Superficial examination of race relations

Rating: 2/10 (5 June 2006)

I really don't understand how so many people seem to think that this movie has contributed meaningfully to the national dialog on race relations. Reading some of the positive reviews from critics and viewers, you would think that there have been NO other movies dealing with race in recent American cinematic history. I would recommend that people check out some of Spike Lee's early films, like Do the Right Thing, if they are looking for searing, realistic examinations of this sensitive subject. Even the seriously flawed American History X offered a more penetrating look at racial prejudice.
Where to begin with the problems that I had with this movie? First, there is the simple fact that this movie offers no fresh perspective on race. The conversations between the two young black men are supposed to provide insight on what it is like to be a young black man in America and on what the root problems facing the African American community are. Instead, everything that they say has been covered more effectively in other films. We learn that white women often avert there eyes away from young black men on the street. We hear two different perspectives on the role of rap music and on the dearth of respected leaders in the African American community. Apparently, black people are of two different opinions about the use by blacks of the N-word. Who would've known? We then learn that Middle Easterners often face discrimination from those who regard everybody from the region as terrorists. These scenes seem blatantly designed to appeal to those who have never thought about these issues in their lives. Geez, it really IS hard to be a young black man these days. I never thought about that! Geez, it really would suck to deal with ignorant Americans who think Arabs and Persians are all the same. I never realized that non-Arabs are often mistaken as being Arab! If this movie does succeed in providing insight to those who have never thought about these issues before, then more power to it, just don't expect to find anything insightful here if you do not fit into this category.
Movies like Do the Right Thing treat race as a subtle sentiment that lurks beneath the surface of people's everyday exteriors. People may hold prejudices against other groups, but these prejudices might not explode to the surface except under extreme circumstances (like police brutality against African Americans, for instance, or when there is a mob mentality effect). Not so in Crash. Race is never far from the surface, in fact, it seems to be the only factor that enters into people's calculus in their interactions with members of other races. The first part of this movie basically shows people launching into racial tirades in reaction to the most trivial provocations. When an Asian woman and a Latino woman are involved in a minor crash, what do they do? Examine each other's cars to assess the damage and exchange insurance info? Hell no! They immediately unleash a slew of racial invective. There are numerous scenes like this that just seem designed to bang us over the head with the message we are all racists.
Other people have already addressed some of the other weaknesses of the movie. One other thing that bothered me was the fate of the two characters who actually made concerted efforts to transcend the limits of the race-centric mindset. The Ryan Philipe and Larenz Tate characters seemed to try think outside the racial box, but their interaction led to the most tragic outcome of all the characters. So apparently, even when a white guy and a black guy who eschew the prejudices that their respective communities hold about the others' race TRY to find common ground and break down racial barriers, they can't succeed. Okay, so what's the overall message?