Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in “Crash” Essay Example

Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† Paper Paul Haggis’ (2004) movie â€Å"Crash† is a powerful portrayal on the way in which racial discrimination as a complex social problem affects the lives of people. Set in Los Angeles, the movie shows how different people often â€Å"crash† into each other’s lives and unconsciously create ripples in these interactions. The effectivity of Higgis’ depiction lies on the utter simplicity by which the movie is able to show the nuances of interlocking problems from multiple perspectives. Interestingly, the movie also poses the problem of coping in a multi-cultural society where racism is almost a norm in itself and shows how gender and socio-economic gaps contribute to and reinforce racial stereotypes and biases. The film’s exploration on the barriers erected by racial, gender, and income disparities is perhaps best portrayed by Matt Dillon who plays the character John Ryan, a police officer who has been working for seventeen years with the Los Angeles Police Department. Ryan is a single, white, male who lives with and takes care of his aging father off-duty and who spends most of the time in the movie demanding a better doctor from his father’s healthcare company. Ryan is both a dutiful son to his father and the police force, however, his character harbors the frustration resulting from the conflicts of his status as a male Caucasian in the lower rungs of the economic ladder which prevents him from providing better quality of healthcare to his ailing father. It is from thses conflicting roles that his bitterness and disdain towards privileged people of color arises. We will write a custom essay sample on Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Most of the poignant scenes which emphasize his bitterness and his attempt to compensate for his disadvantaged position show Ryan attempting to get back at his perceived tormentors either by physically or verbally harassing them using his position as a police officer and his status as a Caucasian. In the early part of the film, for instance, he is the stereotypical white, racist cop who stops an SUV driven for no apparent reason than the fact that it is driven by a black American and proceeds to create false charges against him. Clearly a case of selective perception where people are almost always quick to prejudge other people based on the color of their skin or other stereotypes, Ryan treats the man, a film director, like a common criminal. Unfortunately, the man’s wife, played by Thandie Newton, sees the cop’s real agenda for stopping them and protests arrogantly that â€Å"You thought you saw a white woman performing fellatio on a black man? †¦ †¦? that’s why you stopped us. † (Haggis, 2004) This visibly enrages Ryan who, not wanting to show weakness and lose his power in front of his much younger police partner, retaliates by subjecting the woman to a body search and sexually offending her. The act is both an offense and an insult against the woman and her husband, who are forced to endure the harassment and even apologize to the police officer for a supposed crime. In another scene, Ryan pays Shaniqua a personal visit to discuss his father’s deteriorating health and painful condition which expectedly ends in conflict when he subjects her to racial slurs in an attempt to compel her to do more for his father. He tells her of his father’s effort to provide employment in his business and of the loss he suffered when the Government started adopting a preference for companies owned by racial minorities. She is not moved by Ryan’s tirade of his father’s contribution to the African-American community, however, because of Ryan’s racist remarks and instead tells him that she would have signed the necessary papers if Ryan had been nicer.

Explain How Brazil is Protecting its Rainforests essays

Explain How Brazil is Protecting its Rainforests essays The Amazons rainforest has an immense natural resource. It can provide timber and a large range of plants, food crops and medicines. The forest also has a significant effect on the Worlds weather. It is also home to hundreds of thousands of distinctive wildlife species. Nevertheless, the government has a responsibility to bring development to the 14 million people who live in the Brazilian Amazon and to find ways of getting better lives for all the individuals by using its recourses wisely. All the industrialising countries have accomplished their success in this way. According to figures published by the World Bank in 1988,it was known that 12% of the Amazon had been cleared. The Brazilian National Space Research Institute reached a worse approximation of 5%. A figure, which was reached by the NASA (the US space agency) mentioned that the forest is being cleared at only 0.3% each year. This is a smaller amount than the rate of forests being cleared in the United States. I think that it is easy for people like us, who live outside Brazil to imagine that the forest is being destroyed and no one is able to do anything about it. Thankfully some important steps have been taken in recent years to try to protect the rainforests. In 1987, the Polamazonia programme for setting up development areas in the Amazon was suspended. Then in 1988 the Brazilian Constitution emphasized the need to protect the environment. Then the year after that, development towards protection was being done. A programme named the Nossa Natureza which means our nature recognized a Natural Environment Fund. The Institute backs this programme for Environmental and Renewable Resources (IBAMA) in this same year tax inducement for agriculture and livestock developments in the Amazon was suspended. 6 years later, in 1995, all companies using wood as raw material or energy source had to get their ma...

International Business Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

International Business - Dissertation Example Introduction China has risen to become a leading player in international business. China’s rise has been gradual, since the late 1970’s to date. In prior years, China was a socialist state but in the past three decades, China has done a lot to convert itself into a consumerist economy. From the 1980’s China began to relax some of its restrictions on trade operations (Tseng & Zebregs, 2002). This relaxation of trade constraints has made China a very lucrative place for International Business. Foreign investment has had a huge impact on business development in China. This essay is going to discuss foreign investors, rules governing foreign investment in China, and how some of these rules have been relaxed to contain foreign entrepreneurs. Relevance statement The significance of this essay is that it will act as a supportive lead to people wishing to do business in China, especially foreign investors. In modern times, there has been a rush by investors to set up bus inesses in China. Competition for investment in China is very high and businessmen need to know what to expect of China’s trade regulations. ... For this reason, various works of literature have been written in a quest to understand how China has managed to get to the top of international business. As indicated earlier on in this essay, China had very strict laws on how to conduct business especially with foreigners. Nonetheless, China realized the disadvantages of such strict policies and improved its relations with international markets by initiating various government reforms towards the relaxation of trade policies. For example, Li (2001) states that the government of China did way with a provision that required all foreigners running firms in the country to locally source for raw materials. Today, foreign entrepreneurs in China are allowed to purchase raw materials form outside China, in order to facilitate the growth of their businesses. The fact that China accepts individual investors form foreign countries to operate in the country is an achievement. Previously, China only allowed investors to set up businesses by use of joint ventures. According to Graham & Harm (2006) joint ventures continue to be the most prominent form of foreign investment in China. Methodology In this essay, I will use qualitative methods such as interviews and questionnaires to collect information. I will also use quantitative techniques such as statistics to affirm the information. I will distribute questionnaires to various foreign investors in various regions in China. This will enable me get actual information on how the relaxation of various economic policies has eased foreign business in China. I will also interview government officials to find out what specific policies have been done away with, or relaxed to allow for more foreign investment. In order to obtain statistical data on the growth of foreign ventures