Detective Graham in the Movie Crash Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Detective Graham in the Movie Crash - Essay Example The film literally bursts with the theme of racial prejudice as a multi-coloured cast careens in and out of the screen to make their presence felt. Each character has an issue to deal with regarding his or her ethnic background. For example, the overly- ethnocentric black car robber who constantly complains about how blacks are being unfairly discriminated upon in L.A. reflects a self-fulfilling prophecy. He believes that the white server in the restaurant ignored them because they were blacks and because blacks are not known to give tips, proved her right by not leaving a tip at all, justifying that they had poor service. A while later, he spots a victim in a white woman who avoids their direction. He knows she did so because she thought they were black muggers and was fearful they would rob her. And true to his â€Å"calling†, the black man and his companion do rob her and her lawyer-husband of their car. Society might have ingrained in these black people how to behave, and they automatically do so even if they think and feel deep down inside it is offensively unfair. However, they play the role society expects them to. It is pathetic to realize that one can be held helpless against societal expectations. These circumstances divide people and turn them against each other. The same goes for the scene where the American gun dealer who gets impatient with foreigners speaking their language in front of him, making him feel left out. Sensing that these Mediterranean customers are Arabs, he snaps at them by saying, â€Å"Play your jihad on your own time†. When the customer reacts angrily, saying he is an American citizen who has the same rights as everyone else, the dealer goes on his offensive oration on how these foreigners have no right to destroy America. He is suggesting that the customers are would-be terrorists, relating it to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The man is sent out of the store leaving her daughter behind while the dealer conti nues his hostile verbalizations. In doing so, he is unaware that he himself is terrorizing a lady. Why are people always so angry that they blame such negativity on others by finding faults? Is it true that we are always â€Å"behind metal and glass† walls that we are inaccessible and hence, untouchable to others? We rely on stereotypes to help us deal with people who are different from us because that is what society expects. Indeed, one can’t help but judge one another based on physical appearances and the stereotypes they represent. Gray (2012) discusses why racial stereotyping is destructive to American society in general. First, it means communicates to the majority of Americans that the negative actions of a few minorities are generalized to the collective values of the whole minority community. This is usually felt by Black American lower to middle-class people who are often adjudged as muggers or criminals. Another effect of stereotyping is that the stereotyped group begins to internalize such negative labels and actually mimic or act out the prejudiced behaviour. This behaviour becomes generalized as typical. The black men in the movie whose self-fulfilling prophecies ingrained by society were adjudged to be so as people are pushed to fulfil those prophecies such as being muggers or criminals. They feel that they have no chance of vindicating themselves from such an unfair perception that they must as well live it.