SUMMARY:
Crash is a 2004 American drama film co-written, produced and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is
about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion piece" for
Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a
video store on Wilshire Boulevard in 1991.[2]
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.
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List of Characters from Crash
Character’s Name
Played by (Actor’s Name)
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
romantically involved.
Rick
Brendan Fraser
Caucasian district attorney whose SUV is
carjacked near the beginning of the movie
Jean
Sandra Bullock
Rick’s uptight wife
Maria
Yomi Perry
Rick and Jean’s Latina housekeeper/nanny
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
harrassed by Officer Ryan in a traffic stop
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
who has obvious racial prejudices
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
he picks him up as a hitchhiker.
Daniel
Michael Pena
Latino locksmith who gives his 5-year-old
daughter an “impenetrable cloak”
Lara
Ashlyn Sanchez
Daniel’s 5-year-old daughter
Elizabeth
Karina Arroyave
Daniel’s wife/ Lara’s mother
Farhad
Shaun Toub
Iranian storeowner who tries to shoot Daniel
but who ends up “shooting” Lara
Shereen
Marina Sirtis
Farhad’s wife
Dorri
Bahar Soomekh
Farhad & Shereen’s daughter. She works in
Brief Description of Character
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in the medical field & does not want her
father to have a gun (She buys “blanks”).
Choi
Greg Joung Paik
Korean man who is hit by Anthony
and Peter as they are driving the
Lincoln Navigator
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.”
Lieutenant Dixon
Keith David
African-American LAPD lieutenant
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
accused of shooting Detective Lewis
Detective Lewis
African-American detective who was
shot in a car belonging to someone
else. Large sums of $ ($300,000?)
were discovered in spare tire of car.
Flanagan
William Fichtner
Works for D.A. Rick, tries to
persuade Graham to say that Conklin
shot Lewis (Such a statement would
politically benefit the D.A.)
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
Farhad’s daughter, Dorri.
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Graham Waters
Ria
Peter
Officer Ryan
Lara
Rick
Jean
Maria
Anthony
Cameron
Christine
Officer Hanson
Elizabeth
Daniel
Farhad
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Shereen
Dorri
Choi
Kim Lee
Shaniqua Johnson
Fred
Lieutenant Dixon
Detective Conklin
Flanagan
Graham’s Mother
Gunstore Owner
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VOCABULARY
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
PROFANITY/BAD WORDS IN ENGLISH
The following are profanity/bad words in English. DO NOT say these words in spoken English.
They are extremely offensive and are not good to say and if you do say them it’s bad manners.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Nigger (racist term for an African American person)
Fuck or Fucking (bad word)
Shit (bad word)
Ass (means butt)
Bitch (female dog, sexist term for a woman)
Bullshit (means crap or garbage)
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
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).
Why do you think Anthony thinks this? Why do you think he sees so much racism everywhere in
life? How does his life as a carjacker affect his worldview? Where else in society can this view be
applied? Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in? How did you respond?
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)
Do you agree with this statement? What events happen in the film to support this? Can you think of
a time when you have been aware of your own prejudices towards others? Have you ever been
affected by the prejudices of others? How can prejudice be overcome?
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?
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