Nordic says: "I found [Crash] to be a lie. A lie about the city in which I live. A lie about Los Angeles... The city portrayed in 'Crash' was bogus. It doesn't exist. It is utter fiction."
Also from Nordic: "I once heard a comedian say something like 'You can't be a racist in Los Angeles. You'd be too exhausted.' Los Angeles is probably the least racist city in North America. The comedian is right because you CAN'T be racist here or you'd just lose your mind."
I was so shocked by this I did not know how to respond. I'd like to invite people to share their impressions and experiences of race in LA and elsewhere, since the other thread is getting quite full. (More..)
As a fellow Californian with many years in LA, I would agree with Nordic that LA is not necessarily MORE racist than other US cities. But LA's racism manifests uniquely, and the movie captured it well, in my experience. Racism where there are many ethnic groups together (LA) shows up differently than where there is little diversity (say, Boise or Billings or Provo), or where white supremacy is on the surface (say, Houston or Montgomery or Mobile or Kansas City).
Overt ideological racism is not operative in LA like it is in areas of the South. But "Crash" doesn't argue anything to the contrary. "Crash" deals with racism between all kinds of combinations of ethnicities, and racism in people who would never call themselves "racist" and who would proclaim to abhor racism. This is why it is so powerful.
Racism gets under the skin. It is systemic, pervasive and sneaky. It pops up least expected, even in oneself. It reaches back generations to habits of home countries (Asian vs. Black, etc). When white people get pulled over or denied a job or lease, something different happens inside them than when Blacks or Latinos have the same experience.
I would submit that denying the existence of the kind of racism portrayed in Crash (in LA or elsewhere) is a sign that racism is in full operation. Foucault argued that no ideology is ever so powerful than where it is invisible.
"Crash" is the painful truth.