A housewife and her district attorney husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives who are also lovers. An African-American television director and his wife. A Mexican locksmith. Twocar-jackers. A rookie policeman. A middle-aged Korean couple. They all live in Los Angeles and during the next 36 hours they will all collide...Crash takes an unflinching look at the complexities of racial (in)tolerance in contemporary America. Diving directly into the diverse melting pot of post-9/11 Los Angeles, this urban drama tracks the volatile intersections of a multi-ethnic cast of characters' struggles to overcome their fears as they careen in and out of one another's lives. Look at the Spanish version of this movie poster. What can you say about the film ? What kind of film will it be ? What do you expect to see ? New vocabulary : Think about the words “hate-crime.” What do you think this term means ? Try to give your own definition with an example before we discuss it in class. Stereotypes : provide as many examples from the film Crash as possible. You may make notes as you watch the film. Characters : As you watch the movie, identify the characters below. Dori Daniel Officer Ryan Jean Cabot Officer Hanson Cameron Thayer Christine Thayer Detective Graham Waters 1. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your race or anything else ? Have you ever treated someone else differently or poorly because of their race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or orientation ? 2. With your knowledge/perceptions of the United States, is Crash a real representation of social conditions in urban North America or is it hyper-exaggerated ? You may give opinions/facts. 3. At the film's beginning, which character seemed the most racist ? Did your feelings change by the end ? Was there one character with whom you most identified ? Who was your favorite character ? And your least favorite ? Explain. Discussion: Officer Ryan at times represents both the best and worst in people regarding race. With a group discuss his behavior. Ask one group member to make the argument that Ryan was a racist and had no excuse for his actions. Another member should argue that Ryan was imperfect, but had reasons to explain some of his actions. The case against him is obvious from his actions and words early in the film. His "defender" should consider factors such as his father's illness, the fact that his job often exposed him to the worst elements of all ethnicities, and his heroism in the burning car. What does your group decide ? Can a person like Ryan be forgiven? Can he change? Why or why not ? Writing : Choose one of the characters in the film and write a journal entry for the day's events we see in the film. Talk about how you felt, what happened, and what you plan to do. (Minimum 75 mots).
