It was almost as if the writers didn't know how to put deapth into a character of far eastern extraction. The racist white cop, the gangbangers, the shop owner, the black cop and the black producer all had their inner stories that gave a hint of what made them tick. Hispanics were treated the best. I don't think there were any "bad" acts by hispanics?
Asian women are in vogue and will see success in the US
Asian men are not.
Frankly i'm disgusted with the way Asian males are portrayed..........
Hollywood needs to stop treating Asian women like their concubines.
Woman of far eastern extraction are considered hot by western men. They sell things. Men of similar extraction are not considered hot by very many western woman. They don't sell things
Orientals???? Are we talking about a race of people or a type of food and art???? Calling Asians "oriental" is considered by some like calling blacks "negros".
Whites, blacks: are we talking about a race of people or paint on the wall?
In Europe, it supposedly PC to call people from eastern asia "orientals." Here, it's the opposite, but my message is really that any group of people that are so hung up over being labeled by geography need to shut up and chill out. Given that there's a very distinct definition for the term "Orient," I can't imagine a better word than "oriental" as a geographic nomenclature to the people who originate from that area. I can undersand why someone might be a little perturbed about a Thai being called a "Chinaman," but that's entirely different.
didn't the ending reveal the asians were involved in some people-smuggling operation?
It did Shawn, but that is just another bad action. I am talking about something to show us another side of people: the racist cop and his dad's story, the turn towards redemption of the african american youth when he frees the people from the van rather than let the chop-shop guy sell them, the shop keeper buying a weapon because of a past robbery and fear for his family's safety.
Please explain...I actually liked the film. if you read my previous reply. then I read a bunch of message boards that voiced those particular opinions and thought about it again and thought they made a good point too...
and do we all get to watch a movie frame by frame? maybe i'd have a different opinion too if I could watch the movie frame by frame. But I didn't.
So, convince a bunch of Asians that they weren't portrayed poorly in this movie...what were the themes?
Release the knowledge dude!!!
I'll do my best at 1:30am.
An easy metaphor to use with Crash is the game 'Rock, paper, scissors' (or equivalent name). While "scissors" may win in some matches (vs paper), it loses in others (vs rocks). The constant flip-flop of power in 'Rock, paper, scissors' is what happens in Crash among the various races (or stereotypes). It is necessary for the characters in Crash to be stereotypical because it allows (or should allow) audiences to quickly see that they (the characters) are representative of something more than their race (since the stereotypes are so obvious). Each race/stereotype--the Hispanic guy we can talk about later--goes through the process of oppressor/opressed in the film, making the point that we all suffer from making the same prejudices at one point or another regardless of race/background/economics/etc. (I'm not implying that all discrimination is equal.) There is obviously much more to this film and I'm more than happy to share, but I need to sleep for the night. A couple last things to consider with regards to the quality of Crash:
-Watch the film with subtitles on, and you'll be exposed to a whole new level of genius. Paul Haggis is a very clever writer, and there are countless lines that are lost in the action of their scenes that help shape the themes of the film. (See the scene of Ludacris and his friend walking down the street after leaving the coffee shop.)
-All the stories are more intricately woven that they first appear. I noticed new things my 6th time through the film that help piece together all the story lines.
hi guys I just saw this great documentary called Passing Poston I think you would enjoy as much as I did. It's about Japanese American internment during World War II. Definitely worth a watch. Not sure where exactly it's playing but it's in theaters all over the country. Check out their website www.passingposton.com
Comments
Originally posted by hmurchison
Asian women are in vogue and will see success in the US
Asian men are not.
Frankly i'm disgusted with the way Asian males are portrayed..........
Hollywood needs to stop treating Asian women like their concubines.
Woman of far eastern extraction are considered hot by western men. They sell things. Men of similar extraction are not considered hot by very many western woman. They don't sell things
Originally posted by Mac on a Mac
the black cop and the black producer all had their inner stories that gave a hint of what made them tick.
didn't the ending reveal the asians were involved in some people-smuggling operation?
Originally posted by JohnnySmith
Orientals???? Are we talking about a race of people or a type of food and art???? Calling Asians "oriental" is considered by some like calling blacks "negros".
Whites, blacks: are we talking about a race of people or paint on the wall?
In Europe, it supposedly PC to call people from eastern asia "orientals." Here, it's the opposite, but my message is really that any group of people that are so hung up over being labeled by geography need to shut up and chill out. Given that there's a very distinct definition for the term "Orient," I can't imagine a better word than "oriental" as a geographic nomenclature to the people who originate from that area. I can undersand why someone might be a little perturbed about a Thai being called a "Chinaman," but that's entirely different.
Originally posted by ShawnJ
didn't the ending reveal the asians were involved in some people-smuggling operation?
It did Shawn, but that is just another bad action. I am talking about something to show us another side of people: the racist cop and his dad's story, the turn towards redemption of the african american youth when he frees the people from the van rather than let the chop-shop guy sell them, the shop keeper buying a weapon because of a past robbery and fear for his family's safety.
Originally posted by Mac on a Mac
...gangbanger...
Either I slept through parts of the movie (not total unlikely), the word has an extended meaning than I know or you are using the word wrong.
Originally posted by Anders
Either I slept through parts of the movie (not total unlikely), the word has an extended meaning than I know or you are using the word wrong.
Come on guys. I learned how to talk on the south side of Chicago! It does have another rmeaning. I have ammended my post for clarity
Originally posted by O-Mac
Please explain...I actually liked the film. if you read my previous reply. then I read a bunch of message boards that voiced those particular opinions and thought about it again and thought they made a good point too...
and do we all get to watch a movie frame by frame? maybe i'd have a different opinion too if I could watch the movie frame by frame. But I didn't.
So, convince a bunch of Asians that they weren't portrayed poorly in this movie...what were the themes?
Release the knowledge dude!!!
I'll do my best at 1:30am.
An easy metaphor to use with Crash is the game 'Rock, paper, scissors' (or equivalent name). While "scissors" may win in some matches (vs paper), it loses in others (vs rocks). The constant flip-flop of power in 'Rock, paper, scissors' is what happens in Crash among the various races (or stereotypes). It is necessary for the characters in Crash to be stereotypical because it allows (or should allow) audiences to quickly see that they (the characters) are representative of something more than their race (since the stereotypes are so obvious). Each race/stereotype--the Hispanic guy we can talk about later--goes through the process of oppressor/opressed in the film, making the point that we all suffer from making the same prejudices at one point or another regardless of race/background/economics/etc. (I'm not implying that all discrimination is equal.) There is obviously much more to this film and I'm more than happy to share, but I need to sleep for the night. A couple last things to consider with regards to the quality of Crash:
-Watch the film with subtitles on, and you'll be exposed to a whole new level of genius. Paul Haggis is a very clever writer, and there are countless lines that are lost in the action of their scenes that help shape the themes of the film. (See the scene of Ludacris and his friend walking down the street after leaving the coffee shop.)
-All the stories are more intricately woven that they first appear. I noticed new things my 6th time through the film that help piece together all the story lines.