The world is naturally opposed and intolerant to people who are different from themselves. As a result, millions across the globe have suffered the double standard application of people who have expressed racist sentiments against them, especially among members of the society who do not understand change or demographic differences. For example, there was a time when it was impossible to live in Germany if one did not have blue eyes or blond hair. People with darker skin were regarded as less than human or inferior. Today, racism is still a large global problem that is especially present with the growth of globalization across the earth. Nevertheless, it is not always racism against others but racism against oneself. This paper looks into the phenomenon of racism against oneself in the movie Crash from a psychological perspective. Such racism is caused by fear and misunderstanding of oneself, similar to how racism against others is based on the same.
Fear is the reason behind racism. According to research, fear is the direct base of racism as the fear of difference in personality and culture leads to a differentiated treatment of individuals from a different culture (Rydgren, 2003). Farhad, for example, is one of the many examples in the movie of people who recognize their race and paralyze themselves through self-inflicted fear. Farhad believes that the fact that he is Persian opens him up to persecution and cheating. He is afraid of Americans and this is evident at the gun shop when his temper goes out of control when the owner insults him. Farhad believes that Middle Eastern people are no longer welcome in the United States especially after the events highlighted in the movie from the fateful 9/11. At the same time, the shop owner has his shop destroyed by racists who hate him. At the end of the movie, one realizes that the fact that the shop owner is equally from another culture makes him untrusting of strangers and thus earns a bad reputation, leading to the destruction of his shop. The shop owner, when calling Daniel to fix his lock, thinks that Daniel wants to cheat him and steal from him because of Daniel’s past.
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With the concept of racism considered in the movie, an equally partnering concept is portrayed – whiteness. Due to the prevalent white society in which the movie is portrayed, it is necessary to see the racism from the eyes of white individuals in the movie. Although direct acts of racism are not shown to be done by white people, the audience is the white individual and their interactions with other races. In the movie, Hispanics, Iranians and African American individuals are also present. Racist actions from the white people seems to be justified on the personal struggles each individual is going through, thereby downplaying the fear and misunderstanding of different cultures and races.
In one scene, for example, a black couple (Ryan and his wife) is driving a car similar to one reported stolen in a previous scene. Nevertheless, it is not the stolen car. However, the racist white police officer pull over the vehicle and demands the couple gets out of the car. While patting them down, he physically molests the man’s wife in front of him. The man stands there helpless. Although he is a successful film producer, he is still black. He would be accused of assaulting a police officer should he decide to defend his wife. Therefore, even white people who committed heinous crimes would not be faced because it would amount to assaulting a police officer, leading him to substantial trouble on his part. The situation would be made worse because the man was black and he was assaulting a police officer. Due to the fact that the man was black and white people held more authority in the country and in this specific situation, the black man was in fear of himself and let the police officer get away with it.
As a result, people of color in this movie had to consider their reactions against white people and measure their reactions unless they got into trouble with the authorities. Therefore, the husband would rather risk his marriage as opposed to being in a conflicted place in the society due to his race. Morally speaking, it is wrong to molest any person, yet the husband in this scenario could not intervene because he was coming from the position of a black male, and not a full American citizen with full rights. This scene, therefore, embodies the concept of whiteness as put across by Tim Wise, where black individuals are three times more likely to be pulled over by a police officer due to racial profiling. Furthermore, it shows the consideration colored individuals have to make before taking steps when dealing with authorities due to prevailing stereotypes against them.
In conclusion, the concept of racism is very much present in the movie ‘Crash’. Presented as both fear expressed against oneself and maltreatment occasioned against others, racism has been seen both in the case of Farhad, a Persian living in the US, and Ryan and his wife. In the case of Farhad, it is fear against himself that leads to massive misunderstanding, while stereotypes are expressed against Ryan and his wife, reflecting the views of the wider society.
Reference
Rydgren, J. (2003). Meso-level reasons for racism and xenophobia: Some converging and diverging effects of radical right populism in France and Sweden. European Journal of Social Theory, 6(1) , 45-68.
