lack of ethnic diversity on Friends

The following are extracts from an essay that i found. Though it is not directly related to my study i may be able to use points in relation to the lack of ethnic diversity as the essay asks this question:
What happened to programs such as the Cosby Show or the Fresh Prince? Why are all-white television shows so popular in America and what happened to minority-based shows?
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/media_literacy/35640

Today's television depicts popular white America while leaving out minorities. The lack of ethnicity on television gives America an inaccurate idea about minorities
We live in a society where ethnicity is always depicted as sinful. When you sit down to watch television you don't expect to see minorities on television shows. At the same time people are not shocked to see minorities being arrested or convicted on the news. What would be the public's reaction if they went to watch television and saw six minority "friends" on a show just after watching an all-white neighborhood rioting on a news program?
Friends reinforces the humorous "all-American" lifestyle. Six white, unmarried, young Americans living and interacting together, reinforcing the idea that it is okay in today's society to be racially biased in choosing friends
Relationships portrayed on Friends are of white couples. This strongly reinforces the immorality of interracial relationships. People in society today do not see a homogenous portrayal of all-white society as they walk down a city block. Why do television shows, for the most part, display a perfect white homogenous society?
Friends is a lovable show that is compelling to the American public, reinforcing the idea that whites are dominant figures over minorities.

Therefore this article highlights the idea of whites are dominant figures over minorities. this can also be related the the Hypodermic Needle Model where ideologies are 'injected' into the audience, in this case it is through a popular television sitcom 'Friends'.

One of my blog buddies is jagjeet as we are both looking at representation of black people and he is focusing on a youth…Which is also helpful to my independent study as there are youths in Crash. Another focus of our independent studies is racism and prejudice

Books

• Representing Race - Robert ferguson.
• The black image in the white mind Robert M Entman.
• BFI - The Cinema Book
• America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies -Harry M. Benshoff, Sean Griffin
• The Media Studies Reader - Tim O' Sullivan & Yvonne Jewkes
• Racism Matters - W.D. Wright
• Race and Reparations: A Black Perspective for the 21st Century - Clarence J. Munford
• Racism Without Racists - Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
• Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy By Martin Gilens
• Race manners for the 21st century ‘navigating the minefield between black..’ -Bruce A Jacobs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZqDcfQTAzo
The scene begins with the police car moving towards the camera, P.O.V shots are used when Officer Ryan is observing the crash that has taken place ahead. Choir music starts as he is approaching the car; this is contrapuntal and also non - diegetic as the music is peaceful however he is struggling to free the passenger – who he later realises is Christine Thayer.
The lighting used is natural though its is dark as the car has been turned upside down. Once realising who her rescuer is Christine’s first reaction is fear, as the night he molested her she felt disgust and humiliation... That she was molested by a white man and also her husband failed to ‘protect her’.
P.O.V shots are used as quick glances when looking at the fire in a car bonnet a few yards away.
Whilst Officer Ryan is trying to free her from the car Choir music is still playing. When being taken away by paramedics…the camera does a close up on Christine’s face, and she shakes her head... We can assume that what she means is that even though he saved her from a burning car this doesn’t justify his actions towards her previously.
In this scene there has been a role reversal... Officer Ryan was previously seen as a villain and now he is seen as a hero (Strauss). In this scene there is little dialogue, so the characters actions are used to convey meanings. As an audience we also feel sympathetic towards Christine as it must have been hard seeing the person that hurt you and also him saving her is also unexpected.
Also this scene follows a linear narrative, as no flashbacks are used

keywords

Cognition - is where the audience perceives what they see in the media and believe it. .

In relation to Crash… in the news audiences hear a lot of negative information about black people. This includes drugs and guns. However in Crash when peter is about to pull out a holy statue the officer thinks he is pulling out a gun. He makes this judgement based on his stereotype and what he sees in the media.

Multi-culturalism – the recognition that the increasing cultural diversity of western societies should be acknowledged, supported, encouraged and reflected in all aspects of life, as being both inevitable and also socially and economically desirable.

Crash shows that racism is apart of society, even though some characters may not come across as racist

Polysemic - Describes a sign for which there are many possible interpretations and meanings dependent on individuals’ social, cultural and educational backgrounds.

Looking at the characters and how they interpret events...the carjacking both husband and wife had different interpretations...which could relate to different social and educational backgrounds

Antagonist – The principal opposing figure or villain in a narrative set in binary opposition against the protagonist

This could be Officer Ryan as throughout the film he can be seen as a villain...but near the end he is recognised as a hero.

