It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we CRASH into each other, just so we can feel something.

In which ways does the movie challenge racial stereotypes? Crash is one of my favorite movies simply because it features such an ethnically diverse cast, and really does challenge all the stereotypes associated with each specific culture. From the opening scene Crash is exploring the most obvious and overused stereotypes such as Asians being bad drivers, or all black and Latin men being involved with gangs. What’s so fascinating about the movie is that it portrays these stereotypes from different ethnic groups point of views, and then depicts how wrong they are, and how we are all too quick to judge people. For instance, in the opening scene where the stereotype of Asians being unable to drive is shown, we later find out that the woman driving the car was upset because her husband was in the hospital and she was rushing to get to him when she got into the accident. The way our minds have been trained to work and think about people and what we observe about other human beings in general is challenged in this movie – Crash forces the audience to realize that everybody is simply human, driven by human motivations and ruled by human emotion, not simply by stereotypes. However, at the same time, Crash also shows how some people, choosing to believe society and feeling as if they have no other choice, embody their stereotype to the fullest – this is exemplified in the characters of Peter and Anthony. Throughout the entire film Anthony embodies DuBois’s idea of double consciousness – consistently aware of how others are viewing his every move, and though he is disgusted by this, it is apparent that deep down he views himself the same way because he is living up to his stereotype by stealing cars, etc. as is exemplified in the scene when Anthony and Peter steal the D.A. and his wife’s car. “ They think we're Arab. When did Persian become Arab? ”

What is the symbolic significance of the upside down car in the middle of the movie? The upside down car in the middle of the movie is significant because from that point forward in the film, the dynamics between all of the characters changes. Stereotypes are challenged, and we see that roles reverse, and not everybody fits the specific role they have been given by society (or necessarily played throughout the whole movie), whether positive or negative. For example, in the beginning of the film the audience views Officer Tom Hanson as more likable and idealistic than Officer John Ryan, because he seems to reject racism in all forms, and try to right the wrongs his partner has done. However, at the end of the movie we see that Officer Ryan has redeemed himself by risking his own life to save Christine – a woman he had previously discriminated against simply because of her race – while Officer Hanson shoots Peter Waters for reaching into his pocket. Though there is more to it, it’s obvious to the audience that had Peter been a white man, Officer Hanson may not have been so quick to believe that Peter was reaching for a gun in his pocket. Similarly, we see that characters such as Cameron Thayer who embodied an almost reverse stereotype, an inauthentic example of a man of his race – that of an “Uncle Tom” – changes to try and prove how authentic he really is by facing off with the cops. Continuously throughout Crash the movie portrays how stereotypes compel people to behave in certain ways and do certain things.

Response to ideas proposed by Luis Valdez… I completely agree with Valdez’s argument that people inherently cling to stereotypes because they are afraid of things and people which they do not understand. Only through education about other cultures can anyone hope to understand that we are all human beings, and that cultures simply make us unique – not better or worse, just different. For example, being afraid of the Middle Eastern culture, people destroyed the store that belonged to the Persian family – not understanding that these cultures are different, and that these people, no matter Arab or Persian, are not terrorists. Being afraid to understand and quick to judge, people automatically came to the conclusion that this family must be dangerous because they spoke with a funny accent and had skin of the same color. Valdez’s argument is, in my opinion, founded in truth and most definitely reflects the American culture of both the past and today. Sandra Bullock was so committed to appearing in this film that she bought her own plane ticket to fly to the set. Director Paul Haggis cut costs by using his own house and car for some scenes.

66 nominations & 42 wins including: Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay Best Achievement in Editing Best Motion Picture of the Year American Film Institute Movie of the Year BAFTA (British Academy Awards) Best Supporting Actress (Thandie Newton) Best Original Screenplay ALMA Awards Best Actor (Michael Pena) Screen Actors Guild Awards Best Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture “You think you know who you are. You have no idea.” RickRick: Fuck! Why do these guys have to be black? I mean, why? No matter how we spin this thing, I'm either gonna lose the black vote or I'm gonna lose the law and order vote! KarenKaren: You know, I think you're worrying too much. You have a lot of support in the black community. RickRick: All right. If we can't duck this thing, we're gonna have to neutralize it. What we need is a picture of me pinning a medal on a black man. Bruce? The firefighter - the one that saved the camp or something - Northridge... what's his name? BruceBruce: He's Iraqi. RickRick: He's Iraqi? Well, he looks black. BruceBruce: He's dark-skinned, sir, but he's Iraqi, his name's Saddam Hassif. RickRick: Saddam? His name's Saddam? Oh, that's real good, Bruce. Yeah, I'm gonna pin a medal on an Iraqi named Saddam. Give yourself a raise, will you?

