Second Thoughts

Nick and I just watched Crash and I am rubbing the bump on my head, which the place where the movie beat me repeatedly. Yes, it is about questioning our prejudices and staring them in the face and all irrefutable goals which one wouldn’t think to question, but I can’t begin to believe that the way to move past racism and prejudice is by making heavy-handed stories which are melodramatic and which make one feel exceedingly guilty. In fact, just the opposite: one needs a light heart and humor. I believe that the best way to discourage something is to refuse to indulge it, to pay it no attention, to act, if necessary, as if nothing about it is interesting at all, even if it’s not the case. In other words, look through the thing and see the much better thing beyond it, to illuminate that other thing. It’s a matter of focus, from scolding the bad thing to encouraging the good thing.

The film’s entire schematics rested on exaggerated racial tensions which were put into high relief against “post 9/11 Los Angeles” in a series of interconnecting stories. But this merely gives those tensions more room to exercise themselves, to grow and take shape. True, there were some compelling scenes and genuine relationships, notably between the black couple who get pulled over near the beginning. But in the end, exaggerating and forcing the racial tensions adds fuel to the fire, when we ought to be letting it wither and slip through the cracks.

The movie had good intentions, and I'm not suggesting that we repress latant or present racial prejudices. What I'm suggesting is that the way to deal with them requires more nuance, and more good humor.