“It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.”
To What Extent Is Ethnic Diversity And Multiculturalism Ultimately celebrated In Contempary Hollywood Movies, With Particular Reference To “Crash”
It could be argued that ethnic diversity and multiculturalism are actually celebrated in Hollywood productions. Particularly when emphasis is put on the representations of ethnic minorities in such films such as "Crash", where the film focuses on how various stereotypes are created due to moral panics, and demonstrate how these stereotypes have various implications. However, historical texts such as "A Birth Of A Nation" show a much rougher and more and brutal side to ethnic diversity and multiculturalism, which perhaps shows it is not celebrated in the movie, focusing on the differences between communities, in particular the dominant and subordinate community. The concept of "the other" plays a big role in mainstream films, especially those that debate the issue of race and class.
Crash is a dramatic film, directed by Paul Haggis. The film focuses on the relationships between a variety of citizens over the previous 36 hours during the run-up to Christmas, supposedly a time of peace and goodwill. The film emphasises the different social attitudes and troubling stereotypes created due to events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Wee see "The way in which an individuals acts are determined is by their social class, economic position and the ideologies of that gender or race [1]". This quote helps identify why certain characters have acted in certain ways. For example in "crash", Matt Dillon plays a crooked cop who pulls over a young black couple for no apparent reason. Close up shots are used of him touching the female inappropriately while frisking her. The fact that the husband is letting this happen to his wife shows the power and authority one ethnicity has over another. The police officer is male, reinforcing the stereotype of male dominance over females. Moreover, economically the police officer is in a better position with a secure job. In “ A Birth Of A Nation” the KKK are shown in a positive way. There are shots shown of the KKK killing a character called Gus, as he tried forcing a marriage between him and a white female, Flora. This results in his death as the KKK hunt him down as Flora jumped of a cliff, as she didn't want to be touched by him. The murder of this character is almost celebrated in this movie as it is carried out by white supremacists. The fact that they are from a higher social class means that their actions were not questioned.
It has been argued that Hollywood is “criticised for representing groups in a stereotypical fashion that is genralised”[2] therefore we can assume “because someone holds a stereotype of a group, their behavior towards a member of that group can be predicted”[3]. In “Crash”
Due to other texts, it can be said that “Representations in television do not exist in isolation but in relation to other television representations and representations in other media texts” [4]. The representation of the Hispanic locksmith in “Crash” is shown in two different ways. When first introduced he is shown fitting locks in the DA’s house, where his wife has doubts due to his ethnicity. She wants the locks changed again as he is tattooed and she perceives him to be a gang member. However later on in the movie, he is shown as a loving family man, for example shown comforting his daughter, as she can’t sleep due to gun shot sounds. The initial representation of a gang member could have been made in relation to other media texts. For example “American History X” shows Hispanic gang members in jail after crimes such as murder and rape. Another example is in “Miami Vice” which focuses on corruption in South America. These similar representations could have contributed to the initial representation of the locksmith. However later on, shown to be almost a binary opposition of what the DA’s wife thought he was.
The stereotyping in “Crash” is key as it helps us identify other sides to characters, which the audience can see and what the camera cannot. “Many racial stereotypes which were common in the 1950’s and 1960’s would be regarded as offensive, unacceptable and probably unlawful today.” [5] This links to both “A Birth of a Nation” and “Crash”, as both show representations of black and white people in the community, but as “A Birth of a Nation” was much earlier, the representations were accepted. However, if similar representations were produced now, they would be perceived as racist. The reason for this could be due to the roles of leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. This shows that multiculturalism is not celebrated in “The Birth of a Nation” and that even touching a black person was hard. For example when Flora jumps to her death as she didn’t want to be touched by lynch. Some could argue that “ethnicity can imply that a persons culture and status are fixed and unavoidable, and this is what confirms them in that status”.[6] This connotes that the way in which a ethnicity is represented is unavoidable and will not change. To a certain extent looking at “Crash” this may be true. For example the two black friends are shown mugging the DA and his wife. Their clothing connotes them to be thugs, which is a stereotype of black people. This could have been created by moral panic as not all black people are like this, even if they do dress a certain way. As the film goes on, one of the black men releases a group of Asians from the back of a van, and gives them money. This is the opposite of what perhaps a “thug” would do; therefore he is showing his stereotype is not “fixed”.
It can be argued that “Asian men are usually presented either as threatening corrupters of white women or as eunuchs lacking any romantic feelings”. [7] One of the characters the movie “Crash” follows is an Asian man. Although he is not shown in many shots, his role in the movie is still very important. One of the scenes shows the Ludacris and his friend run over the Asian man, as there eyes were off the road due to an argument they were having. Once they find the man under the car, they simply push him to the side of the road. The mise en scene is very dark, in an almost deserted road, and a close up shot is used to show the expression on his face as the two characters drive away. Later on the film shows the Asian man has a wife, as she is almost in tears when she sees him in the hospital. This shows another opposition, looking at the quote above. The fact he has a wife who was in tears shows her raw emotion of just seeing him alive. This represents him as a good husband, who must have romantic feelings and is not a corrupter of white women.
"Lack of minority ethnic workers in the television industry, since one of the problems with fighting stereotypes is gaining access to the machinery that produces the images." [8] This relates to SHEP, as it talks about the crew behind the scenes and the institution itself, regarding the different ethnicities in the institution behind the text. The film itself does celebrate multiculturalism, to an extent. In the film Terrance Howard plays a director, who is under pressure from his manager about the representations in the production they are filming. A close up shot is used of his face, to emphasise his expression when he tries to make one of his characters go against the "ghetto black" stereotype. However his manager tells him, an upper class white American, to make the character more stereotypical. We can identify the man is from the institution behind the text due to his clothing and appearance, he is shown wearing a suit and holding a briefcase. A medium shot shows him almost standing over the film director, connoting his influential power over him.
