Lance Egly Group 1-Section 12.
Installment 3 of 3.
I have decided to write my final report over films of philosophy, or rather the films that have personally made me question my philosophies, as well as numerous other aspects of my life.
The final film I've chosen to talk about is a film called Crash. It is a 2004 film about several people's lives that are suddenly connected through racial issues. A white cop feels up an African American woman, two black men steal a car from a white couple, an Indian man tries to shoot a Latino man who he thinks has stolen something from him. So much racial tension is built up in this film, and watching this as a child(after being raised to respect others regardless of their ethnicity) made me ask myself "Why do people act like this?", "Why does Sandra Bullock's character automatically assume the man who is changing her locks on her house will come back to rob her later?", and "Does racism still exist?"
This film came out 10+ years ago, and racial issues are definitely something that people tend to grasp onto. Such as with the Erik Garner case, or with all the rioting in Baltimore. Personally I'm very angry at the Erik Garner case, not because an unarmed BLACK man was strangled while shouting that he wasn't resisting, but because a HUMAN BEING was strangled while not resisting arrest. Even in this film all of the police 'indiscretions' are generally focused towards African Americans, and that still applies today. The question that this film made me ask myself is,"How do we change the world's view on race?" And I think Morgan Freeman said it best.
This film came out 10+ years ago, and racial issues are definitely something that people tend to grasp onto. Such as with the Erik Garner case, or with all the rioting in Baltimore. Personally I'm very angry at the Erik Garner case, not because an unarmed BLACK man was strangled while shouting that he wasn't resisting, but because a HUMAN BEING was strangled while not resisting arrest. Even in this film all of the police 'indiscretions' are generally focused towards African Americans, and that still applies today. The question that this film made me ask myself is,"How do we change the world's view on race?" And I think Morgan Freeman said it best.
I agree, we need to transcend differences to discover our common humanity. But that's a lot easier for a white male to say, than it is for those whose "difference" remains a frequently-unacknowledged source of animosity and suspicion among individuals and communities (and the public servants tasked to serve and protect). I'm kind of surprised at Morgan Freeman's statement. I'd like to see its larger context. I don't think he really believes we've reached a point in this society when we can afford to stop talking about racism. But it'll be easier to transcend racial differences once everyone has learned to reach for common ground and shared humanity. It'll take time, and more talk, to bring about the action for change we need.
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