Protagonist - The leading character or hero in a film with whom the audience can identify and from whose point of view the action is positioned often set in binary opposition against the antagonist

I think that all characters can be seen as protagonists as they are all involved in their own 'story'.

Stock character - a stereotypical, predictable minor characters

The shop owner’s daughter

Blaxploitation film – when black actors featured in principal roles usually associated with whites. Although seen as exploitative, were in fact part of a changing attitude towards black characters and the representation of black culture.

Some of the main characters are black actors.actresses which shows that they are making a stand for their beliefs and they way society has previously viewed them.

Black feminism – A feminist perspective which argues that a black women’s experience of inequality is more intense than a white women’s because it involves discrimination on racial and cultural backgrounds as well as gender grounds.

Making a comparison. Jean Cabot and Christine Thayer, as they both feel insecure at one point

Objectivity – The presentation of a media text from a neutral or objective standpoint, without individual or institutional bias and without the deliberate preferment of one viewpoint over another.

Looking at they way different stereotypes are being represented

Attitudes, beliefs and values- this term is commonly used when discussing the audience for media products and the factors influencing the reception of media messages.

How the audience reacts to they ways in which different people are being presented, in addition to looking at how and why people assume that one person fits into a particular stereotype i.e. Peter and Anthony

Proof that police stop more blacks

The following is an article that was featured in The Metro..
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=73637&in_page_id=34
Black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than whites, it was revealed on Tuesday.
An extra 14,000 black people were targeted by stop and search in 2005/06 – a 12 per cent rise on the previous year – according to a Ministry of Justice report.
Officials claimed the rise could be partly blamed on the London bombings and on the rising incidence of drug crime But a race watchdog last night voiced concerns that the numbers could fuel distrust among ethnic minorities.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission warned that the high levels of stop and searches among the black population could drive a wedge between communities.
There were 878,153 stops and searches recorded by police in the year, up three per cent on the previous year. Of these, 15 per cent were of black people and eight per cent were of Asians.
The Metropolitan Police conducted 75 per cent of all searches on black people in England and Wales. A Home Office spokesman said that stop and search was a 'vital tool' for police dealing with crime. The figures were published as part of the Race and the Criminal Justice System report.
Though the article is not directly relevant to Crash, it highlights that black people do get stopped more than white people..this leads on to their stereotype. In the article is states that drug crime is also a factor as the majority of those arrested may be black.
Also the distrust amongst ethnic communities relates to Crash as the D.A's wife does not trust the mexican locksmith and is prejudice against the two youths that took her car

self directed research

http://www.cineaste.com/Sicinski.htm

http://flowtv.org/?p=63

http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-rol6.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_%282004_film%29

http://www.youtube.com/

http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC41folder/EthnicityFilmBooks.html

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/AfricanAmBib.html

Self Evaluation

· Attainment - 3
I think the work I produce is of good quality, however there is also room for improvement
· Effort – 4
I think I put a fair amount of effort into my class work and blog work
· Punctuality – 1
I’m normally on time for lessons
· Submission and quality of homework – 2
I hand in all work on time and try to meet blog deadlines
· Ability to work independently – 2
Though I can get distracted sometimes
· Quality of writing – 2
I could use more media terms
· Organisation of Media folder – 2
Fairly organised
· Oral contributions in class – 3
Could contribute more
· Standard of Module 5 blog – 1
I keep up to date with blog tasks and post other research which I have found up on to the blog
· Standard of Module 6 blog – 1
Same, I keep up to date with regular tasks i.e. weekly guardian story

WWW
- Blog work, finding other articles/research relevant to my topic
- enjoying the topics that are being covered
- good understanding

EBI
- more contributions in class
- add more depth to thesis
- use more media terminology - in general

Representation of Ethnic Minorities

Below is part of an essay written by Reena Mistry on the topic of Hegemony and representation.

http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-rol6.htm

Can Gramsci's theory of hegemony help us to understand the representation of ethnic minorities in western television and cinema?

Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony is of particular salience to the exploration of racial representations in the media because of its focus on culture and ideology. Unlike Marxist theories of domination, Gramsci relegates economic determinants to the background and brings to the fore the role of intellectuals in the process. The fact that television and cinema are central to popular culture is crucial because Gramsci says particular attention should be given to 'everyday' routine structures and 'common sense' values in trying to locate mechanisms of domination

Many of the clearly racist images of past television and cinema that are now fading from western screens can, in hindsight, be easily explained in hegemonic terms - particularly in relation to colonialism and white supremacy

The use of Gramsci's notion of hegemony does not expire here, however; it can be used to identify both elements of the old racist stereotypes and new, but destructive, representations of racial minorities in the current media of a seemingly liberal society. Thus, it is unsurprising that racism, though perhaps more covertly, still pervades our society.

