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Lynn Jaworski
Ethical Reflection- Film
4/9/2011
Officer Tom Hanson
In the film “Crash” directed by Paul Haggis, all the main characters experience different
situations that portray multiple social and ethical issues that occur in everyday life. Haggis lets
the viewer into the life of each character to see the inner ethical and social dilemmas and how
they choose to deal with the conflicts. Tom Hanson is one such character that is faced with
ethical issues while on the job with a fellow officer Ryan that has 17 years with the force.
Hanson’s inner conflict with morality and responsibility meet head to head when his partner
racially and sexually harasses a couple that they have pulled over. Hanson’s respect for Ryan is
tested when he is faced with Ryan’s obvious racist actions. The scene is heavy with ethical
issues; racism sexual harassment, and duty are the crucial topics that I want to focus on using
Kant’s theory of respect for persons.
The scene begins with Ryan driving and Hanson in the passenger’s seat when they hear
the license plane of the stolen car that occurred in the earlier scene. Then Ryan sees a car of
similar description but different license plate, Hanson tells Ryan to not pull the car over because
the car is not a match. Upon flashing the light on the car the wife of the couple raises her head up
to see what is going on. At first the situation doesn’t seem like anything more than offices Ryan
doing something to stay busy so Hanson just show curiosity on his face, that is until Officer
Ryan begins to speak relatively harsh to the couple. The driver is a black man while the wife is
slightly lighter and both are dressed semiformal. After some words back and forth from the
obviously upset wife Ryan has the husband come to the side of the car to perform a sobriety test.
Hanson doesn’t say anything during this time though the scene shows that he is very
uncomfortable and knows that the test is a waste of time. Ryan tells Hanson to frisk the black
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man while he checks the wife. It was obvious that they were not trouble makers, armed, drunk,
or breaking any laws. The Elements of Moral Philosophy by Stuart Rachel’s (2003) tells that
Kant’s theory follows that “to treat people as ends requires treating them with respect,”
otherwise you are only treating them as a means (p.139). Hanson doesn’t react at all to protect
the innocent couple that is discriminated against by his partner. The scene shows this inner
conflict by his later reaction of wanting to ride alone. But his lack of reaction while faced with
the moral issue has negative consequences for the couple.
After Ryan tells Hanson to pat down the husband, Ryan begins to rub his hands over the
wives breast, waist and thighs. The way he was ‘frisking’ her was obviously an act of sexual
harassment. Because both officers have authority over the couple the husband is to afraid to
speak out against Ryan’s actions. The wife is entirely afraid and discussed at the situation, while
Hanson just stands there listening to Ryan’s threats and accusations against the entirely innocent
couple. Hanson struggles in this scene to deal with the abuses that Ryan inflicts on this random
black couple. His inability to stop and change the situation shows a lot about his character.
Though Hanson sees himself as not being a racist person he allows racial and sexual
discrimination to occur through the facility of his own partner. Though he is uncomfortable with
Ryan and asks for a new partner, he does still let the couples rights and dignity to be infringed
on.
Hanson as an officer of the law and as a partner with the duty that signifies his identity as
an individual in this society; he has to choose what he feels is the right thing to do. The husband
it seems in this scene mimics Hanson’s reaction to Ryan’s blatant sexual harassment to the wife.
Possibly if the husband had said something about the issue Hanson would have felt able to say
something to his superior. Hanson’s respect for Ryan as an officer with 17 years of experience
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conflicts with his ability to do what he feels is right to protect the couple from Ryan’s racism and
harassments.
I think the scene in Higgins film “Crash” can be looked at by both Kant and with the
Utilitarian approach. Kant’s theory clearly states that to treat people as a means then you must
treat them with respect, otherwise they are being treated “merely as a means” (p.137). In the
Scene Hanson fails to treat the couple with respect, because he permits Ryan to treat them as a
means for an outlet of his racism. The Utilitarian would state “Morality is about making the
world as happy as possible” (p.97). It is obvious that the only one that seems happy with the
situation is Ryan. The couple has their rights as humans taken away, and Hanson is seemingly
paralyzed by his inability to cope with the situation presented in the scene. I personally feel that
Hanson’s weakness and inability to correctly reason how to handle the situation shows not only
that he is clouded by ethics of duty but also morally. I think according to Kant and the Utilitarian
principles it is obvious that Officer Hanson should have taken the steps need to protect the
couple’s dignity and happiness.