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  • Essay / Crash vs. Twilight: The City of Los Angeles - 744

    Two of the greatest stories told about the city of Los Angeles come from different art forms, but both tell equally thought-provoking stories. Twilight: Los Angeles, written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith, is a one-woman play that recalls several interviews with members of the Los Angeles community who talk about their experiences during the Rodney King trial verdict in 1992. Crash, directed by Paul Haggis , is a story about racial tensions between the citizens of Los Angeles. Although both stories address similar issues, they differ in terms of critical race theory, feminist viewpoints, and narrative structures. One of the main topics of both stories concerns racial tensions within a community, specifically focusing on the tension between white and black Americans. Many of the people Anna Smith interviewed had something to say about Rodney King's race or how white cops controlled power in the city. As racial tensions boiled in the ghettos of Los Angeles between white police officers and black communities, violence became all too common in the community. In the 2000s, around the time of Crash, police violence became less prominent, but still evident. Every character in Crash had some sort of prejudice against another race in town, including the white woman who was afraid of the minority man, the black man. couple scared by white cops and middle eastern man stereotyping hispanic man. Both Twilight: LA and Crash focus on race more than any other topic and neither would be as deep a story without this main theme. Another similarity in their themes of race and critical race theory is the perspectives they include. Crash is a story that involves many different races and has a plot twist at every turn...... middle of paper ...... uh but couldn't be more different due to the color of their skin or their status in society. Both stories show the characters' different perspectives on race in their city and are told in such a different way that the audience will definitely remember the story they were told. Crash and Twilight are two great works of art that may be separated by art forms, but they touch on the same themes that society will continue to write about forever. Works Cited "Crash – A Sociological Analysis of Film". Hubpages.com. Web. December 20, 2013. Goyette, Tori. “White Power: An Analysis of Racial Tension in Crash.” Haggis, Paul, Lionsgate, 2004. Film. Solberg, Muriel. ?' –Rodney King.” May 27, 2011. Print. Smith, Anna Deavere: Los Angeles, 1992. New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc. 2003. Print..