No one in TV shouts racist abuse at black people… No one in TV physically assaults black people, they simply feed us on a diet of "Blacks are the problem"[1]

A similar process of normalising black subjugation can be seen in more recent times in 'black' sitcoms; Gitlin argues the emergence of black comedies (as opposed to a serious black drama) reflect an acknowledgement of a rising black middle-class in a non-threatening way to white audiences. Using comedy perpetuates the myth of the black clown a recent example is Will Smith's character in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Second is the development of the 'blaxploitation' genre [2]; characters such as 'Shaft', 'Black Caesar' and the numerous accounts of the black revolutionist Angela Davis (such as Foxy Brown, 1974) showed black individuals as the central protagonists and in control, in contrast to the marginal roles they were accustomed to in other Hollywood movies. The genre has endured, spawning a 'neo-blaxploitation' in which we could include films such as Bad Boys, Pulp Fiction, and White Men Can't Jump.

Despite these apparent positive developments in Britain and America, the white hegemonic hold over the television and film industries appears to have merely created different, but equally harmful, racial representations and to have repackaged the old stereotypes into forms more acceptable in a 'liberalist' society. A prominent problem is that the media industry is still dominated by white practitioners (though more black people are starting to get behind the camera). Producers and directors may consider themselves to be liberal individuals in trying to bring 'race issues' to the screen, or for avoiding the traditional stereotypes, but largely they rely on the racial stereotypes that they have assimilated as white people living in a racist society

It appears that Gramsci's theory of hegemony not only helps us to understand the motivations behind racist images in the media, but it is also part of a crucial process of demonstrating the inadequacy of white 'liberal' attempts at reform. In spite of well-meant ventures to present racial minorities favourably, white hegemony over the means of media production means that television and cinema continue to subjugate these social groups.

[1] can link to hyperdermic needle model.'as they feed us on..' the producers/directors are wanting the audience to believe the statements which are made. However these statements may not neccesarily be true as they want the audience to think in this way so it fits in with the cultral ideologies.

[2]Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban black audience. Blaxploitation films starred primarily black actors, and were the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music.

Furthermore, blaxploitation films laid the foundation for future filmmakers to address racial controversies regarding inner city poverty. In the early 1990s, a new wave of acclaimed black filmmakers focused on black urban life in their films (particularly Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood, among others).

Homework

Anti Narrative - A text that challenges the traditional idea of a sequential linear narrative by using flashbacks, unrelated images and altered time sequences.

This can be linked to my study as Crash constantly changes between its multiple story lines and also at the beginning of the film the audience is shown a suspected murder scene which then follows on to a flashback of 'yesterday' - which would explain to the audience how this event occur ed.

Genre - A category of media products classed as being similar in form and type.

Crash belongs to the Crime/Drama genre

Ideology - A set of attitudes, beliefs and values held in common by a group of people and culturally reproduced within that community to sustain its particular way of life. e.g. capitalism and communism

Crash presents a variety of ideologies which include Patriarchal, Heterosexual,Political and Feminist

Mise en scene - The arrangement by a film maker of everything that is to be included in a shot or frame. This includes settings, props, decor, lighting, actors, characters, positioning and all other technical elements which contribute to the look of the scene and create its distinctive quality and unity.

This is used in each storyline to create an abrupt visual break when cutting between characters and arcs. As crash has multiple story lines each one happening at a different place, mise on scene is important as it also reflects the characters background. i.e. Rick and Christine & Christine and Cameron 's houses show that they both may have had a more privileged upbringing as they live in large houses.

Levi Strauss - French structuralist anthropologist whose analysis of human culture and myth argued for a common origin for all narratives, based on shared human life experience, fears and expectation.His narrative theory of binary opposition is based on the essential difference between such concepts.

In Crash binary oppositions have been used. e.g. black and white and victim and aggressor.

Propp, Vladimir - Writer and folklorist who analysed the structure of folk stories. He refers to the types of character in folk tales and the events that involve them. Propp's character types include: the hero, the villain, the false hero and the helper.

In Crash the villain would be Officer John Ryan as he molested a black woman during a routine stop, but he can later be seen as a hero as he saves her from a car crash. The helper would be Officer Tom Hansen as he helps to stop a confrontation that could have got some one killed but he also can be seen as a villain as he 'accidentally murders' a black man.

Prejudice - The pre - judging of an issue or social group, usually in a negative or stereotypical way. Prejudice often involves the targeting of vulnerable minority groups viewed as not conforming to mainstream norms or expectations.

