Compare the way cultural difference is represented in two films (East is East and Crash).

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Kirandeep Dhillon

Compare the way cultural difference is represented in two films (‘East is East’ and ‘Crash’).

The two films, ‘East is East’ and ‘Crash’, display cultural differences within society in different manners. ‘East is East’ portrays cultural differences as a quite comical issue and this makes the film a comedy and this can be seen throughout the film from analysing the media techniques the creators have incorporated. However, ‘Crash’ shows racism and cultural differences to be a more serious matter as ‘Crash’ is a drama and this can be seen through out the film also due to the media techniques used. ‘East is East’ is set in Salford in Manchester, England in 1971.  The area is a working class area and this can be seen from the terraced housing in the first scene.  Manchester at that time was pre-dominantly white and thus this causes culture clashes. ‘Crash’ is set at a more recent date as it was made in 2005. It is set in modern day Los Angeles in the USA. This time is post-9/11 and this influences some of the racism seen in the film. Los Angeles at that time had a lot of cultural difference due to a high crime rate from gangs and violence between different races. The name ‘Crash’ could perhaps connote the collision of many different cultures and races and thus is metaphorical or it may connote devastation caused due to racism. The title ‘East is East’ may connote eastern traditions cannot mix with western traditions peacefully.

In ‘East is East’ the opening scene is of most of the main characters taking part in a Christian parade despite being Muslims. This is a culture clash as it automatically shows the difference in cultures at that time as the main characters are Asian whilst the other people participating in the parade are white. The opening scene starts with a bird’s eye view of the local setting; terraced housing and long narrow streets. As non-diegetic music plays, long shots are used to introduce the main characters. The music is parallel to the parade and is of a western source and is very cheery; the characters seem happy and are enjoying themselves despite standing out from the crowd. Also, busy diegetic sound is used to show the cheery bustle of the parade. As the parade is celebrating the Catholic religion, props are carried by the main characters to show this. For example, one of the characters is carrying a Christ statue – this emphasises the cultural difference as well as showing what type of parade it is. The characters are wearing everyday western clothing and there is natural light as the parade is set outside. This part of the opening scene shows the children of the family to be more attuned to western traditions as they are taking part in the Christian parade. However, as the children’s father is introduced – an Asian man – the audience can automatically see that the children fear him knowing about their participating in the parade. This can be seen as they are seen running out of the parade upon getting a warning and taking another route to avoid him finding out that they were in the parade. The director aids the panic of the children by tilting the camera as they are running and not keeping it steady. This furthers the cultural differences in this scene.

The opening scene of ‘East is East’ is split into two sections which contrast quite a lot. The setting is first at their home where you can see a wall with the family members’ pictures on there. This shows who the characters are and where they are in the family as later on after Nazir runs away from his wedding his picture is removed from the wall. The second section consists of the family getting ready to go to Nazir’s Asian wedding. The director shows the audience the emotion on Nazir’s face by using close-ups of his face. You can see that he is feeling quite nervous.  However, his father George can be seen as very happy and proud due to the use of close-ups. The family are wearing eastern clothing and have eastern props. At the home there is slow Asian music which is non-diegetic as they are getting ready. You can see how westernised the children are as they complain about looking stupid in the traditional Asian clothing. Furthermore, this suggests that the children again prefer western values rather than the eastern ones they are forced to follow. In the wedding hall there is artificial light and diegetic sound which is parallel to the busy crowd as there are normal sounds to reflect what is happening. When Nazir refuses to marry his bride there are loud non-diegetic drum beats to show something dramatic has happened. Moreover, the children can be seen as more western than eastern.

In the opening scene of ‘Crash’, it is night time and the scene begins with a bird’s eye view of L.A., which suggests danger is to come in the film. Also it is a weather shot as you can see it snowing. Then the traffic can be seen as the car headlights on the roads are shown. The red coloured headlights may suggest that something bad is about to happen. The screen turns black and then a man starts to talk – at first as if his voice is a non-diegetic voiceover but then as the shot turns into a close up of his face you can see that it is diegetic sound. Graham and Ria have just been in a car accident and racism is shown when Ria makes fun of how Asians talk by saying the word ‘blake’ – referring to how Asians can’t pronounce the ‘r’ sound in languages. Also the Korean woman is racist back by saying Mexicans can’t drive thus she is stereotyping all Hispanics to be Mexicans and that they can’t drive. For this, a medium long shot is used on Ria and the Korean woman because then the audience can see the two characters’ race and differences. Also the black cop talking about racism in L.A. but Ria thinks he is crazy. The close up shot of his face shows his emotion on the topic he is talking about, he is quite saddened due to it. Also as Ria questions his ‘frame of reference’, an over the shoulder shot is used to infer that she is talking about Graham. Furthermore this shows that racism occurs with all races and not just by one.

In both films there are many characters that endure and display racism. However, ‘East is East’ focuses more on just one race whereas in ‘Crash’, there are many more races all suffering from discrimination. In ‘East is East’, the main targets of racism are the Khan family as they live in Salford in Manchester - a predominantly ‘white’ area. This makes them more prone to discrimination as they are the only coloured family in the local area. This means that the cultural differences are between them and the rest of the ‘white’ community.

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On the other hand, ‘Crash’ offers a wider concept of racism as it displays more races colliding in everyday life and enduring and showing racism. ‘Crash’ focuses on different races inter-linking throughout a period of 36 hours. One of the characters is Graham, a black police officer/detective; he is the first actor to be introduced. He starts off the opening scene with his voice as diegetic sound talking about racism in L.A. as he compares it with other cities in the world, but says that nobody in L.A. wants to touch you due to your colour/race. This shows his awareness ...

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