Sunday, April 08, 2007
Crash - A Movie Review
I finally saw Crash a couple of weeks ago. It's possible I was the only one who hadn't seen it yet. I completely agree with other critics that this was a very important, and dare I say? poignant, look at race relations in Los Angeles. Tempers run high, misunderstanding and violence run rampant, relationships are tested again and again. When finally the movie ended I felt drained and even a little despondent. Will we never get along? Will Los Angeles always be such a hotbed of churning emotions and violence? But more than that I want to know why people will INSIST on buying Lincoln Navigators when they're so clearly dangerous!
Yes, it's true, while this movie is making a very strong statement about racism (ie, it's bad) this movie is also about the danger and problems inherent in buying this larger-than-life SUV. I know, I've been there.
Ocasionally my job requires that I travel to exciting and exotic destinations. Two years ago I was sent to the wilds of New Brunswick to do a pharmaceutical speaker tour. I would fly into Fredericton, rent a car, and then we'd do a road show from Fredericton, to Saint John, and then end up in Moncton. I was to rent a mini-van.
I arrived, and having never rented a car before, was a little nervous. The kind gentleman (read=teenager) who was helping me informed me that I couldn't have the mini-van.
"What do you mean?" I asked haughtily, every inch the professional Torontonian business-woman. "I require a mini-van. We have lots of meeting materials, and three people and their belongings." Plus, and I couldn't have known this at the time, we would also have a very smelly, totally thrashed hitchiker to pick up outside of Saint John.
"The van's in the shop." He replied. "But don't worry, we are going to complimentarily upgrade you!"
He was so excited, and this did sound like a good thing. Upgrade means better, right? Plus, I'm a naturally acquiesing kind of a girl, so I wanted him to like me and be happy.
"Okay, what is it?"
"It's a Lincoln Navigator. Just give us a moment and we'll bring it out for you."
So I waited. Finally a scruffy man approached me and said, "Navigator?"
'Brevity is the soul of wit.'
"That's me! How will I recognize it? I've never driven in a Navigator"
"You can't miss it; parked outside at the meters. Haveaniceday."
I thanked him and hauled my many packages out into the parking lot. The greater Fredericton Airport is not large. I turned to the right and my jaw dropped in, what I imagine was, a comical fashion. There was only one vehicle parked at the meters. It was huge, I didn't even come up to the top of the tire. Large cars, or semis, intimidate me. I drove a very compact car, at that time (a Tercel) and I aspire to a SMART car. This was WAY beyond the scope of what I was used to. I thought about going back in and asking for something smaller, but I wasn't sure how much of an option that was. The van being in the shop, and all.
I opened the trunk and manoevred my heavy luggage inside, then I tried to get into the driver's seat, which involved a lot more climbing than I was used to. It was massive. There were so many buttons, I had no idea what did what. Another reason I decided to keep the damn thing was that there had been flooding in New Brunswick that sping, and I figured this thing could handle pretty much everything. Including moose, which had been crossing the highways a lot at that time. A Navigator could reduce a moose to terrine without revving past 1000.
I hated driving it. I felt so stupid. I couldn't figure out how to work anything. I got to a toll bridge and it took five minutes to figure out how to roll down the window. It beeped when you backed up and it approached something, it cost over $100.00 bucks to fill it up with gas. It was just so embarassing.
In Crash, the Navigator is a popular target for carjackers, and so obviously, between my experience and this movie, no one should own one of these monstrosities! Really, it's a public service sort of a thing.
I finally saw Crash a couple of weeks ago. It's possible I was the only one who hadn't seen it yet. I completely agree with other critics that this was a very important, and dare I say? poignant, look at race relations in Los Angeles. Tempers run high, misunderstanding and violence run rampant, relationships are tested again and again. When finally the movie ended I felt drained and even a little despondent. Will we never get along? Will Los Angeles always be such a hotbed of churning emotions and violence? But more than that I want to know why people will INSIST on buying Lincoln Navigators when they're so clearly dangerous!
Yes, it's true, while this movie is making a very strong statement about racism (ie, it's bad) this movie is also about the danger and problems inherent in buying this larger-than-life SUV. I know, I've been there.
Ocasionally my job requires that I travel to exciting and exotic destinations. Two years ago I was sent to the wilds of New Brunswick to do a pharmaceutical speaker tour. I would fly into Fredericton, rent a car, and then we'd do a road show from Fredericton, to Saint John, and then end up in Moncton. I was to rent a mini-van.
I arrived, and having never rented a car before, was a little nervous. The kind gentleman (read=teenager) who was helping me informed me that I couldn't have the mini-van.
"What do you mean?" I asked haughtily, every inch the professional Torontonian business-woman. "I require a mini-van. We have lots of meeting materials, and three people and their belongings." Plus, and I couldn't have known this at the time, we would also have a very smelly, totally thrashed hitchiker to pick up outside of Saint John.
"The van's in the shop." He replied. "But don't worry, we are going to complimentarily upgrade you!"
He was so excited, and this did sound like a good thing. Upgrade means better, right? Plus, I'm a naturally acquiesing kind of a girl, so I wanted him to like me and be happy.
"Okay, what is it?"
"It's a Lincoln Navigator. Just give us a moment and we'll bring it out for you."
So I waited. Finally a scruffy man approached me and said, "Navigator?"
'Brevity is the soul of wit.'
"That's me! How will I recognize it? I've never driven in a Navigator"
"You can't miss it; parked outside at the meters. Haveaniceday."
I thanked him and hauled my many packages out into the parking lot. The greater Fredericton Airport is not large. I turned to the right and my jaw dropped in, what I imagine was, a comical fashion. There was only one vehicle parked at the meters. It was huge, I didn't even come up to the top of the tire. Large cars, or semis, intimidate me. I drove a very compact car, at that time (a Tercel) and I aspire to a SMART car. This was WAY beyond the scope of what I was used to. I thought about going back in and asking for something smaller, but I wasn't sure how much of an option that was. The van being in the shop, and all.
I opened the trunk and manoevred my heavy luggage inside, then I tried to get into the driver's seat, which involved a lot more climbing than I was used to. It was massive. There were so many buttons, I had no idea what did what. Another reason I decided to keep the damn thing was that there had been flooding in New Brunswick that sping, and I figured this thing could handle pretty much everything. Including moose, which had been crossing the highways a lot at that time. A Navigator could reduce a moose to terrine without revving past 1000.
I hated driving it. I felt so stupid. I couldn't figure out how to work anything. I got to a toll bridge and it took five minutes to figure out how to roll down the window. It beeped when you backed up and it approached something, it cost over $100.00 bucks to fill it up with gas. It was just so embarassing.
In Crash, the Navigator is a popular target for carjackers, and so obviously, between my experience and this movie, no one should own one of these monstrosities! Really, it's a public service sort of a thing.