Officer Ryan is considered a prejudiced characters because of his views towards black people another example is Jean Cabot who refers to the Mexican locksmith as being a 'gangbanger'.

Racism - Practices and behaviour involving social and economic discrimination, based on the false assumption that one particular ethnic group or race is culturally and biologically inferior to another.

Jean Cabot appears to be racially insecure when being car jacked, partly because of her assumptions of black people, and their race is inferior to hers. Also Anthony is constantly paranoid about racism however his friend Peter humorously mocks him and seems less worried about racism.

Stereotype - The social classification of a group of people by identifying common characteristics and universally applying them in an often oversimplified and generalised way, such that the classification represents value judgments and assumptions about the group concerned.

Anthony and Peter represent black youths, who are feared because of their stereotype, this also includes the Mexican locksmith and it could also relate to social stereotypes. Officer Ryan is an example of a stereotypical white cop who is racist towards black people.

Social realism - The representation of characters and issues in film and television drama in such a way as to raise serious underlying social and political issues.

The director tries to represent issues in a realistic way, as racism is a topic mostly avoided, however the issues show realisticly represent American society at present day.

Clip 1 - Tensions

The clip starts with the Mexican locksmith changing the locks of the D.A’s house.
However Jean (Sandra Bullock) appears to be uncomfortable with him because of his appearance (shaven head and ‘prison tattoos’) , she makes this point clear to her husband – and as far as we can tell he does not appear to be prejudiced towards the locksmith, whereas his wife does. Yet again this exposes her racial insecurities - which was first revealed to the audience then they both got carjacked. However her husband seems more worried about his political career as he does not want to risk loosing the black vote however Rick also mistakes an Iraqi person for a black person, when told about the misunderstanding he simply replies ‘well he was dark skinned’, this shows that he does not care about certain individuals as he worries mostly about his political career and how it may be jeopardised because he was carjacked by two black men.

In this clip Jean Cabot (Sandra bullock) does not trust the locksmith based on the stereotype of a person who had previously been in prison.
Even though her husband explains to her that they are not prison tattoos she refers to his stereotype, as in her eyes he would go and sell their house keys to one of his ‘homies’.

Blog comments

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Issues in Fresh Prince of Bel Air

The following is an a extract from issues which were addressed in 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air'

While largely a comedy, this show has commonly addressed various relevant issues in a dramatic sense, including a frequent focus on African-American issues. A recurring theme was the comparison of Will's lower-class upbringing and the Bank's high-class lifestyle, and how this affected their cultural identities. Profiling and stereotypes based on both race and class were often addressed on the show, including episodes where Will and Carlton are arrested because they are seen driving a Mercedes, and where Carlton is rejected from a fraternity for being too "spoiled". Other issues addressed included inter-racial marriage, drug and alcohol abuse, pre-marital sex, single parenthood, gun violence, and teen pregnancy.


This is interesting as Crash also addresses similar issues, looking at different upbringings - lower and high class. In Crash Anthony and Peter come from a lower class background whereas Cameron and Christine come from a higher class background and this affects their cultural identities. Referring back to the extract when Will and Carlton are stopped in their Mercedes, they are stopped partly because of their colour of skin and a black person wouldn't normally be seen driving a Mercedes because they may not have been able to afford it, therefore it would seem that they may have stolen it.
However if a white person was seen driving a Mercedes, it is highly unlikely that they would have been stopped

Below is part of an extract written by Mary Beltran / University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was posted on FlowTV - which is a critical forum on Television and Media Culture.
The extract is Based on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Without intimate knowledge of the evolution of ethnic representations on television and in film over the decades nor of the histories of various racialized groups, often it is too easy to see some variety in skin color combined with markers of upper-middle class status and to ascribe to these narratives the blanket interpretation of “positive” representation. If the non-white characters aren't criminals it must be good, right
The members of the Banks family, if anything, were ascribed stereotypes that have historically been the domain of wealthy white characters: Stuffy, materialistic, ditzy, and like their cousin Will, from more diverse West Philadelphia, in contrast was upbeat, confident, and playful–qualities that made him a favorite of many of my male students, of all ethnic backgrounds. Despite his central role in the narrative, Will's point of view and back story of growing up in a working-class, predominantly black neighborhood, which he has escaped by coming to live with the Bankses, is almost never treated in a realistic or sustained fashion, however. I find myself wanting to argue that “blackness,” if there is such a thing, as a result is left out. But then again, who is to say what form and meaning blackness has on an individual or family-by-family basis? And why can it not exist in Bel-Air? I see the flaws in my own argument, and have to admit that the representation of racialized groups is a topic that will continue to confoundus in various ways.
There's virtually no agreement on what it would mean to “represent diversity” accurately or fairly on television and in other mediated representations. Would this entail greater visibility of various racial and ethnic groups, increased realism and accuracy, or the inclusion of images that promote more egalitarian social relations? Even if “diversity” in this regard could be accomplished, would it even be supported by television advertisers and watched by enough viewers to survive?
Scholars, ethnic media advocates, advertisers, and media producers clearly disagree on these questions and will continue to do so, given the complexity of the matrix of production, representation, and consumption of media narratives and how race, ethnicity, and class are imbricated in that matrix and in U.S. social relations more generally. The 1990s programming that today's college students grew up on proves a complicated case in point. How to raise consciousness regarding patterns of representation that include the common invisibility and denigration(unfair criticism) of ethnic minorities, as well as the whitewashing of non-white histories and perspectives even while casting non-whites in more professional and “positive” roles? The challenge continues..
http://flowtv.org/?p=63

