Crash

When I write I  develop my characters from peices and parts of real people. The idea that you should write what you know plays a large role in my work. I recently found myself exposed to a film I had previously seen, this time it had a far greater impact do to my current focus. I recommend that anyone smack dab in the character development stage, see this film


Today’s Blog is a Character analysis from a film that exemplifies the pitfalls of prejudice in our culture. I chose a character that I felt had the most dynamic attitude during this courageous and fascinating look into our multicultural society.

We all have our prejudices, regardless of the face we show to the public. Generally we are all aware of the pitfalls of reacting from prejudice. However, this does not stop the typical human from making assumptions. First, let us define what the word prejudice means. The literal meaning is to pre judge. This fact alone would imply that if acting from previous knowledge, then we are simply judging and are not prejudice in the least. This is the rational that most of us apply when responding to a culture in a negative manner. But let us face facts, the only way to explain away a prejudice is to react to a single individual, one whom we have associated with in the past. Otherwise we are pre judging an entire race or culture, based on some individuals of the same. What is abundantly clear in the movie (Crash. 2004, Directed by Paul Haggis) is that, these highly evocative narratives and major themes are stereotypes and racism, issues that haunts us all.

The character I felt had an interesting shift in perspectives is Jean. Jean, introduced early on as a politician’s wife, is attractive, white and in her mid thirties. Her story opens innocently enough when we see her walking with her husband Rick. They are arm in arm, discussing how nice it would be to ignore any cell phone calls that could possibly interrupt their evening. The conversation is light and Rick quickly turns off his phone in response to the discussion. Only a few seconds pass before Jean sees two young, black men walking in their direction. She grips her husband’s arm tighter and presses close to him as the walk past. We find out later, she wanted to say or do more to protect herself, but she felt as if that would be derogatory, so she refrained from addressing her feelings and continued to her car without taking any precautions. Moments later, the two black men accost the couple with guns, pulling them from their black, sports utility vehicle, quickly steeling it.

From that moment on, Jean no longer hides her prejudice. She blatantly stereotypes the locksmith, accusing him of nefarious plots against her and she becomes irrationally angry at her Hispanic housekeeper. These scenes depict a woman in the throes of post traumatic shock. She sees the world through the eyes of a victim and has placed all of her anguish at the feet of anyone that does not share her race and status. This is especially poignant, because we are allowed to see the true integrity of the characters she diminishes and they are astonishingly, multilayered humans.

Soon Jean finds herself in need of help when she slips on her stairs and falls, landing with a resounding thud. She is obviously unable to move, crumpled on the floor in pain. In a subsequent scene, we see Jean in the hospital, she is contrite and vulnerable. Once again her perspective on the world has been challenged. Jean was rescued by her hispanic housekeeper, a fact that surprises and seems to embarrass her. She states, although she has several friends, not one was willing to come to her aid in a true time of need. As this scene comes to a close, Jean hugs the kind woman that saved her and mumbles in a strained voice “you are my best friend.” It is apparent that Jean has been forever changed by her experiences and like many of us; they will color her future choices. Jean discovered that situations and individuals carry more weight than ideas about race and stature, it is a lesson we could all grow from.





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Until tomorrow. Fortune favors the brave! Samantha Shu