{"id":4931,"date":"2016-10-21T04:40:16","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T04:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.plato-philosophy.org\/?post_type=teachertoolkit&p=4931"},"modified":"2025-03-05T14:56:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T22:56:18","slug":"crash-ethical-obstacle-course","status":"publish","type":"teachertoolkit","link":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/crash-ethical-obstacle-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Crash: An Ethical Obstacle Course"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crash<\/em>, directed by Paul Haggis, weaves together the lives of several characters from multiple backgrounds who collide in the busy, often chaotic city of Los Angeles. \u00a0The movie revolves around a\u00a0dozen or so characters from various ethnic, racial, and cultural background whose lives entwine and entangle, often with unpleasant consequences. \u00a0In the film, racism and prejudice are multi-directional and layered. No single character is innocent; racist characters are heroic; sympathetic characters perform immoral acts. \u00a0Crash<\/em>, winner of best picture in 2004, is notable for its ethical complexity. In Crash<\/em>, life is a mess; right and wrong are hard to discern; ethical choices are complex.<\/p>\n

Crash<\/em> is an excellent film for an ethics course or a philosophy course with a significant ethical component. \u00a0 The film is widely available; it is\u00a01 hour and 52 minutes long. \u00a0Steer students to the IMDB\u00a0page<\/a>\u00a0on Crash<\/em> to begin.<\/p>\n

The film works best after a unit on ethics or after having covered and discussed a few different ethical systems or core ethical readings. Dedicate two hours plus of class time to watch the film. \u00a0Pausing to reflect, comment etc. is a useful strategy when teaching film.\u00a0Especially attend to sorting out the character names and roles. There are many of them. Make sure students note the character names as they watch the film.<\/p>\n

Use this attached\u00a0crash-discussion-sheet-ethics-plato<\/a>\u00a0as a template for your discussion. \u00a0The worksheet lists 12 major characters and asks you to discuss them based around a given criterion. \u00a0The attached sheet offers four criteria, but you might add two more. It might be useful\u00a0to start with more approachable criteria: “Which character is most sympathetic?” or “Which character would you want to have over for dinner as a guest in your home?” etc. From there, move to more philosophical questions. \u00a0You might rank each character according to a deontological ethics and in a second column vis a vis a utilitarian or consequentialist ethical approach.<\/p>\n

Please copy and adapt the form to your needs. Perhaps you are discussing virtue ethics or natural law. You can adapt the questions and rank characters according to those paradigms.<\/p>\n

Warning. Crash<\/em> is rated R. It contains mature themes and content. It is best suited for the upper high school grades and college.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, weaves together the lives of several characters from multiple backgrounds who collide in the busy, often chaotic city of Los Angeles. \u00a0The movie revolves around a\u00a0dozen or so characters from various ethnic, racial, and cultural background whose lives entwine and entangle, often with unpleasant consequences. \u00a0In the film, racism and … Crash: An Ethical Obstacle Course<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5845,"template":"","toolkitcategory":[756,28],"gradelevel":[48],"topics":[318],"class_list":["post-4931","teachertoolkit","type-teachertoolkit","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","toolkitcategory-ethics","toolkitcategory-film","gradelevel-high-school-and-beyond","topics-film-studies"],"yoast_head":"\nCrash: An Ethical Obstacle Course - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crash: An Ethical Obstacle Course - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, weaves together the lives of several characters from multiple backgrounds who collide in the busy, often chaotic city of Los Angeles. \u00a0The movie revolves around a\u00a0dozen or so characters from various ethnic, racial, and cultural background whose lives entwine and entangle, often with unpleasant consequences. \u00a0In the film, racism and ... 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