What Critics have said about crash.

A haunting, perceptive and uncompromising examination of controversial subject matter, expertly written and directed by Paul Haggis and characterised by excellent performances from its starry cast.
Simon Braund, EMPIRE

A raw and unsettling morality piece on modern angst and urban disconnect, Crash examines the dangers of bigotry and xenophobia in the lives of interconnected Angelenos.
Rotten Tomatoes

Hyper-articulate and often breathtakingly intelligent and always brazenly alive. I think it's easily the strongest American film since Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River," though it is not for the fainthearted
The New Yorker, David Denby

And if Crash ultimately resolves itself around a series of sentimental familial tableaux, it also makes its social and political collisions resonate in our heads so as to leave them ringing. It’s a film you won’t stop thinking about, arguing over, debating, after the lights come up
New York Magazine, Ken Tucker

The film is a knockout. In a multiplex starved for ambition, why kick a film with an excess of it?
Rolling Stone, Peter Travers

This is the rare American film really about something, and almost all the performances are riveting.
Washington Post, Stephen Hunter

CINEASTE

Cineaste is a film magazine published quarterly. It has been publishing reviews, in-depth analyses and interviews since 1967. The magazine independently operates out of New York City with no financial ties to any film studios or academic institutions.
However publication of the magazine is made possible, in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Here is part of a review which was written for Crash by Michael Sicinski

Paul Haggis's debut feature Crash is one of the best-reviewed films to be released so far this year, and it isn't going away. Judging from those reviews, its makers have successfully generated an air of Importance around it, and this is dangerous, because this pensive ambiance may well mean that the film's slipshod, contrivance-laden ‘analysis' of race relations could be mistaken for genuine insight.

Naturally, Haggis's choice of subject matter goes a long way toward establishing both its own relevance and a hard-nosed creative fearlessness bordering on the pugilistic. Crash tackles race relations in the U.S., using present-day Los Angeles as its roiling laboratory. Haggis must surely be aware that any such film project will be accorded a degree of respect simply by dint of addressing this topic. Since Hollywood generally avoids the unpleasant truths of American racism, any film that dives into this particular wreck must be brave, bracing, and controversial. Selecting L.A. is a kind of no-brainer here, for a few basic reasons. Not only does it give the impression that the Hollywood machine is taking a hard look at itself, digging up the bones in its own backyard, but it also provides instant historical cachet.

In short, Crash is presold as a piece of liberal artistic intervention, and in this way the entertainment industry is paradoxically rewarded for its timidity. By avoiding controversy most of the time, a risk-averse Hollywood can sell its own periodic ‘daring' as a product unto itself, and Crash fits the bill beautifully. It has an air of truth, without ever saying anything truthful.

The plotline of Crash could be described as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, with racial hatred replacing the sexual coupling. There are two major events around which most other occurrences in the film circulate—the murder of Peter (Larenz Tate), a young African-American criminal, and the titular car crash in which Christine (Thandie Newton) overturns in her SUV. Sgt. Ryan (Matt Dillon), the racist cop who sexually molested her during a traffic stop the previous night, is the officer on the scene who pulls her from the burning car. Throughout the film, characters encounter and reencounter one another in highly convenient ways. For example, Peter's brother Graham (Don Cheadle), an LAPD detective, discovers Peter's dead body in the desert. Prior to learning of his brother's death, Graham is strong-armed by the D.A.'s office into suppressing evidence that may partially exonerate a white police officer charged with killing a black cop. The D.A. (Brendan Fraser) is looking for a conviction that would help endear him to the black community, since he is trying to manage a potential media scandal. He and his wife (Sandra Bullock) were carjacked in Sherman Oaks by two young black men—none other than Peter and his friend Anthony.

