The Banality of Racism

I saw "Crash" this afternoon. I'd heard it was good – a Hollywood production that actually has something to say worth hearing – and that it was about racism, but I purposely avoided reading the reviews until tonight. I have to say, I think most of the critics misunderstand the message: definitely the ones who dislike the movie, but even those who like it. Saying it's about racism is like saying Peter Pan is about children: it's true, but conveys no useful information; so if that's what one thinks, one isn't. If I were going to give a one-sentence moral summary of "Crash" – and I am –, it would be this: racism is perpetuated because people are flawed. It's been a while since I read Hannah Arendt, so I may be misremembering what little I do; but as presented in "Crash," the way racism is reproduced is an exemplar of the banality of evil. People get tired, frustrated, and bestow their ill-humor on others; we can be lazy, or torn between loyalties, and take the path of least current resistance. Racism is wielded and even exploited in a hundred small ways every day, because it is there; and it is there because people continue to wield and exploit it to make their ways through daily life. For all the grand social theorizing, at bottom, society is as people do.

For the record, I think everyone in America should see this movie. And, no, I don't know the answer. (Nor do I think this is all there is to it. But this is a blog, not a dissertation.)

Update: There is one critic who I think got it right — the New Yorker's David Denby, in the 2 May 2005 issue (here).