Crash Theme of Fear

People in Los Angeles have a lot to fear. Bad traffic. The Big One. And, if you're a character in Crash, you fearpeople who have little control over their cars and their anger.

Anger is a secondary emotion that is triggered by humiliation, guilt, or—you guessed it—fear. Being on the receiving end of anger makes people scared, and they get angry in return. It's like if you sneeze on someone and give that person the flu. Anger is the sneeze, but fear is the sickness.

Questions about Fear

  1. What are the characters in Crash afraid of?
  2. How does Jean react to fear? Is her reaction rational? How else could she have handled her situation differently?
  3. Farhad is scared for his family's safety. Why does he react with violence, endangering another family's safety?

Chew on This

Take a peek at these thesis statements. Agree or disagree?

In Crash, when characters are scared, they make bad decisions and lash out at others. Sometimes they lash out at characters who hurt them; sometimes they don't.

Christine's fear, as valid as it may be, almost gets her killed. Fear puts the characters in dangerous situations in which they could hurt themselves.