In a distinct but intersecting circle of coincidence, each of the two cops responsible for pulling over Christine and her husband Cameron (Terrence Howard) is later shown performing a good deed. Sgt. Ryan rescues Christine from her SUV, and Officer Hanson (Ryan Phillippe) intercedes on Cameron's behalf during a police standoff. Presumably this is intended to complicate the heinous behavior we witness elsewhere in the film. (Officer Hanson, in fact, is Peter's killer.) The film tells us that no one is all good or all bad. This is a facile, obvious notion, and ironically, one Crash propounds only by showing human behavior at its polar extremes.
In addition to the dominant cultural assumptions already mentioned (almost by definition, a movie addressing racism equals ‘gritty reality'), I think there are some basic ways in which a film like Crash coincides—both formally and politically—with certain desirable images liberal America has of itself.

One comes away from Crash with a very liberal, localized understanding of how racism works. You see, everybody's a little bit racist, and you never know when you'll find yourself in a situation when and where your racist nature will emerge. Or, as Sgt. Ryan says to Officer Hanson upon the dissolution of their partnership, “You think you know who you are. You have no idea.”

The dominant illusion that Crash's form attempts to convey about its own narrative is that each character does something virtuous in one situation, and something unconscionably racist in another. But this isn't true. Some characters are exemplars of pure good. Latino locksmith Daniel (Michael Pena) exists solely to incur racist threats and insults from other characters, then to belie their opinions through his role as the most upstanding of family men.

Crash's form also gives the impression that everyone gets equal time in a sort of round-robin of racism, but again, this isn't true. Haggis devotes negligible screen time to most of his female characters (Christine is something of an exception), subtly sending the message that the racism we need to worry about is a man's affair. Graham's partner / lover Ria (Jennifer Esposito) is afforded no fully-developed characterization, but is subject to one of the film's cruelest racial slur / laugh lines. HMO bureaucrat Shaniqua Johnson (Loretta Devine) is similarly placed—a cipher and a target for bigoted macho taunts. Likewise, not all races are given equal time in Crash. While Daniel is the main focus of the third, smaller circle of interactions, paired with an angry Iranian shopkeeper (Shaun Toub) who blames him for the vandalism of his store, Latinos and Persians are generally relegated to afterthought status in this narrative thread. Or worse, their less-than-integrated narrative function bespeaks a racial-quota, show-of-hands presence that falls prey to the worst bean-counting tendencies of identity politics. The simplistic rendering of these characters (Daniel as the vato with the heart of gold, Farhad the shop-owner as misplaced, impotent rage) only underscores this impression.

If the characters in Crash were real people, in the real world instead of Haggis's cordoned-off fantasy L.A., we'd see that they are not equal. Especially in the present atmosphere of backlash against so-called ‘political correctness'—an atmosphere Crash exploits to the fullest—people often get huffy when a person of color points out the difference between racism and prejudice, like it's mere sophistry or special pleading. But it's true—only white people in America are able to systematically reproduce the world in accordance with their own racial biases.

http://www.cineaste.com/Sicinski.htm

Thesis

In my indpendent study my aim is to prove that there are stereotypes within Crash, in particular focusing on African Americans. In addition to showing how common racism is within society and Crash and its effects on chaacters.

Racism carries connotations of race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping or discrimination,

Racism is common within society and in Crash, racism affects different characters in different ways... E.g. Anthony is constantly paranoid about racism however his friend Peter humourously mocks him and does'nt seem to be too worried about racism. Racism is a common topic usually avoided by american directers and Americans in general. It's usually avoided due to the fact that American directors may not want to offend ethinc minorites if they portrayed in a negative light or they are misrepresented.

I could also look at the difference between racism and prejudice, as people often think it is the same.
Racism is when abuse is made towards a person’s race, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
Whereas Prejudice is unreasonable feelings, opinions or attitudes especially of a hostile nature regarding a racial, religious or national origin which can often be based on social stereotypes.

LionsGate

LionsGate Entertainment is a Canadian entertainment corporation. In 2007 Lions Gate was the most commercially successful independent film and television distribution company in the United States.

LionsGate is divided into five divisions:

- Film: Lionsgate Films

- Music: Lionsgate Records
- Television: Lionsgate Television and Debmar-Mercury

- Studios: Lionsgate Studios
- Video: Lionsgate Home entertainment and Family Home Entertainment

LionsGate Films is a production - distribution company and one of the largest independent film distributors in North America. Though they focus mainly on foreign and independent films, LionsGate is also known for distributing controversial films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and American Psycho, which began a trend of producing and distributing films which were far to controversial for major American studios.

