Crash

This is the movie I've seen that incarnates most fully Tocqueville's thought--particularly his answer of face-to-face communication for the problems of the individualistic democratic soul.



This film explores specific barriers to face-to-face communication. These barriers reinforce stereotypes that prove to be the cause of tragic actions in the film. One barrier is the language barrier itself (I feel the pain of the man who can't communicate in English here due to my language-learning problem). Another barrier is due to power relationships that silence one group--in this film the black man is silenced--he is prevented from speaking by the threat of jail as his wife is assaulted in front of him. A barrier that results from this silencing is his inability to communicate with his wife as he cannot convey to her his great grief and humiliation.

In spite of these barriers, the film is not entirely tragic: in the end, a policeman who once assaulted a woman heroically rescues her from a burning car--in this rescue (involving face-to-face interaction), we see that he is changed.