1 19 12 Crash Won Academy Award for best picture An award show in which the industry awards and acknowledges itself No outside body doing the awarding How does one decide the best picture of the year Not an objective decision Not like sports in which awards are based on set facts and statistics Stamp of approval But at the end of the day the Oscars are merely promoting the industry Public relations A very elaborate attempt to promote the industry as an art Decline of audiences Response expanding the category of best picture Including movies that are more commercially viable blockbusters A surprise winner About race and racism Competition that year Brokeback Mountain During a time when gay marriage was a subject in the political arena It was a better move to endorse Crash Like in the movie when Ryan Phillipee did not want to be judged a racist in the eyes of the public but his actions at the end of the film reveal his true nature In today s society it is not cool to be openly racist as it was in the past There is now a social stigma attached to racist views and acts Aggressive denial against such acts Liberal Hollywood A film like Crash would seem to endorse this statement Hollywood however is not liberal There may be liberal individuals but the institution itself is not liberal Quite the opposite in many ways The current SOPA PIPA legislation supported by studios Old media vs new media Hollywood has taken the conservative stance Stereotypes Generalized simplifications based on assumptions taken as verifiable facts Beginning of the movie stereotypes that Asians cannot drive Taken to mean that all people in that entire race cannot drive One Asian bad driver proves this fact in the minds of racists The acts of one or a small number of people come to stand for the entirety of a group of people Recently the arsonist in Hollywood who set fire to cars A Germany angry about the impending deportation of his mother Represented as a lone mentally unstable individual The societal fears that might have arisen are abated because the acts are contained to just one crazy person Not a societal problem If he had been a Muslim Suddenly becomes terrorism Implicating an entire group of people based on the actions of one We should fear anyone of a similar background Prejudice vs racism Often confused in our society Prejudice To pre judge To make judgments on previously held opinions Example a prejudice against cheap shoes Turned into action by using it against people with cheap shoes failing them in class Does not have to be about race Racism The difference comes to power When prejudice is given power it turns to racism Denying certain things or punishing for certain things based on race Tied to institutions and history The power of the institution to act on prejudices In Crash A cop Matt Dillon pulls over an African American couple Because he can Not superficial power it is quite real The power of the badge backed up by the power of a gun The badge symbolizes power Makes threats and sexually assaults Thandie Newton He has the power of the institution behind him Turns his prejudice into racism The power vested in the power of the institution makes the acts of one prejudiced person lone and not apart of the larger group A film that is trying to convey the message that certain things are universal All people have good and bad qualities All races are in a level playing field Theoretically equal Suggests something that does not exist in American society Equality is not the case All groups are not created equal relative to the constructs of society Matt Dillon s character He takes out his personal frustrations on other people of other races Dealing with his sick father So the audience could potentially sympathize with him Everyone deals with things like this and may act badly as a result The film goes a step further Gives the character an opportunity to redeem himself A bad cop but when pressed he still does his job and can save lives When he saves Thandie Newton whom he assaulted from a car crash Music helps create a melodramatic emotional space When they recognize each other she objects but eventually lets him in He acts very professionally and asks her permission every step of the way In contrast to the actions he took before In an almost sexual position they also embrace at the end Not overtly sexual but it is suggested Matt Dillon framed against the sky in a very heroic pose Really he should get no credit for saving her because that is what he is paid to do as a cop what he is supposed to do He represents the institution of authority Narrative strategy of manipulating time Begins with a scene but then goes back 2 days Also an effective use of music Underscoring the drama to create melodrama and emotion These strategies make Crash seem more liberal than it is At its core it is still a clich argument about racism in our society Racism is as random as snow in L A a car crash etc Argues for a level playing field equality across the board But that is not the case upon further breakdown It represents the very stereotypes it is trying to debunk