Lionsgate rarely co - produces films with major studios. E.g. was a silent partner in 20th Century Fox's sci - fi film The Day After Tomorrow. In 2004 Lionsgate joined forced with rival United Artists in producing Hotel Rwanda.

Crash was the studio's first film to recieve the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Lionsgate does not finance many films which they release instead, they either co-produce films with producing partners or acquire rights to the film at festivals, as was the case with Saw, Cabin Fever, and Open Water.

Lionsgate has also produced award winning film Monsters Ball, Saw, Hostel amongst others.

Lionsgate studios film productions include: Final Destination 3, White Chicks, Scary Movie 3 and 4

Main protagonists in Crash

Crash has an all star cast, who are all from different ethnic minorities however they are all prejudiced in some way. The director tries to convey their prejudice by showing the different situations they are involved in and how they are treated. As an audience we also understand why they are treated differently…mostly because of the colour of their skin or the way the characters present themselves. I.e. a Mexican locksmith is not trusted by an attorney’s wife because of his appearance – shaven head and tattoos…but in reality he is a family man who is not involved in criminal activities.

Sandra Bullock plays Jean Cabot
Jean Cabot is Rick's wife, whose racial prejudices escalate after the carjacking. At the end of the film, following an accident in her home, she realizes that the person who is the nicest and most helpful to her is Maria, her Hispanic maid, while her snobby friends are too busy with shallow pursuits (such as getting a massage) to help her out.

Brendan Fraser plays Rick Cabot

Rick Cabot is the white District Attorney of L.A. He and his wife Jean are carjacked by Anthony and Peter, both of whom are black. Subsequently, the Brentwood resident tries to save his political career by reassuring voters that he is racially sensitive (as he is a Democrat and African Americans and Hispanics are his key constituents). His character is never depicted as a bigot*, which makes his racial stance ambiguous.

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges plays Anthony

Anthony is an African-American inner-city car thief who steals vehicles for a bigoted* chop shop owner. He believes that society is unfairly biased against blacks, and at one point in the film he justifies his actions by saying he would never hurt another black person. Yet, after he and Peter try to carjack a car driven by a black man Cameron, and when Cameron attacks Anthony during the carjacking, Anthony's response is to call on Peter to shoot Cameron. After the carjacking produces a tense standoff that is barely resolved, a disgusted Cameron kicks Anthony out of his car and says "You embarrass me. You embarrass yourself." Anthony steals a van full of illegal immigrants from South East Asia towards the end of the movie. Anthony frequently refers to these immigrants as chinamen and upon learning that the owner of the chop shop that buys the stolen vehicles intends to sell them off as slaves; he releases all of them out onto the streets of LA in the closing scenes of the movie. Anthony then gives them all of the money that was in his pocket, $40

Larenz Tate plays Peter Waters
Peter Waters is Anthony's friend and partner in crime. Like Anthony, he is black, but he humorously mocks at Anthony's paranoia over racism. The only character killed throughout all of the film's near-tragedies, Peter is shot to death by Officer Hansen, who picks him up in the valley hours after their failed carjacking of Cameron's SUV and mistakenly shoots him after assuming he is drawing a gun, when in reality he is reaching into his pocket to show the cop a figure of Saint Christopher. The irony of the situation is that Peter and Officer Hansen are portrayed as those characters least suspected of racism and stereotypes up to that point.
Terrence Howard plays Cameron Thayer
Cameron Thayer is a black television director who becomes distraught after witnessing Officer Ryan molesting his wife and realizing that the very show he produces is propagating racist stereotypes about black people. In an emotional moment, he fights off Anthony and Peter when they try to steal his car, takes away Anthony's gun, and gets himself into a harsh argument with armed white police officers. Just when it is very likely that he will be shot to death, Officer Hansen intervenes on his behalf and prevents any outbreak of violence.

Thandie Newton plays Christine Thayer
Christine Thayer is Cameron's wife. She is molested by Officer Ryan after she and Cameron are pulled over. She becomes furious with her husband because he does not act to defend her. The two insult each other over their upbringings as both Cameron and Christine have grown up in a more privileged environment than other African Americans. The next day she is trapped in an overturned car due to a highway accident and, by an exquisite twist of fate, Officer Ryan is the man who willingly endangers himself to save her life.


Matt Dillon plays Officer John Ryan
Officer John Ryan is a bigoted* white police officer who physically molests Christine Thayer, a black woman, during a traffic stop. This causes his partner, Officer Hansen, to believe his partner has racist tendencies. Ryan later works with a newly-assigned, Hispanic - American whom he seems to get along with but mockingly asks "ready to roll, homie". Ryan later puts his own life on the line to save Christine from certain death in a fiery car wreck, which is unexpected because he is considered among the film's most prejudiced characters.

