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Stereotypes In The Movie Crash

Decent Essays

Racism is, what seems to be, a never-ending worldwide issue. Many people claim they are not racist or do not think of people of color to be any different. However, it seems to be natural to most of us to b a bit more cautious regarding certain races. Throughout the film Crash directed by Paul Haggis, the thoughts and feelings that a majority of society feels regarding race is brought to life through these characters and the events they are involved in. This film reinforces stereotypes and rather than bring viewers to understanding the feelings of those to a different race, it seems to strengthen their feelings and views that they hold against other races. During this film, all of the characters’ situations seem to intertwine with one another. …show more content…

Later we learn that Kim Lee’s husband is involved in the act of human trafficking, which involves a truckload of illegal Chinese immigrants. When Kim Lee insults Ria by stating that since she is Mexican she cannot drive, Ria snipes back that Kim is short and points out her thick accent. Since these two characters are strangers, the first thing they notice about each other is their skin color, and because they do not know each other they hurl stereotypical insults at them based on the fact that they are that certain race. This is an event that occurs quite often in reality. Many people use race as the focal point of their insults against others. This is especially relevant in the scene depicted …show more content…

At first Anthony begins to “internalize the stereotypical categories about his race to some degree” (Tatum 6). According to Tatum this is called internalized oppression. Anthony is complaining about the stereotypes that oppress his race. However, it is not long before he fulfills the stereotype himself, making his statements contradictory. This may be because he has been stereotyped like this his whole life to the point where he gives in to those stereotypes. This scene displays African American men poorly and makes Anthony seem like a hypocrite. Many people in our society think of African Americans this way. Although this example applies to many people in general, us UDM students were told be extra cautious with our school being in Detroit, and we stereotype those poor people as “thieves” and “thugs”. We know nothing about those people or their lives, yet we fear them because of stereotypes based off of their race and the city in which they

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