A no brains, overly sentimental look at racism in the states

Rating: 5/10 (19 May 2005)

basically crash is about racism in the states (a worthy subject of analysis). the title "crash" probably refers to the clash of ethnic and socio-economic identities and the interpersonal consequences of that collision. i guess at some deeper level i really felt for these "stereo type anti-stereo-types" (watch the movie, that's not a typo), but i just couldn't come to grips with how naive this film was; subtle it certainly ain't. is it challenging? well, no. i didn't come outta there thinking: "boy! did i have American culture figured out all wrong!" none of my prior held views and opinions were shattered by what this film had to say (in fact it compounded American stereotypes such as insular, environmentally inconsiderate and intolerant). these oil rich imperialists don't like public transport (as one, more poignant moment in the film revealed) or driving around in sensible fuel efficient cars (holla back if u can tell me the make of the black SUV featured in this film!). there's a certain candid innocence about this film that audiences will appreciate particularly as a diversion from an otherwise ridiculous and implausible story (not that it was meant to be 'real' of course). despite this, its nauseatingly sentimental and as for 'social critique' it's about as profound as baked beans on a Friday night watching the footy. it ultimately has no answers to any of the issues it raises and possibly even hinders real social action. "crash" consciously steers clear of a political agenda, which a lot of people failed to notice or care much about (or so it seemed from what i heard outside the cinema). throughout the film the audience is kept aloof- above it all- and in this voyeuristic state the connection between economic forces and social imperatives remains subliminal. instead we see a lot of moralistic rhetoric about bad guys who become good and good guys who go bad. sure, lots of melodrama, but is it saying anything? i don't think so. i think it removes racism from its proper macro economic context and rationalises it from a interpersonal/relative/subjective (etc) frame of reference. conscious of this i felt a sense of apathy to these hopelessly clichéd character frauds.
to conclude: don't buy into the hype surrounding this movie. it's not a particularly 'radical' or 'original' take on race issues.yes, people are capable of becoming "nicer to minorities" but only if real material redistribution occurs (so less SUV and more public transport). unsurprisingly this was not addressed in the movie. Crash is edgy, its raw, but its covered territory and has about the same intellectual depth as an episode of ER.
19/05/05