Crash Paul Haggis\' 2004 Film

¶ … Crash

Paul Haggis' 2004 film "Crash" delves into both the institutional and the methodical aspects of racism and how some people in America seem to have undeserved privilege and use this privilege to take deserved privilege away from others. Haggis' film is unrealistic when it comes to racism in America -- especially as it pertains to law enforcement -- and the issues that surround racism, in general. Haggis shows racism in the film as something that is in every person -- even the most Godly who proclaim equality for all and non-judgment and acceptance -- yet, at any minute they could burst into a rage of racist angst (or so it would seem to Haggis). This depiction of racism in American rather than the depiction of it being a hierarchical social order (which it is) is something that makes the film lack substance and it gives a false pretense about law enforcement officers as will be illustrated by looking at the character of Officer Jack Ryan.

There is very little that is realistic about "Crash" when it comes to the topic of racism in America and specifically racism when it comes to law enforcement solely because it depicts all of the races as being guilty of racism and it seems to claim that if all of the races were simply more tolerant of one another, America's race problem would come to an appropriate end; however, this is not the truth. "Crash" misses the chance to discuss the white race's accountability in creating and maintaining a certain order of class and social immobility and the police are largely to blame for this in reality because of the social order that has been created where white police officers feel that they have the authority to question and torment people based on their skin color. Simply because Officer Ryan was dealing with his sick father and thus he has a run-in with an African-American insurance worker doesn't mean that this is justification for taking out his woes on innocent people -- such as Cameron. The belief that Ryan felt momentarily justified is absurd -- people like Ryan abuse their authority over and over again.

In the film, we see Officer Jack Ryan demonstrating this all-too-frequent misuse of police power by white officers against people of color -- African-Americans in particular -- when he forces Cameron to watch as Ryan sexually assaults his wife Christine. This act is one that shows us how white authority manages to use its absolute self-assurance to go against any kind of moral truth that is out there. It is, in fact, this grotesque amount of self-assurance that gives Ryan the ability to carry out immoral acts against others whom he believes are of a lower class than he because of their darker skin color. Ryan is beyond feeling that he has to justify or even think about his actions because he is supremely confident in the power that he has been given, which has something to do with his skin color -- undoubtedly. The scene where Ryan touches Cameron's wife shows us that there is this distorted belief white authority posses: that they can do whatever it is they want because they have been given the authority of the law and the authority of society as a superior race. The white authority uses this to its own advantage, to pursue its own desires and interests, all the while denying others the respect that they deserve as human beings.

The problem with the depiction of law enforcement in the movie is that everything seems to be smoothed out by personal acts of kindness -- and tolerance. Officer Jack Ryan saves Christine at the end of the movie -- even though she initially doesn't accept his help -- and we are meant to believe that years of intolerance has been washed away because he decides to act like a good human being (or not even good -- but decent). Overall, the film does not do a good job of depicting the problem of racism in America; it is much too simplistic and this is especially true when it comes to the law enforcement officials and how they have been renowned for acting intolerably and unjust with persons of color (e.g., Rodney King).

One of the best parts of the film and one that is the most realistic, arguably, is where Cameron decides that he has had enough. He has lost the respect of his wife because he didn't do anything when she was being assaulted; he has let them -- the officers -- take away his own (and his wife's) dignity. When Cameron and Anthony are pulled over after being chased by police, Cameron points a gun at officers who are aiming back at them. He yells to them, "Here I am...," and Cameron is able to take back his dignity in a sort of Malcolm X kind of way. Cameron was an upstanding citizen before his run-in with the police and he is forced to act in a way that isn't who he is because he has had his liberties jeopardized by corrupt law enforcement officials.