The Rodney King Riots were caused when boiling tensions among minorities, poor economic conditions, and perceived racism within the L.A.P.D. overwhelmed the city after the police beating of Rodney King. On April 29, 1992, the four police men accused of beating Rodney King were acquitted. The city became extremely angered and responded with violence. Random beatings, fire, and shootings became common for a six day span of time that left mass devastation in a city. Many were dead, businesses were gone, a billion dollars in damage was created, and thousands were arrested. This series of events caused people to reconsider their actions and the way they view those of different economic and social status.
In Crash each character experienced a breaking point that forced them to reanalyze their lives and beliefs. Detective Waters experiences his breaking point in two parts. The first part is when he sees his younger brother's dead body on the side of the road. The second part is when his mother blames him for his brother's death. These two events will force the detective to reanalyze his priorities and the way he lives his life. He focuses a lot on his job and not enough on his family. The TV Director also experiences a breaking point. He and his wife get pulled over. While being unnecessarily interrogated he remained calm. His wife was molested by one of the cops and he remained calm. His wife gets extremely angry with him because he did not stand up for her. This is his breaking point and clearly influences the way that he lives his life. This is seen when he gets pulled over later after an attempted carjacking. He yells at the cops and is completely uncooperative. He threatens the cops and fights with them. This is the opposite from the calm man that the cops encountered earlier in the movie. The Persian shopkeeper experiences his breaking point after his shop is vandalized. His shop is the most important thing to him and knowing people can get to him, even in his haven, pushes him over the edge. His family lives in this shop and he is unwilling to protect them. This anger and vulnerability causes him to blame others. The first person he blames is the Hispanic worker that was in charge of replacing the locks on the door. He visits this man and is prepared to shoot him, with no regrets.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
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