I want to say to the filmmaker and writer (who is white and male), that that is the most self-congratulatory and insensitive bullshit piece of propaganda I’ve seen in long time. I wonder how survivors of rape and hate crimes would feel about the idea of their perps having an opportunity to redeem themselves at the expense of their victim’s powerlessness and dependence on them.

Well said Leo, for pointing out what it really is. I am glad someone else noticed this.

I believe I have just seen “Crash 2″.

crash. whatevah!

it’s time to start getting some real asian american’s in film dammit!!!!!!!

As many have stated, the stereotypes of all ethnic groups portrayed were challenged, humanized and reversed–except for the Asian’s. The one-dimensional, negative stereotyping and mean-spirited treatment of Asians were not only reinforced and justified, but also used in many instances as laughing stocks–i.e. how the first and last appearances of Asian characters in the movie are centered around car accidents.

Then there is the calloused and money-hungry Asian woman’s irrational and awkward use of profane, derogatory and racist verbiage that at one point serves as cinematic justification for a non-Asian character to make a racist but clever come-back and get the upper hand.

Not to mention the comically timed and continuous use of the word ‘chinaman’, by non-Asian characters who are treating the half-dead body of an Asian man (whom they have unknowingly run over) with a kind of droll heartlessness. That scene was set up to be humorous.

I could go on and on, but will conclude by bringing up three more issues that I experienced with the film.

The first one has to do with the use of the one forgettable Asian American character who for about one minute was the rep from the insurance company that tells the claimants that the extensive damage from vandalism and theft to their store will not be covered by the policy due to the negligence of the owner. Given the context of the movie, it is obvious that the use of an Asian actor for that part was deliberate.

Next, is the whole human trafficking portrayal. Here, we have Asians victimizing other Asians (because whites never do that?) and then to top it all off the kidnapped Asian victims are set free by a non-Asian (as if we don’t have the means to save our Selves) who incidentally was part of the aforementioned hit-and-run collusion but redeems himself with this good deed. That, by the way, is a recurring theme in many mainstream American movies–Asians who are victimized by other Asians and then are rescued by “real Americans” who do the bad Asians in.

My third and last issue is not about anti-Asian racism but involves the white cop who sexually assaults the African American woman in front of her husband. The cop then redeems himself later in the movie by saving her life. She also appears to be redeemed by that experience. I want to say to the filmmaker and writer (who is white and male), that that is the most self-congratulatory and insensitive bullshit piece of propaganda I’ve seen in long time. I wonder how survivors of rape and hate crimes would feel about the idea of their perps having an opportunity to redeem themselves at the expense of their victim’s powerlessness and dependence on them.

The representation that this movie rides on as some kind of important, courageous and innovative commentary on the subject of “race” in America is in my opinion, a white-male, middleclass fantasy.

While I definitely agree that “Chinaman” is a very derogatory term, I resent your attempts to rewrite history here– recent history, at that. Look at any mob movie, or damn-near any non-KILL BILL Tarantino flick, and you’ll hear black characters referred to as just that… “Niggers.”

Sure, I wince whenever I hear it, but I understand that sadly enough, people really do say refer to us in such a way, and if you’re going to attempt a realistic depiction of people’s ugliness, then you can’t (or shouldn’t) pull punches.

Instead of trying to turn this into a black/Asian issue, you should probably be more concerned at the manner in which Asians are handled in the movie. Contrary to what many earlier posters said, I don’t think the filmmakers maliciously tried to keep the Asian characters in their “evil” states. Rather, I think they simply “forgot” or didn’t *bother* to develop the Asian characters’ storylines because they deemed anti-Asian racism to be less of an “appealing” hot-button issue.

That, my friend, is actually more frightening than good, old-fashioned malice

Without having read any of these previous comments until now (I am visiting my parents from Los Angeles) I scoured the internet for anyone who noticed this weird Asian sterotype in Haggis’ Movie “Crash”. THANK GOD I FOUND YOU GUYS. I was a little perplexed at how Asians were portrayed in the movie. The portrayal of Blacks, Whites and Persians are seen as complex individuals who are motivated by fortunate/unfortunate circumstances, and assumptions about them are twisted throughout the movie. Mexicans are seen as nothing but good in the movie, and Asians are seen as nothing but bad. I can’t figure out what Haggis is saying about the ethnic groups in Los Angeles. That all black people are good, even if they do bad things? All white people are inherently racist? That really Mexicans are just loyal people? The majority of Asians do not go to Med or Law school or start an honest business but rather the Asian slave trade? Why is it alright to pick on Asians? because we don’t always steal, murder or harbor any threat when people pass us on the street. I sometimes get the feeling that other ethnic groups say to themselves “I shouldn’t be afraid of blacks”, “Latino’s will never steal from me”, “I shouldn’t always trust white people”, “I shouldn’t feel uneasy about getting on a plane with a Muslim”, “…but Asians, I’m always at ease around them…”

“…they must be a bunch of assholes.”

The only only other element I noticed as much as the writer was the music. Both are trying to tell me what’s important. No one seemed to me like real people - their dialogue seemed like it all came from the same person just delivered by different actors.

In the end, I feel the writer/director neither has experienced or understands the tensions and fallout of racism.