History Film / Crash

* NeverMyFault: When his family store gets broken into and horribly vandalized, Farhad sets out to kill his locksmith Daniel who he blames for cheating him when trying to replace the lock. This is despite the fact that Daniel had earlier told him that a new lock wouldn't work and he needed to get a new door for that, but Farhad didn't listen.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To the 1991 film ''Film/GrandCanyon'', which features Creator/SteveMartin as a misanthropic Hollywood producer (playing against type) whose life intersects with characters from all walks of life in LA, and which popularized the notion that LA was a WretchedHive of class and racial tension less than a year before the Rodney King riots. If not, in fact, TheRemake of ''Grand Canyon''.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Changing the lock doesn't mean anything if the door isn't properly hinged to the wall.

* BrokenAesop: Despite the film proudly bearing an obstinately anti-racist message, the only two Koreans of any real importance to the plot turn out to be slave traffickers. See also AsianDrivers above.

* ButNotTooBlack: The "white" woman Christine is portrayed by mixed-raced actress Thandiwe Newton.

%%* AsianStoreOwner: Farhad.

''If you're looking for the J.G. Ballard novel which inspired a '''completely''' different film directed by Creator/DavidCronenberg, [[{{Literature/Crash}} go here]]. If not, read on.''

''Crash'' debuted at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. It saw general release the next year and was the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward winner for Best Picture of 2005.

This ensemble drama, directed by Paul Haggis (who co-wrote the screenplay with Bobby Morseco) and featuring an AllStarCast, addresses racism affecting the lives of several Los Angelenos as they intersect over several days' time. The incident that starts it all off is the carjacking of a white couple, the Cabots, by two black carjackers, Anthony and Peter...

%% * AsianStoreOwner: Farhad.

%% * ChekhovsGun: Plenty.

%% * DeathByRacism: Averted and subverted.

%% * HeterosexualLifePartners: Anthony and Peter.

%% * OneDegreeOfSeparation
%% * OneWomanWail: She pretty much sings through the entire second half of the movie.
%% * OscarBait
%% * PatronSaint: A miniature statue of St. Christopher.

%% * StopBeingStereotypical: Cameron gives this to Anthony after they both narrowly avoid arrest.

* MalignedMixedMarriage: Cameron and his wife Christine get pulled over and harassed by racist coos simply for being "a black man married to a white woman". Christine lampshades this during an argument.

* PlayingGertrude: Shaun Toub (Farhad) to Bahar Soumekh (Dorri) who plays his daughter. They are twelve years apart.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: A running gag with Ria as people constantly mistake her for being "mexican".

%%* HyperlinkStory

* MistakenEthnicity: Ria is assumed by other people of being mexican when she's actually caucasian.

* TakingTheBullet: After Farhad's store is sacked and his insurance claim is denied, he confronts Daniel, who he blames, and winds up shooting him. Daniel's daughter decides to save him with her invisible cloak. [[spoiler: Nobody dies because the bullets were blanks. Farhad thinks it's a miracle, and that the little girl is his angel. In fact his daughter (wisely) bought them instead as she was ''afraid someone would be hurt''. Don't try this at home-at close range a blank will still kill you.]]

%%* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

* HollywoodBlanks: [[spoiler: Farhad almost kills Daniel's daughter, but the girl's life is spared because his daughter either bought blanks for his gun. However, at the range the shot was fired, a blank would still have been harmful, and potentially fatal.]]

* HollywoodBlanks: [[spoiler: Farhad almost kills Daniel's daughter, but the girl's life is spared because his daughter either bought blanks for his gun. However, at the range the shot was fired, a blank would still have been deadly.]]

* HollywoodBlanks: [[spoiler: Farhad almost kills Daniel's daughter, but the girl's life is spared because his own daughter either mistakenly or purposefully bought blanks for his gun. It's a debate amongst viewers.]]

%% * NotSoDifferent: Hey, guess what, we have the same figurine. That's funny. [[spoiler:Oh crap you just shot me.]]

* ShootHimHeHasAWallet: [[spoiler:Hansen]] shoots [[spoiler:Peter]] in the chest because of this. But the "weapon" [[spoiler:Peter]] took out [[NotSoDifferent was only a figurine that looked identical to the one Hansen had]].