What is Conflict?
Conflict, is a struggle between opposing forces. Conflict is the main
component in any film or book and drives the action. Without conflict
you wouldn’t have much of a story. Essentially conflict causes things to
happen. It can be obvious – like people fighting or it can be more subtle,
such as someone worrying over the right thing to do in a difficult
situation.
Crash, as the title suggests, is about conflict. Today, I will discuss 2 main
types of conflict: the conflict between people, and the conflict within
oneself. In addition to this, I will explore what the conflict is about, who
it involves (and what motivates them) and whether the conflict is
satisfactorily resolved at the end of the film.
Hands up if you have ever been in a car crash. Was there any physical
injury to yourself her others? Was there any ongoing connection with the
other party of the collision? Paul Haggis used his very small budget of
only six and half million to craft a powerful story which delves into the
effect of a collision between strangers in both a literal and figurative
sense over a period of 36 hours in Los Angeles. The setting of LA was
pivotal as a back drop to this parable about the effects of collisions
between individuals, as the city almost becomes another hostile and
prejudiced character in the film.
The hostility of the setting is apparent in the opening words of Graham
Water’s:
“In LA 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.” This philosophical statement is made by Waters to
his partner Ria to make sense of their current predicament- a car crash.
The film opens and closes with a car collision, hence the central metaphor
of “crashing” or conflict is established from the outset.
The depiction of the various conflicts within Crash, are enhanced by a
multitude of film techniques. An early aerial shot of LA creates a sense
that the characters’ lives are not in their own hands and that their fate is
already determined in the harsh unfeeling city. The collisions that occur
between strangers in this city are represented on the whole as having a
lasting and often negative effect on the various individuals.
For example when Kim Lee rear-ends Ria and Graham’s car in the
opening scene of Crash, not only do we encounter our central metaphor,
but Haggis also introduces the theme of language. Not only can language
act as a negative barrier to communication but it can be also used as a
tool to categorise or define people. Racial stereotyping causes many
conflicts between individuals in Crash and how we respond to these
conflicts as an audience member, says more about ourselves than it does
about the relationships being depicted. Whilst I did chuckle at Ria
mocking Kim Lee saying, “I Blake too fast. I blake too fast.” It makes me
uncomfortable to ponder my motivation for chuckling and at a
fundamental level it challenges my own racial stereotyping, which I’m
sure is an intention of Haggis.
Another example of conflict between individuals based on racial
stereotyping and the difficulties language can pose is between Farhad and
the gun shop owner. The gun shop owner established the setting as being
post 9/11 with his overt racism and reference to Farhad as being
“Osama”. The mid close –up shots of the gun shop owner reinforce his
impatience at Dorri and Farhad speaking their own language which boils
over into total intolerance as he evicts Farhad for supposedly being a
terrorist. There is very little physical contact in this film, and when there
is, it is invariably negative. This scene is no exception. The security guard
manhandles Farhad out of the shop despite Farhad’s claim that, “he cheat
me this man”. However the conflict to some extent is resolved between
Farhad and the gun shop owner, as Dorri perseveres with the transaction
on her father’s behalf, despite her distate for the purchase and the sexual
innuendo of the gun shop owner. Guns are therefore established as a
motif in Crash and they represent violence and power.
The gun that is causing so much conflict in this scene is wielded
dangerously much later in the film by Farhad, who basically explodes
because he is powerless to help his own situation and wants to blame
someone. The gun provides him with the means of reinstating some sense
of power and control.
Farhad’s anger rules his actions (which could be said of Jean Cabot and
Anthony as well). The audience, along with Daniel, experiences horror
when he pulls the trigger in the slow motion sequence when Lara is
leaping into her father’s arms in her magic cloak. Dorri’s initiative saves
the little girl, and Farhad’s inability to read English ironically leads to
Lara being seen by Farhad to be some sort of angel sent to help him. The
Farhad plot line appears to have a hopeful conclusion, reinforced by a
shot of Farhad being back lit to create a sense of his heavenly wonder,
which suggests his anger is behind him and he can move on.
Conflict within oneself or internal conflict is another conflict explored
extensively in Crash. During Officer Ryan’s assault of Christine Thayer,
his colleague Tom Hansen experiences a conflict in principles. He knows
Ryan’s actions are wrong and racially motivated, but he is powerless to
stop him. In this respect he and Cameron are aligned, as both do not act to
stop Ryan’s behaviour. This sexual assault scene uses various techniques
to focus our attention on the inner conflict characters are experiencing.
The scene starts with an aerial shot of the police car pulling over the
Thayer’s black navigator, emphasizing the power and authority of the
police. The scene is shot into the light making the protagonist’s faces litup. The bright colour contrasts starkly with the ugly scene unfolding.
Tom Hanson realizes Ryan is abusing his authority but lets his superior
dictate events-his unease shown through close –up shots of his painfully
unhappy expression. Cameron similarly, feels helpless which is
reinforced in his submissive dialogue, “We’d appreciate it if you would
just let us go with a warning’ accompanied by a close-up reaction shot of
Christine’s humiliated face. This encounter between strangers has lasting
effects on all characters. Hanson tries to redeem himself for his passivity
in this scene later, by coming to Cameron’s rescue, Ryan is forced to
reflect on the effect he has had on Christine after she crashes after a fight
with Cameron over the assault. Christine, like the audience, is forced to
reassess our impression of Officer Ryan as the ‘bad cop’ because he
becomes a self less hero in this rescue scene, despite triggering events
that led to this situation in the first place. The conflict between Officer
Ryan and Christine is resolved in that she does allow him to help her and
in turn her anger dissipates which is apparent in her phone conversation
with Cameron near the end of the film
The way in which Crash depicts conflict influences the viewers’
responses to ideas and characters in the film. Crash uses lighting to highlight the contrast between the ugly reality of the molestation scene and
our preconceptions of light being “good”, as well as various shot types to
record the emotions of the characters experiencing conflict. What is
certain, this episodic film with its multiple storylines exposes conflict as a
part of our everyday lives. The film exposes prejudices based on a lack of
understanding and stereotyping and challenges us as the viewer to
consider our own assumptions when we happen to collide with strangers.