"Crash" Oscar Winner answers to Asians
Everyone knows that Crash won the Academy Award for Best Picture and I've told anyone who's asked my opinion (and even those who didn't) that I thought the film really didn't do the Asian characters any justice, thus lowering my opinion of the film. All the characters except for the Asians are presented as complex and have depth, with most achieving some form of redemption at the end.
But not the Asians. The Asian woman is portrayed as a bad driver (shocker!) with a heavy accent. Her husband is a human slave trader. Basically, they are there to provide comic relief and to perpetuate stereotypes.
But now, the Chosun Ilbo (a Korean newspaper) asked writer/director Paul Haggis why he portrayed Asians that way. Here is his answer:
- A question for Korean audiences. In the movie, (even though it is very short scene) a Korean is depicted as a “slave trader” while the main characters are portrayed as complex people with both good and bad sides. Korean audiences may be a little saddened by that.
Yes, I was aware of that, and would have liked to have been more even-handed with my characters. But I did not set out to do something fair, I set out to tell a story about characters and then just followed them. Actually, in the director's cut of the film, which is coming out in April on DVD, there is a longer scene in the hospital between the two Korean characters where you see them more as a lovely, loving couple -- but yes, he still turns out to be selling slaves.
While that may seem harsh, what I truly wanted to do was condemn what many white (and black and Hispanic) Americans often think of Asians -- and so I referred to the Koreans (and the Cambodians and Thai refugees) as Chinese all the way through the film. In fact, the only person who corrects anyone is the Russian criminal who wants to sell the refugees. So I was using the Korean characters as symbols of American (and white and black) ignorance of Asian cultures -- and talking about the fact that, to Americans, only America exists. And that we have too little curiosity about those who are different from us -- everyone to the west of us becomes "Chinese".
I think this is actually true in most dominant cultures. I have never been to China , but I bet they do not always distinguish between Canadians, English, Australians or Americans. But in America, we have this disturbing lack of curiosity down to an art.
Okay....I can kind of buy what he's saying. Kind of. So he wants to "condemn what many white Americans often think of Asians". Fine. So where's the part where the Koreans get to speak up and fight back? Where's the redemption for the Korean characters? Didja happen to run out of ink on your typewriter when it came to that part, Paul Haggis?
While I'm not satisfied with his answer, I'm just glad someone asked the question.
And yeah....Crash is way overrated.
Here's a link to the entire interview: Chosun Ilbo Interview of Paul Haggis
But not the Asians. The Asian woman is portrayed as a bad driver (shocker!) with a heavy accent. Her husband is a human slave trader. Basically, they are there to provide comic relief and to perpetuate stereotypes.
But now, the Chosun Ilbo (a Korean newspaper) asked writer/director Paul Haggis why he portrayed Asians that way. Here is his answer:
- A question for Korean audiences. In the movie, (even though it is very short scene) a Korean is depicted as a “slave trader” while the main characters are portrayed as complex people with both good and bad sides. Korean audiences may be a little saddened by that.
Yes, I was aware of that, and would have liked to have been more even-handed with my characters. But I did not set out to do something fair, I set out to tell a story about characters and then just followed them. Actually, in the director's cut of the film, which is coming out in April on DVD, there is a longer scene in the hospital between the two Korean characters where you see them more as a lovely, loving couple -- but yes, he still turns out to be selling slaves.
While that may seem harsh, what I truly wanted to do was condemn what many white (and black and Hispanic) Americans often think of Asians -- and so I referred to the Koreans (and the Cambodians and Thai refugees) as Chinese all the way through the film. In fact, the only person who corrects anyone is the Russian criminal who wants to sell the refugees. So I was using the Korean characters as symbols of American (and white and black) ignorance of Asian cultures -- and talking about the fact that, to Americans, only America exists. And that we have too little curiosity about those who are different from us -- everyone to the west of us becomes "Chinese".
I think this is actually true in most dominant cultures. I have never been to China , but I bet they do not always distinguish between Canadians, English, Australians or Americans. But in America, we have this disturbing lack of curiosity down to an art.
Okay....I can kind of buy what he's saying. Kind of. So he wants to "condemn what many white Americans often think of Asians". Fine. So where's the part where the Koreans get to speak up and fight back? Where's the redemption for the Korean characters? Didja happen to run out of ink on your typewriter when it came to that part, Paul Haggis?
While I'm not satisfied with his answer, I'm just glad someone asked the question.
And yeah....Crash is way overrated.
Here's a link to the entire interview: Chosun Ilbo Interview of Paul Haggis
posted by Myong Choi at 12:19 PM
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