Cultural Stereotypes in the Movie Crash

Cultural Stereotypes in the Movie Crash
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Cultural Stereotypes in the Movie “Crash”
Racial and cultural stereotypes are a major concern in the world today especially in a multicultural society like the United States of America. Various media advance these stereotypes. The movie “Crash” has been criticized for reinforcing racial and cultural stereotypes. After watching this movie, I agree with the critics that the movie reinforces the stereotypes that members of different cultural groups hold about each other.
The first reinforcement of stereotypes occurs in the scene where a white female American, a role acted by Sandra Bullock, grabs her husband’s arm and tightens her grip on her pass when they encounter two African American males in the streets. She holds the stereotype that they are thieves. The movie reinforces this stereotype when the same African American men car-jack the white woman thereby confirming her fears that they are thieves.
The stereotype that African Americans are cowards is reinforced in the scene where Ryan a white officer stops a black couple Christine and Cameron for driving yet they are black. He makes them stand next to each other and assaults Christine sexually in the presence of Cameron. Strangely, Cameron does nothing to protest the assault thereby reinforcing the stereotype that African Americans are cowards.
In the movie, lack of cultural intelligence and its negative impacts was demonstrated in the scene involving communication between a Persian store owner and a Mexican locksmith.

The Persian store owner holds the feeling that the Mexican locksmith is trying to defraud him. As a result, he misses to take into account the locksmiths recommendations and ends up losing money to thieves who broke into his store. Had he exercised cultural intelligence, he would have taken the advice and saved his money.

ReferenceHaggis, P. (2004). Crash [Film]. Bob Yari Productions.