Summary: Crash

Several characters' stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles: a black detective estranged from his mother; his criminal younger brother and gang associate; the white District Attorney and his irritated and pampered wife; a racist white police officer who disgusts his more idealistic younger partner; an African American Hollywood director and his wife who must deal with the officer; a Persian-immigrant father who is wary of others; and a hard-working family man Hispanic locksmith.

The film differs from many other films about racism in its rather impartial approach to the issue. Rather than separating the characters into victims and offenders, victims of racism are often shown to be racist themselves in different contexts and situations. Also, racist remarks and actions are often shown to stem from ignorance and misconception rather than a malicious personality.

List of Characters from Crash

Character’s Name Played by (Actor’s Name) Brief Description of Character
Graham Waters Don Cheadle African-American detective investigating

^{shooting of Detective Lewis}

Ria Jennifer Esposito El Salvadorian/Puerto Rican detective also on the Lewis case; she and Graham are

Rick Brendan Fraser Caucasian district attorney whose SUV is

Anthony Chris “Ludacris” Bridges Young African-American man who steals

cars & tries to educate his friend, Peter, on

^{various forms of racism}

Peter Larenz Tate Graham’s younger brother & Anthony’s

friend. He likes hockey, is later shot

^{by Officer Hanson}

Cameron Terrence Howard African-American TV director who is

Christine Thandie Newton Cameron’s wife who is sexually molested by

Officer Ryan during a traffic stop (& later

^{rescued by him after a car crash)}

Officer Ryan Matt Dillon Caucasian officer on the LAPD for 17 years

Officer Hanson Ryan Phillipe Rookie cop who no longer wants to ride

with Ryan. Hanson later helps Cameron go

with a warning but then shoots Peter after

Daniel Michael Pena Latino locksmith who gives his 5-year-old

Farhad Shaun Toub Iranian storeowner who tries to shoot Daniel

Dorri Bahar Soomekh Farhad & Shereen’s daughter. She works in

in the medical field & does not want her

father to have a gun (She buys “blanks”).

and Peter as they are driving the

Kim Lee Alexis Ree Choi’s wife (She’s also the woman

involved in the car crash with Ria &

^{Graham at the beginning of the film.)}

Shaniqua Johnson Lorretta Devine African-American woman who is the supervisor of health insurance claims.

She has Officer Ryan thrown out of

^{her office.}

Fred Tony Danza Caucasian man who works with Cameron at the TV studio & asks him to reshoot a scene because a character didn’t sound “black enough.”

who advises Officer Hanson to say

he has “uncontrollable flatulence” in

^{order to get out of riding with Ryan}

Detective Conklin Martine Norseman Caucasian police officer who is being

Detective Lewis African-American detective who was

shot in a car belonging to someone

else. Large sums of $ ($300,000?)

Flanagan William Fichtner Works for D.A. Rick, tries to

persuade Graham to say that Conklin

shot Lewis (Such a statement would

Graham’s mother Beverly Todd Graham’s mother who blames him

for his brother’s death since she

thinks that Graham was “too busy”

to bother looking for his brother like

^{she had asked him to do.}

Gunstore owner Jack McGee Owner of gunstore who hurls ethnic

slurs at Farhad & then makes

sexually suggestive comments toward

Please think of these words while watching the movie Crash.

1. 
   Race 競賽
   
2. 
   Ethnicity種族
   
3. 
   Culture 文化
   
4. 
   National Origin國籍
   
5. 
   Gender 性別
   
6. 
   Religion宗教
   
7. 
   Age年齡
   
8. 
   Social Class社會階層
   
9. 
   Prejudice 損害
   
10. 
    Racism 種族主義
    
11. 
    Stereotype鉛板
    
12. 
    Bias偏見
    
13. 
    Assumption 的假設
    
14. 
    Tolerance公差
    
15. 
    Respect 尊重
    
16. 
    Understanding了解
    
17. 
    Misunderstanding誤解
    
18. 
    Ignorance無知
    
19. 
    African American
    
20. 
    White/Caucasian
    
21. 
    Persian/Iranian
    
22. 
    Arab
    
23. 
    Muslim
    

1. 
   Nigger (racist term for an African American person)
   
2. 
   Fuck or Fucking (bad word)
   
3. 
   Shit (bad word)
   
4. 
   Ass (means butt)
   
5. 
   Bitch (female dog, sexist term for a woman)
   
6. 
   Bullshit (means crap or garbage)
   

1. 
   Which of the characters do you identify with? Why? Are there any characters you find it harder to identify with? Why?
   
2. 
   What are the main issues in this film?
   
3. 
   What different meanings of the film’s title Crash did you get from watching the film?
   
4. 
   ‘We’re black people and black people don’t fit’ (Anthony to Peter after they leave a restaurant).
   

5. 
   How did your opinion of Jack Ryan change as the film progressed? Do you think he is justified in his racism? How do you think his rescuing of Christine affects both his worldview and our opinion of him? Why?
   
6. 
   How does Jack Ryan’s behaviour ultimately affect Tommy, even when they’re no longer work partners? What was your reaction to Tommy and Peter’s car journey together? How would you have responded if you had been Tommy? Why?
   
7. 
   What is the significance of the St Christopher statue? What does this say about people having hope in something beyond their lives? What does it say about the similarities between Tommy and Peter?
   
8. 
   Until the reveal of the blank bullets, what did you think had happened when Farhad accidentally shot Daniel’s daughter but she wasn’t hurt? Do you believe that miracles can happen? Can miraculous events be explained as they are in the film?
   
9. 
   What does Crash say about relationships? Which relationship do you identify with most in the film? Why?
   
10. 
    How do the relationships between Rick and Jean, and Cameron and Christine change throughout the film? Why? How do the events of the film affect them?
    
11. 
    What does Crash say about relationships between fathers and children through the characters of Farhad and his daughter, Daniel and his daughter, and Jack and his father? How do these relationships change through the film? How are any of these relationships similar to father-children ones you know in real life?
    
12. 
    ‘We’re not safe from ourselves, we’re not safe from our prejudices or others’ prejudices.’ (Sandra Bullock, on the themes of the film, Behind the Scenes DVD featurette)
    

13. 
    What effect does her interaction with other races have on Jean? Why? Are they good or bad changes?
    
14. 
    How did you feel when the identity of Graham’s brother was revealed? Were you shocked? How did it affect your understanding of Graham’s character?
    
15. 
    Which character, in your opinion, changed the most by the end of the film? Why? How did the events of the film aid this change?