A 2004 film directed by Paul Haggis is based on the intertwined stories of several individuals of different races in America. Crash features some notable actors like Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, and Shaun Toub. Crash is based on racism and prejudice between different groups of people, showing that no matter what color your skin is, we are all affected by it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This film portrays the plot of Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock), a wealthy white woman dealing with “first world problems.” She is the wife of District Attorney Rick Cabot (Brendan Fraser); a Persian father (Shaun Toub), who is dealing with the struggle to protect his business, resulting in anger issues; a Latino blacksmith (Michael Pena) heavily stereotyped by his peers, as well as many other related stories. Haggis' main focus for this film is based on how fear can take over many of our thoughts and is the basis of all our prejudices. and stereotypes. This shows that every individual is flawed in their own way. We can see this in the film shown through the character of a young police officer, played by Ryan Phillippe. First we realize that he is one of the few police officers in the film who is positive and disgusted by the racist beliefs of his older partners. We quickly realize that he too has flaws, when they pick up an African American hitchhiker they begin what appears to be a friendly conversation but soon the situation changes and we are shocked that the police officer draws his gun to shoot the hitchhiker, when he thought he had a gun in his pocket too. This is a representation of the message conveyed, that no matter what, everyone has a little bias in them. Crash incorporated effective cinematic techniques to augment the main focus and have an emotional impact on the audience. One scene that really struck me was the “invisible cloak” scene. It is here that Farhad, the Persian father, approached Daniel, the blacksmith, to threaten him with a firearm. There was soft music like a piano in the background, which emphasized the audience's emotions and how sorry we felt for Daniel. The characters in this scene showed impeccable acting that could make you cry. A zoom/close-up of Daniel's face was used to highlight the sadness he felt when his daughter ran to help him. Watching this film, I was surprised by how much I admired it. Through the use of a sharp script, symbolism, and effective cinematography, director Paul Haggis encourages us to empathize with Crash's characters, such as Daniel, the Latino blacksmith. This was a very powerful and inspiring film, the main focus was on racism but it also touched on prejudice. Crash does a great job of waking you up to this fact and showing you how everyone around us can be affected by it. Crash is a movie where anything can happen. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Haggis also forces us to take a deep look at ourselves and see our hidden aspects prejudices and racism that we have seen throughout our lives. This is a great example of how the only thing stopping us from eliminating it is ourselves. This isn't just yet another movie based on racism, it's all the factors that go into it and how it's not always about skin color, everyone can and is affected by it. Works CitedBernard, J. (2006). Accident. In The New York Times Guide to the 1,000 Greatest Movies Ever..