Crash

The word 'racism' is thrown around so accusingly nowadays that at times its meaning is severely neglected. What do we mean by 'racism'? Is it a simple categorisation of one's action, which leans towards a discrimination of another race? Or is it just the direct definition (given by dictionary.com) of:

'a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others'

Is it right for us just to assume safely that these definitions are right? And if so, what interpretation do we have of this definition?

Crash has been labelled a movie about racism, a study of how people of different races in America deal with each other. But is it really? I like to believe that its more on the impressions and perceptions people have on each other. Let me be clear here - not people of different races, but people in general.

It explores the different classes, economical status of every aspect in America and tries at its very best to portray the intepretations that these people have of each other. The movie is made up of many stories - a district attorney's wife who grows increasingly paranoid of the people around her, the district attorney himself, who needs to portray the correct public image. Their door servicer, who looks like one from the mob, but in fact has a loving family. The 2 car thieves, the african american producer, the racist police officer. These stories intertwine and give us an insight as to how they feel about each other, and how they interact.

Take the district attorney's wife (played by Sandra Bullock), who comes back one day after being carjacked. She raises immediate suspicions about their door repair man (who is probably Mexican) who, for all intents and purposes, looks like a man who's just broken out from prison. This makes her uneasy, and she insists to her husband that they fire him. Her husband argues otherwise, but her uneasiness is there to be seen - she cannot change her mind on this.

The question here is this - is she showing signs of 'racism' here? Or is this a natural human instinct that we all feel one way or another?

We talk about eradicating 'racism' in today's society - a feeling that we all should surpress and we should also prevent people from making any statements that might instil these feelings. There have been people who have been accused of being 'racist' should they claim that what they have is better than others.

But let me ask you this - do you not, at times, feel uncomfortable in places which are not similar to the environment of your own home? Do you not feel that maybe, perhaps, your own home is better than others? These feelings are not racism - its a human nature, its part of our own pride and deep instincts.

Like a pigeon placed amongst seagulls - the pigeon will immediately feel uneasy. We as humans, prefer what we believe is normalcy, what we believe is right. We also form our own perceptions and opinions on anything that is foreign. We, naturally, have a defence mechanism for anything different, hence why we reject it so quickly at first.

The script, written by Paul Haggis, is effective at making us think about these issues carefully. It provokes discussion rather than feelings, but there are truly some heart wrenching moments in the movie. The movie never stops, moving from one discussion point to another - forcing us to question each and every character's action.

Crash is not a movie about racism, but rather about perception, impressions and our own human nature. We should look at the word 'racism' more carefully, and be sure to define and interpret it correctly. There are certain feelings that we generally brand as 'racist' but ask yourself this - is it 'racism' or is it human nature?

Note: 1) I decided to review this after discussing this movie and other issues related to it recently.
2) Look at Sandra Bullock's character more carefully - it is perhaps the biggest key to all the stories. Our own human feelings.

Of Governance and Democracy

Has anyone read lately about Pakatan Rakyat's promise to the people that we will have another General Election within 6 months to a year should they come into power on 16th Sept? (If not, you can read it here)

The reason stated by Pakatan is to ensure that their coming to power is 'democratic' and 'ethical'.

Is this what our country needs? Another debate or assurance that we have behaved in the most correct political manner?

Maybe I am mistaken, but isn't the economy doing badly? Don't we currently need more action than procedural debates?

This sudden announcement follows the fact that the parliament is in recess for Rahmadan. I most duly respect the holy month of which the Muslims observe, as in many respects, I believe that their cause is indeed extremely noble. But why is it that the workers in the private sector continue working but yet the government deems it necessary to take a break?

To quote Dr Mahathir in his recent blog post about holidays in Malaysia:

'I believe, but I may be wrong, that when you are trying to catch up with someone running ahead of you, you must run faster than him. We have this great ambition to become a developed country. If we move slower than our objective can we catch up? I think we cannot.'

Lets ask ourselves this question - what are we striving for? And what should we do to achieve those goals?

We have spent the past few months after the March elections debating about the right way to go about things. Yes, I do agree that its necessary that one day, and I repeat, one day, we look into these things carefully. However, for this moment, in times of economic and political uncertainty, we need our politicians to provide us concrete actions that help the people.

In Africa, there are many countries that seem to practice aggresive politics - in which one coup happens after another. In Malaysia, we seem to be at the other end of the spectrum - we seem to believe in somewhat lethargic governance - believing in getting the political process right first before figuring out our own economical development.

If Pakatan is to come to power in Sept 16th, I do hope that after nearly 2 years of making sure every process is 'democratic' and 'ethical', our politicians actually remember how to govern.