Intercultural_Barriers_in_Film

Intercultural Barriers in the Film “Crash” Teresa Falkner COM/200 October 9, 2010 Claudia Owens Intercultural communication happens when two or more individuals from different cultural backgrounds communicate. This process of listening and responding to people from a different cultural background can be a challenging process. The greater the difference of these cultures increases the potential or opportunity for miscommunication, misunderstanding, or mistrust (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to explore the cultural diversity and barriers to intercultural communication and in the highly acclaimed film “Crash”. The film “Crash” was written by Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco, and Robert Moresco. “Crash” received 54 awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay in 2006. The film chronicles the lives of several different characters from many different walks of life. There is a District Attorney, Rick Cabot and his wife, Jean; a police detective Graham Waters and his partner / girlfriend, Ria; an African American producer, Cameron Thayer and his wife, Christine; an embittered police officer, John Ryan and his partner, Tom Hansen; a Persian shop owner, Farhad and his daughter, Dorri; along with several other characters whose individual stories are told as they lead up to an automobile crash on the interstate that affects each of them (Deming, 2010). In a perfect world we would not experience any intercultural communication barriers; each person would respect the other regardless of race, color, gender, belief system, size, or shape. Unfortunately in the real world, perfection is far outweighed by each person’s faults. The film “Crash” brings to the surface several of the stereotypes and prejudices that occur in society on a daily basis. The characters in the film are the personification of the best and the worst of our reactions to other human beings. This film is full of intercultural barriers; one of the scenes that stood out in my mind is the scene in which the Persian shopkeeper, Farhad, decides to go out to buy a gun to protect the families shop. Because Farhad language skills are still broken, he must bring his daughter, Dorri along. Once they arrive at the gun shop, Frahad starts talking to his daughter in his native language about buying a gun. The owner of the gun shop, who happens to be Caucasian becomes frustrated because Farhad is not speaking in English and assumes that Farhad is associated with terrorists and refuses to sell him a gun. After speaking with Dorri, the gun shop owner eventually makes the decision to sell the gun to Dorri instead of her father. One of the many side stories revolves around a Hispanic locksmith named Daniel Ruiz. He had changed the locks at the home of a wealthy couple, when he was done and had given them new keys. The wife told her husband to hire another locksmith in the morning, because Daniel looked like a gang member and had kept a copy of the key in order to come back and rob the house. In truth, nothing could have been farther from the truth. In fact, Daniel was a family man with a wife and daughter at home. Each of these scenes from the film provides a classic example of the intercultural barrier known as stereotyping and prejudice. The gun shop owner and the woman whose locks where changed, had judged Farhad and Daniel based on their physical appearance or even their manner of speech. The gun shop owner probably caught up in the post 9/11 “my neighbor is a member of Al Quida” hype, probably decided that Farhad was a terrorist because of the color of his skin and / or his language. His error in judgment caused a conflict that could have easily been avoided. The woman who wanted her locks changed a second time probably assumed Daniel was a criminal who could potentially get with his “homeboys” to break in and rob her home because his appearance was not of a tennis or golf pro from the local country club that she would have been more comfortable with. Her ignorance probably resulted from living a sheltered and secluded life. Despite the negative encounters these characters faced, there are ways to prevent the situation. There are communication strategies that allows for better intercultural communication, if used correctly. Identifying the causes of these misunderstandings is a good first step. Of course, most people will need help with some of the strategies to help them overcome these barriers. A good first step would be to learn about the culture and belief system. A good follow-up step would be to ask questions about their culture and to listen completely to the answer and to ask for clarification with things not completely understood. Following that; working on creating a common ground while agreeing to disagree will allow for an ease in understanding for all concerned. In a perfect world there would be no intercultural barriers. Each person would respect the other with no regard to race, religion, gender, size, or color. The film “Crash” reveals mankind at his absolute worst in regards to hate and ignorance. Fortunately not all people are filled with such preconceived ideas of people different from ourselves. We can never fully understand a people from different backgrounds. What we can do is educate our family and ourselves about the different cultures around us. When all else fails; remember the golden rule “treat others as we would want to be treated” because in the end, whether we like it or not, we all do have one small thing in common; we are human-beings. References Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others (6th ed.). Intl.: Allyn & Bacon. Carol, A. (November15, 2006). A Review of the movie Crash. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/79879/a_review_of_the_movie_crash.html'cat=40 Deming, M. (2010, n.d.). Crash (2005) / Plot & Details. Retrieved from http://www.moviefone.com/movie/crash/20745/synopsis