When Lives Collide
Paul Haggis’s 2004 film Crash is a powerful view of the intersecting lives of many people and families of different races, classes, economic status, and careers in modern day Los Angeles. It is difficult to summarize the movie because there are so many important characters and intertwining storylines. There is Graham (Don Cheadle), a police officer whose mother is a junkie and brother is a criminal. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a locksmith and a kind-hearted family man not trusted by some of his customers because of his tattoos and tough looks. Farhad (Shaun Toub), a Persian shopkeeper, buys a gun to protect his family. Rick (Brendan Fraser), a Los Angeles District Attorney, and his angry wife Jean (Sandra Bullock) are carjacked in their SUV by two black men, Anthony (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Peter (Larenz Tate). Misfortune seems to follow television producer Cameron (Terrence Howard) and his wife Christine (Thandie Newton); Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon) sexually molests her during a traffic stop while his partner Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe) deals with the guilt of having simply watched. This movie does not have a singular plot, but many converging stories because at some point, each of the characters’ lives affects that of the others in surprising ways.
Overall, one of the central themes of the film is that everyone is prejudiced, and the characters actively demonstrate this in their behavior towards each other. However, this movie is not simply a cynical look at the bad behavior and damaging prejudices of humanity. Even with the large group of main characters, Crash does not fail to show every character as multi-faceted. Characters that have done terrible things also do heroic things, and otherwise “good” characters can do horrific things. The object of this is not to issue a moral message, but to show that there are no one-dimensional characters and that people are complicated.
This was the first time I saw Crash, and it has been on my mind ever since I viewed it. It was not easy to watch this movie, but so compelling I could not look away. The first impression of the film begins before seeing any of the characters and a voice begins to speak, saying, “In L.A . . . . Nobody touches you . . . I think we miss that sense of touch so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something.” The movie then shows an actual automobile collision, but as the movie proceeds, it is obvious that this sentiment is both literal and figurative. I have been contemplating this idea since then, wondering in how many ways this is true. Sometimes it seems like people are increasingly isolated from each other; I see couples sitting with each other in fine restaurants, but instead of talking to each other and sharing the experience together, they are texting or talking into cell phones. Do people create drama, conflicts, or “crashes” just to remind themselves that personal contact with others is still possible? In the movie, this seems often to be the case, as if bad attention is better than no attention at all.
Another important issue in the film that really affected me is the loss of personal dignity, with which many of the characters struggle. Cameron is humiliated while forced to stand silent while Ryan molests his wife during the traffic stop and later by a coworker who believes that a scene of their show needs a new take because the actor was not acting “black” enough. Farhad struggles against the humiliation of the prejudice of the gun shop owner who spews racist statements about terrorists and Arabs at him and his daughter, though Farhad is an American citizen. Daniel the locksmith keeps silent as Jean loudly accuses him of being the type of person who is going to go sell the keys to their new locks to his fellow gang members, and he does not require payment when Farhad accuses him of trying to cheat him out of money and services. Because viewers have an outside perspective, they can see the dignity stripping prejudices of the characters is often very out of line. What I learned from this is how much each situation affects everyone involved and that their behavior has consequences long past the situation itself. Because so many of the characters’ lives intertwine in Crash, the consequences play out neatly. However, it is very thought provoking, because in reality people cannot always see how far-reaching the consequences are of words or actions. Although dignity is a big issue used to demonstrate the long-term effect of actions, it is easy to deduce that any kind of action we take will affect others and that thoughtful reasoning will be useful before acting rashly.
Crash will definitely influence my management style, skills, and perspective at work. One scene in particular made me focus on that idea, which was when Officer Hansen requests a reassignment from his superior because of the sexual crime he witnessed Officer Ryan commit while on duty. His superior tells Hansen to “write a full report” and “I can’t wait to read it,” but he is completely sarcastic about this idea. He does not listen to Hansen because Hansen is new to the police force and Ryan is a 17-year veteran. The superior officer tells Hansen that his accusation “doesn’t speak very highly of my managerial skills;” ironically, there is a motivational poster with the word “Integrity” on the wall in the background. Crash will affect my management style by causing me to remember that there are many important sides to the people I work with. It also taught me that the consequences of my actions towards my coworkers, especially if I am in a position of power, have lasting effects for everyone. Although I cannot predict the effects of all my actions, as a manager I can strive to make my work environment sensitive and positive to all employees.
Though the messages in Crash are often dark, as I continue to contemplate the opening words, I wonder if people can also “crash” in positive ways. As I think about the movie and how I can use my skills in personal life and at work, I try to imagine consequences and question whether my words are actions will have a good effect or not.
References
Haggis, Paul (Producer), & Haggis, Paul (Director). (2004). Crash. [Motion Picture]. United States: Lionsgate.