"Marx argued that the ruling class could impose their values and ideas on the rest of the population because of their privileged or political position"[9]. A Birth Of A Nation shows the overpowering influence of the KKK, as they are represented as heroes and savior of the "norm". Before President Lincoln is shot dead in the film, blacks could not vote. This is due to the law that was passed by the government, and there were no negative outcomes of this, due to their higher power and better political position. However once he is dead, Stoneman is shown to be a champion of black equality in the south, and has a right hand man called Lynch. Lynch was in a high political position, and when he tried to enforce his own values and ideas on the rest of the population, he was killed. This a complete opposition to what happened when there was a white ruling class in the south of America. He tries to force a marriage with a white women called Flora, and the KKK kill him as a result of this, and thereafter shown celebrating in the streets as a symbol of victory. Again this reinforces there is no celebration of ethnic diversity, and shows the repercussions of what happens when a less privileged black man, tries to take a certain amount of authority.
Representations could be hard to construct, as “not everyone would agree on what counted as a negative or positive representation”. [10] The Asian man in “Crash” could be used as an example of this. He is shown trying to get fellow Asians into the USA illegally through the back of a van. We could perceive this as a positive representation, as they may be members of his family and he is trying to save them from poverty. However once the shot is shown of the people in the back of the van, a close up reveals they are almost enslaved inside a metal cage. The clothing they are wearing is dirty and ragged, and make up used to emphasise their poverty is dirt on their face. If the Asian man was trying to save them, they shouldn’t have been in these conditions, and perhaps he was going to sell them as workers to make money. Therefore it s not exactly clear what there relationship with the man is, so the representation is hard to be perceived as positive or negative.
In the film “A Birth of a Nation” there is much evidence of there being little celebration of multiculturalism. “Goffman (1969)... describes the sustained 'hate stare' as exhibited by bigoted white Americans to blacks.”[11] This is an example of how blacks are looked upon, the fact that the look is almost a look of “hate” shows little acceptance of black people in the movie. Also how “we are seen, determines in part how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how we see them”. [12] This connotes that they way people are seen is the way they are treated. For example in a scene in “Crash”, a young black man is shot as he reaches for his pocket. The police officer was of duty and shot him as he thought he was reaching for a gun, however it was just an ornament they shared the same interest in. This shows due to his color and thug like clothing, he was stereotyped and shot, again linking to morale panics.
To show that “Crash” to an extent does not celebrate multiculturalism "Lola young argues convincingly that white and black film makers find it hard to challenge stereotypical images of black women"[13], for example one stereotype is that black women are more sexually surrounded, this can be shown when Thandie Newton and her husband are pulled over, as a police officer thought she was giving him oral sex. However the shot makes it unclear what she is doing, and may not be taking place in any sexual action. Also "Such films conventionally oppose the chasity and virginity of white womanhood to the vitality and sexuality of the black women" [14]. For example, Sandra Bullock is playing the character of the DA’s wife, and is never shown taking place in inappropriate scenes. However Thandie Newton is shown being touched inappropriately and perhaps pulled over for actions she did not do. This shows a binary opposition between the two characters.
Overall I think “Crash” is a celebration of multiculturalism and ethnic diversity. The film cleverly follows intertwined stories of a multiple narrative, to show the effects of judging characters then taking action. However as the movie goes on, Mat Dillon who originally was shown as a crooked cop, saves the life of the same character he touched inappropriately earlier. Whilst in the life or death situation, Thandie Newton decides to trust him, and he manages to pull her out of a burning car. This is almost like a re-equilibrium (Todorov’s theory) in the movie, as the effect of this scene causes a chain reaction on the other characters, who also take place in changes. For example when Ludacris lets put he Asians out of the back of a van, and gives them money. However films such as “A Birth of a Nation” show a complete opposite. The continuous negative representation of black people shows they were unaccepted in society back then, as many could argue that a representation is a mirror image of what is going on in society at the time of the text.
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Books
1. Bignell, J (2004) An Introduction To Media Studies, London: Routledge pg122
2.O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes, Y. (1997) Media Studies Reader, London: Arnold. Pg 101
3. ibid pg 102
4. Bignell, J. (2004) An Introduction To Media Studies, London: Routledge pg122
5. Casey, B. Casey, N. Calvert, B. Frech, L. and Lewis, J. (2004) Television Stuides The Key Concepts, London: Routledge. Pg 191
6. Bignell, J. An Introduction To Television Studies J. London: Routledge, (2004). Pg 84
8. Casey, B. Casey, N. Calvert, B. Frech, L. and Lewis, J. (2004) Television Stuides The Key Concepts, London: Routledge. Pg 191
9. ibid pg78
10. Hartley, J. Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: The Key Concepts. 2 ed. New York: Routledge, pg 203
12. ibid pg202
13. Cook, P. The Cinema Book 3rd Edition. 3 ed. London: British Film Institute, 2007. Print.
14. ibid pg201
Internet
7. http://www.manaa.org/asian_stereotypes.html
11. http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze07.html
Moving Image Texts
“Crash” Directed by Paul Haggis. USA, Lions Gate Entertainment.
“A Birth of a Nation” Directed by D. W. Griffith, USA. David. W Griffith Corp.
“American History X” directed by Tony Kane. USA, New Line Cinema.
