Crash

I rented the movie Crash last weekend. I felt it was one of those movies I had to watch. How could I go wrong; it had won the academy award, had a great cast of characters, and everyone kept saying how much this movie would make you think (this type of movie is usually right up my alley as I like movies that stay with you for a day or two). Yet I was apprehensive. I had this preconceived notion that it would be dark, violent and depressing. Mostly this viewpoint came from an Oprah show I happened to catch that focused on the movie.

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. The movie wasn’t nearly as dark violent or depressing as I had thought and was indeed thought provoking. It definitely stayed with me for a day or two. Interesting to see how our prejudices affect communications with members of all ethnic groups. The movie dealt not only with prejudice against blacks, but also with Asians, Hispanics, and Persians. Preconceived ideas cross all ethnic backgrounds and include prejudices within a group. How many times do we judge our co-workers, family and friends based on their appearance and our preconceived ideas about them?

I recommend the movie finding it to be one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Well worth your time.

On keeping speeches short

A teacher asked a student to sum up Socrates in four lines.
The student said:
1. Socrates lived a long time ago.
2. He was very intelligent.
3. Socrates gave long speeches.
4. His friends poisoned him.