone who’s fat or too skinny. We become annoyed with people, whom we think interferes with our personal relationships, which causes derailing of our usual life’s pattern. When we see a person slightly different from how we look like, we become oblivious of that person’s activities. We become indifferent.
I do not excuse myself from such deed. When I was younger I only befriended nice looking people. I did not feel comfortable or too willing to be nice with people who looked unattractive. That was bad.
When I saw this movie, every thought and act I have had in my life relating to indifference and hate came flashing through my mind. I’ve seen films about racism and intolerance, but not as thought-provoking as this one. I’ve had my share of lessons that taught me to love unconditionally, and watching the prospects of people doing good deeds to previously abhorred persons give me a sense of appreciation.
My favorite part in the movie was when Officer Ryan who discreetly molested Christine saved her from being burned from a car accident. When Christine recognized him she refused his assistance with all her energy. “Is there anybody else who can help? Anyone, not you, get your hands off me.” That’s understandable. But it took this incident to help Christine realize that a first impression should not always last—that a bad act does not tell a whole lot about a person. Officer Ryan who did, perhaps, the most disrespectful and despicable deed to her was the one who saved her life. He almost lost her, but with all of his strength he made amends so she can have a 2nd chance on life.
Jean, who despised people of color— people, whom she thinks less superior than her, slipped and fell on the stairs. Her good friend for 10 years denied helping her because she was getting a massage. Nonetheless, she was brought to the hospital by her Hispanic house helper, Maria. She took care of her during recovery. When she saw and felt the genuine concern of Maria, she held her tight showing her appreciation and perhaps apology for not being too nice most often than not.
Farhad who went to look for Daniel, the locksmith, found enlightenment, instead. He found Daniel and started to point his gun towards him & struggled with him. Daniel’s daughter, Larah, believing that she was handed down an invisible cloak of protection, ran towards his dad. By the time she ran up to his dad, the trigger was pulled and she was hit. Farhad was dumbfounded to find the kid unharmed. He felt terribly bad for shooting a little girl. He went home amazed and had his mind and heart opened. He began to change and look at things differently. Little does he know that Dorri bought blanks for his gun at the store earlier in the story.
Why do we have to wait until we get hurt to show our love for people? Why do we hurt the ones we love? Why do we have to be so indifferent to people who do not look the way we do, or think or act the same way as we do. Why do we treat those different from us as “little people?”
The movie taught me to look at all people the same way. No matter how bad a person can be, there is an innate goodness that comes out when needed. Things happen, whether bad or good, to open our eyes and see more clearly all sides of people, regardless of color or circumstance.
We do not need to wait for bad things to happen in order for us to appreciate the goodness of people. We have been too preoccupied with ourselves, being at ease in our comfort zones that we become insensitive of others. We become too busy looking at our way, mending our own issues that other people’s problems become overly insignificant.
We are not alone in this world. Sometimes we get to be taught the lesson of becoming aware of what’s happening around us. People make up our lives. We are interrelated, weaved into one tapestry. The colors make this tapestry beautiful. The more we appreciate the colors, the more we become tolerant and loving.
We do not need to “CRASH” into people to make us realize the worth of living in goodwill towards each other. However, sometimes, it has to happen. We need to be taught a lesson, in one way or another.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Special thanks to RC who convinced me to watch a list of really good movies. "Crash" is one of them.