Crash was one of the most powerful, racially charged movies I have ever seen. The tag line alone for this movies opens your eyes to a different world. A different way we see each other beyond personalities. It’s how we see each other on the outside, through our skins. White, African – American, Arab, Asian, Hispanic - this movie addresses the racially charged disputes within each. White people being scared of African-American, all races turning against the Arabs because of the events that occurred during September 11, and the Hispanics being looked upon as gangsters and hoodlums that have no education or jobs to support themselves. The reason for this is because we’re so shielded from the world that we forget to look pass race as the defining matter of a person’s true character. We are all guilty of racial stereotyping but, who’s brave enough to admit it? We’ll all just sit back in our comfortable chairs because that’s what everyone does. We’re too ignorant to try and understand each other through each other’s eyes’. The story of Officer John Ryan and his father comes from a piece of hate mail Paul Haggis received while he was working as a writer in the TV series “Family Law” (1999).

The symbolism for the upside down car in the middle of the movie is to show the turning point where ignorance turns into understanding. The point where we have to put aside our differences and try and work together for a common goal, in this case it was survival. Thandie Newton’s character hung for dear life inside the upside down car and Matt Dillon had to rescue her and put aside his anger and hate towards African Americans. Thandie Newton also had to allow for him to rescue her because of her new found hate for white officers ever since Matt Dillon’s character sexually assaulted her earlier in the movie during a routine pull over. Once both compromised they were able to depend on each other and work together to save Thandie Newton’s life after the car burst into flames. Fellow officers rescued Matt Dillon from the fire but he clawed his way back to her because he promised he would get her out alive. He put aside his hate and in metaphorical terms took away the shield covering his eyes against African Americans and washed away what preconceived thoughts he once had of them. Two Koreans were intentionally cast as the "Chinese" couple to underscore the fact that most non-Asians cannot or don't care to differentiate between the various Asian nationalities and instead choose to refer to all of them (Chinese, Korean, Thai, Japanese, etc.) as "Chinese", like the characters in the movie do.

 Sandra Bullock  Don Cheadle  Tony Danza  Keith David  Matt Dillion  William Fichtner Loretta Devine  Brendan Fraser  Daniel Dae Kim  Chris “Ludacris” BridgesJennifer Esposito  Bahar Soomekh  Thandie Newton  Ryan Phillippe  Alexis Rhee  Larenz Tate  Shaun Toub Michael Pena Terrence Howard

 The movie is dedicated to the late director/producer Anita W. Addison, who was the first person to read Paul Haggis’ script.  The movie was shot in 36 days.  When the Oscar nominations were announced in January 2006, this film, which was the only Best Film nominee to be already available on DVD, jumped from 103 to 23 in Amazon's list of bestsellers.  As LA is such an important character in the film, Paul Haggis insisted that the film be shot there. This was despite his producers wanting to save money by filming in Toronto.  The production only had 6 police cars at their disposal due to the low budget  Paul Haggis had wanted Christine to drive a Lexus SUV or a similar car that reflected her social status. Since the car was to be destroyed during the accident scene, however, budget restrictions dictated otherwise and a 1992 Jeep was used instead.

The upside down car in the middle of the movie symbolizes that the entire world has been turned upside down. Everything you thought you knew has been challenged. Even the weather has taken an unexpected turn with snow in LA. There is a reversal of most of the viewer’s assumptions, with characters we thought of as “good” being the real perpetrators of evil (such as the couple dealing in human trafficking) and those we thought of as “bad” being shown as perhaps simply only lonely or afraid (the DA’s wife). The actual nature of all characters takes a turn, just as the car does. I think the other thing this movie points out is how connected we all are. You never know what consequences your actions will have, sometimes for yourself, but sometimes for others as well. Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which Haggis' Porsche was carjacked outside a video store on Wilshire Boulevard in 1991.

Response to ideas proposed by Luis Valdez… I agree with Luis Valdez and would take his thoughts even further. I think one of the reasons people have racist attitudes is not only because of a fear of the unknown but also as an expression of other emotions. (Not all racism can be explained this way, but some.) I think feelings of anger, hopelessness, sadness, etc. can cause a person to lash out at others. I think Matt Dillion’s character, John Ryan, is racist towards the insurance woman partly because he is feeling helpless trying to get his father the medical treatment he needs. I think he would have been angry at the person on the other end of the phone line, no matter who it was. It was convenient for him to play the “racist card.” It was an easy and cowardly way to release his frustrations and hurt the person he believed was hurting him. (I think his character had other issues as well that are not so easily explained away.) And, returning to how we are all connected, that same insurance adjuster who was harassed and belittled for her skin color and her name, who is feeling upset and angry herself, who had just felt the sting of racism, turns around and does the exact same thing when she is in a car accident, telling the other driver “What the hell is wrong with you people? Uh-uh! Don't talk to me unless you speak American! “