How Does The Movie Crash Relate To Sociology

While many of us wish race and gender were only physical attributes, we quickly realize in this life that they are not. Race and gender are social constructions that define us. The movie Crash began with a quote, “It’s the sense of touch we miss, so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something.” This movie portrays the need to belong and feel connection with others through many scenarios. Several interrelated characters interact with each other displaying many sociological concepts. In my analysis, I will emphasize one two young men who steal a car based on race and stereotype, two white policemen, and a Persian immigrant who purchases a firearm. There are many more examples through this movie, these are the ones I felt

displayed the most sociological concepts.
When walking into a gun shop, a Persian man and his daughter Dorri are discussing what handgun they will purchase. While they are speaking to one another they are speaking Farasi. After asking what bullets the owner recommends, the owner groans and refers to the Persian man as “Osama”. The man further explains that he is an American legal citizen but the owner does not stop. The gun store owner has security come remove him from the store. His daughter Dorri is handed the gun and asks the owner for “the bullets in the red box.” The owner does not understand why but wants her out of the store so he sells them to her and she leaves with her father who is waiting for her in the car. The father heads to the lock smiths shop because he feels like the recent break in to their family owned business is his fault. He holds the locksmith at gunpoint demanding that he gives him money or compensation for the damage that was caused. The daughter proceeds to throw herself in front the gun to save her father. Dorri had purposely purchased the bullets for the gun to be blanks because of the little experience her family had with firearms. The lock smiths daughter goes unharmed but the unimaginable tension is brought between Dorri and her father. She went against her father’s wishes based upon her own understanding.
The most symbolic scene I believe is where the two African American young men were walking out of a restaurant and they are discussing the unfair treatment they receive in this area about their race.

One points put how the waiter or waitress’ around them offered coffee to everyone around sitting at their tables more than they offered them because of their race. While they are discussing they notice an upper class “looking” couple walking down the sidewalk. The two young men noticed that when they looked at the women, she immediately clenched onto her husband in fear. I found it very interesting that they then went up to the car demanding them to get out while pointing guns at them.

Social exchange is very immanent of the scene with the first couple that gets pulled over by the police officer and his assistant. The couple gets pulled over and then after discussion when the officer comes up to the window, he forces them both to get out of the car. When officer Ryan has the wife put her hand up on the car, he began to feel up and down her legs, pretending the whole time that he is checking for

weapons.
The firearm store scenario displayed the prime example of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture. The gun owner thought that his culture was superior to those of the Persians. Prejudice is displayed when the couple’s car is stolen by the two African American men. Prejudice is the preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. The women of the couple shows prejudice by her instinct to clench onto her husband when the two men walked by her. She also displayed the concept of uncertainty avoidance. She was nervous and uncertain about the situation prior to anything happening or taking place.
In the scene where the couple of color is pulled over, scapegoating is very evident. The police officers feel as if they are superior to the minority. In this case the minority is the African American couple pulled over. Scapegoating occurs when a certain group of people are blamed of certain events or circumstances because they are the minority.
The firearm store scenario displays in my opinion Dori’s personality and character more than all. Her behavior displays the ability to follow her “guts intuition” without letting the consequences of the potential decision stop her. This particular scene in the movie shows that people must use their traits for the benefit of the situation. In other words, Dorri’s instinct had many symbolic qualities. In this scene it was to show that the bullet and the impenetrability. The lock smith’s daughter also had what many of us in today's society may see to be a character flaw. She is a young girl who jumped in front of a bullet to save her father. This displays a reverse in the traditional gender role.
The scenario in which the two African American men are leaving the restaurant shows characteristics that are common in all four characters within this scene. The women was expecting something out of the two men, she was most likely going along with the stereotypes she has heard all along ion her lifetime. The two men felt that stereotype through her body language and stereotype that she displayed. Despite the stereotype the two men were aware of, they decided to steal the car. I thought this was interesting through both of the men’s character because the confirmed the very bias that was against them.
After analyzing the characteristics displayed by the characters in the scenerio when the color of couple is pulled over, officer Ryan was found of many character “flaws” in my opinion. Personally, I describe Ryan as a white supremacist, he sees his race as being superior to others. This was very immanent when he humiliated the couple when he was feeling her legs inappropriately. He thinks he is entitled to do the wrongs that he did. I wish that in this scene the husband would have called the police officer out for what he was doing despite the potential consequences that he was facing.
Many Americans do not want to admit it, but race, gender, and class are all still very eminent in the ever-changing society that surrounds us.

The movie crash brought me to the realization that we are all connected many different ways and levels. The actual title of the movie meant something to me because the truth behind the definition of crash and the film in which it represented go hand in hand. The truth is, we are all bound to “crash” into one another because we are all connected like said before despite our different races, social class, and gender roles. It brought me to come to the conclusion that we as a whole have put the importance of recognizing these differences on hold. We do not understand how much these differences often bother us with the stereotypes that are planted in our minds growing up in the environment in which we were raised. It opened my eyes to the racial tension can be and how very real it still is. This movie made me stop and reexamine myself and what stereotypes I let influence my life in the way I perceive others. Rarely do we see a movie that combines several stories within many different backgrounds and scenarios that display the many problems we face as a society. If we could all watch this movie, we could all take away from it to change our approach in the different situations we are placed in. Habits are difficult to break, especially when we have acquired them throughout our lives, this movie will not change you. You will change when you

realize the prejudices you have and if they make you realize the wrongness behind them. We are all the same species who are constantly bringing each other down. Could you imagine a world where we all were accepting of everyone? The answer is most likely no because most of the time, unless we become aware of our unconscious biases, we do not see a need for change.
References
Macionis, J. C. (n.d.). Sociology.