Crash: causes, impacts, and prevention strategies

Crash

Archetypes and Prototypes in Crash

Crash is a 2004 film by Paul Haggis that examines how issues of race and social class intersect and the impact individual perspectives have on their behaviors and attitudes. The film features an all-star cast that includes, but is not limited to, Matt Dillon and Ryan Phillipe as LAPD Officers John Ryan and Tom Hansen, respectively; Brendan Fraser and Sandra Bullock as Rick and Jean Cabot; Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton as Cameron and Christine Thayer; Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Peter Waters and Anthony; Michael Pena as the locksmith. The characters in the film undergo similar transformations, which appear to occur at the same rate and are triggered by negative stimulus. Crash is full of archetypes and prototypes that Haggis uses to demonstrate how people's lives are intrinsically interwoven. Through the intersecting interactions of the characters in the film, Haggis uses the "menace to society" archetype and the "manipulator" prototype to demonstrate how conflict is created by race and social standing.

In Crash, the "menace to society" plays a major role in how perceptions of race are created. In the film, racial profiling is used by two LAPD officers to pull over a black couple -- Cameron and Christine Thayer because the car they are driving almost matches the description of the vehicle stolen from Rick and Jean Cabot by Anthony and Peter. LAPD Officer John Ryan contends that he needs to pull them over despite his partner's pleas not to because Ryan argues that because the Thayers are black, they must be guilty of something. At the end of the film, it is evident that Ryan has undergone the most radical catharsis when he puts aside his biases and rescues Christine from the fiery wreckage of a crash. Paradoxically, Anthony and Peter, the two black men that actually committed the carjacking, embrace the archetype of being a menace to society and go out of their way to commit crimes despite the fact that they know what they are doing is wrong. Furthermore, their victims, Rick and Jean Cabot are heavily influenced by the menace archetype after they are attacked, as can be seen through Jean's attitude towards the Hispanic locksmith they hire to replace the locks in the house as their house keys were stolen along with their vehicle. Jean believes that because the locksmith is Hispanic, tattooed, and has a shaved head, he is a gang member and will immediately sell a copy of the Cabot house key to one of his associates thereby putting the Cabot's in jeopardy once again even though he is not a menace.

While the "menace to society" archetype influences perceptions of minorities, the "manipulator" prototype influences behavior. For instance, Officer Ryan is able to influence his partner, Tom Hansen, to help him pull over the Thayers because he is senior to him. At the same time, Officer Hansen, forces himself to change his behavior to satisfy the demands of his partner. Officer Ryan's influence on his partner is not limited to the interaction with the Thayers. At the end of the film, Haggis demonstrates how Hansen's perception of minorities has been irrevocably altered when he shoots and kills Peter, whom he had been giving a ride to simply because he thought Peter was going to rob him even though there was no evidence to suggest that he would. Jean Cabot also changes her perception of minorities to satisfy her personal needs. While she demands that a second locksmith be hired to re-replace the locks because of his perceived "gang member background," she still retains a Hispanic woman as her housekeeper and allows her to not only clean the house, but also take care of her children. Jean manipulates her behavior and perception about minority males because of who attacked her and not because she was racist. At the time, Jean needed to be able to feel secure in her home and as soon as she realizes that minorities do not pose a threat to her, and in fact are there to help her, she is able to re-align her perceptions of others.