Crash

Movie: Crash, 2004; 112 min

Director: Paul Haggis

Actors: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Brenden Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges

Summary:

The stories of people from different races all interconnect with one another in different ways. The racial and social tensions in Los Angeles are depicted in dramatic, yet very real scenarios.

In what way does the director connect shots from different scenarios together? Why is this technique useful?

            There are numerous times in the film when scenes are connected through common shots such as a door closing or opening. The director uses these common connections to intertwine the scenarios of different characters. For example, when one character walks through a door, another character comes out of another door that is in a different shot and location. These subtle connecting devices allow the director to switch from story to story without too many choppy transitions.  It also draws in the audience’s attention because the transition into another character’s story is, in a way, unexpected. Normally, the audience would expect the screen to go black for that split second and then cut to a new scenario and location. These transitions though common shots help the film and storyline run smoothly, and they also give deeper meaning to the fact that all the different stories are similar and connect with one another.

What is the significance of the spotlight on the car crash as the camera zooms out over the streets in the final scene of the movie?

            In the final scene of the movie, a car crash occurs between an African American woman and two Asian men. They all step out of their cars and begin yelling racial slurs towards each other. The verbal fighting continues as the camera begins to zoom away from the crash. A spotlight remains on the crash and people yelling at one another. The camera zooms out over the other city streets in Chinatown with the spotlight still remaining but everything else outside the spotlight seems to be continuing normally without disruption. This depicts the fact that even though these racial tensions occur everywhere, the rest of the world goes on without taking notice of anything wrong. Some people remain unaware that racial hatred still occurs today and do not take notice of it until they are affected. The darkness over the rest of the city streets compared to the spotlight on the car crash shows how people are oblivious or pay no attention to racial tensions that occur daily in a country where everyone is to be treated as equals.