Ryan Phillippe plays Officer Tom Hansen

Officer Tom Hansen is Officer Ryan's partner who is disgusted by his partner's racism and the city's inaction. Remembering Cameron as the husband of Christine, Hansen saves Cameron during his confrontation with the police. However, he later picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be Peter. They engage in a racially tense conversation, and when Peter reaches for what Hansen suspects is a weapon, Hansen draws his gun and shoots Peter. Hansen dumps the body and burns his car in an attempt to hide evidence. This is one of the most surprising developments in the film, as Officer Hansen begins as one of the least bigoted*, most righteous characters.

*Bigoted =a prejudiced person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles, or identities differing from his or her own

Quotes from Crash

Jean Cabot: Oh really? And he's not gonna go sell our key to one of his gang banger friends the moment he's out our door?

This is when Jean reveals her racial insecurities after having being car jacked by two black males

Anthony: Look around you! You couldn't find a whiter, safer or better lit part of this city. But this white woman sees two black guys, who look like UCLA students, strolling down the sidewalk and her reaction is blind fear. I mean, look at us, dog! Are we dressed like gang bangers? Huh? No. Do we look threatening? No. Fact, if anybody should be scared, it's us: we're the only two black faces surrounded by a sea of over-caffeinated white people, patrolled by the trigger happy LAPD. So, you tell me, why aren't we scared?

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1. How racial tolerance in America is represented in relation to different minorities
2. To what extent is racial tolerance presented in the film and how it relates to society
3. How are different minorites represented?

M - Crash represents different people’s attitude towards different cultures. Many characters appear to be prejudiced against another race. Mise en scene is used in each storyline to create an abrupt visual break when cutting between characters and arcs* Crash uses a variety of shots, Long shots and point of view shots, the camera often pans when moving from one scene to another. Blurred shots are also used, where the camera focuses on the object a while later. The film uses parallel music – instrumentals. Most characters dress in accordance to the way they are presented. I.e. Rick (district attorney) and his wife Jean dress smartly due to the fact that Rick is a politician and needs to have a good appearance as does his wife. Anthony and Peter who steal cars for their boss dress in casual clothes as they are represented as youths

I - Lions Gate Entertainment, directed by Paul Haggis

G - Crash belongs to the crime/drama genre, as the film uses multiple story lines which include a car jacking, murder, car crash. However Crash also has Sub Genres which include: Crime,political,gangs, Racism and revenge.


R - Representations of the cast are mixed as they all come from different backgrounds and minorities. Some characters appear to be wealthier than others i.e. the District Attorney and his wife

A - 18 +Liberal minded audience both male and female, as this film deals with the racial tensions and issues within a contemporary society. However the director may also want to educate people about racism in America, as in some part of America racism is common. Also the director aims to show us how people respond to racist slur.

I – can be seen as patriarchal, but there is also role reversal. Where sometimes the female is taking the lead. E.g. when being molested by a white cop Christine’s (Thandie Newton) husband fails to defend her. Also a feminist ideology is shown as Christine appears to be the more dominant and stronger person in the relationship. Also a heterosexual ideology is shown as there are relationships between characters. Another ideology that is presented is the political ideology - as throughout out the film Rick(district attorney) worries about his political career i.e. when him and his wife are carjacked by two black men he worries about how this incident will affect his career

N – Use of binary oppositions (Levi Strauss), black and white, victim and aggressor.In addition to Strauss, Propp can also be applied to Crash. The villain would be Officer John Ryan as he molested a black woman during a routine stop that can later be seen as a hero as he saves her from a car crash
The helper would be Officer Tom Hansen as he helps to stop a confrontation that could have got some one killed.
By assigning ‘character roles’ the audience is able to understand why this character is prejudiced and their affect on other characters


*arcs – story arcs and characters intersect indirectly and subtly. Events in one story arc affect other story lines or characters

Crash also uses Hyperlink Cinema – this is a film style of using multiple interconnected storylines

Movie Trailer

Crash

Film: Crash (2004)
Urban drama which takes a look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America. Crash looks at how the multi ethnic cast struggle to come to terms with their fears as they careen in and out of one another’s lives

Possible areas that I could cover:
1. Looking at how different minorities are represented – both men and women
- Link to society and how some concepts are still the same
3. How accurately issues in the film are represented
4. Looking at social/ racial tensions and issues

I could also link the film to ‘Boys N the Hood’ which uses the quote – "1 in 21 African American males will die of murder in their lifetime"
This was proved to be true in Crash