# Crash: Did I miss something **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132 "2006-04-25T13:15:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/41 "2006-04-26T21:58:31Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Except that the writer and director of the film said she did. Was he lying? Well, it’s not like artists never offer deceptive, fanciful, or revisionist interpretations of their own work. But no, I doubt that he’s lying. Still, he did not make it _obvious_ that the daughter knew, _nor was he trying to_, because he didn’t want _us_ to know. It’s supposed to be a surprise for us at the end of the movie when we see the blanks box. (Yes, I know already that everybody in the anti-_Crash_ faction knew they were blanks from the beginning. Pin a rose on you.) As **garygnu** points out, it doesn’t really matter whether the daughter knew, anyway; it’s the father who couldn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/42 "2006-04-27T01:27:44Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > The only thing more puzzling than why people are still debating this is why you feel the need to be such an ass about it. Yeah, we get it **brickbacon** , you’re a freakin’ genius. :rolleyes: Because this is a very obvious that she knew. I don’t see how anyone could reasonably think otherwise. And to argue the point after knowing the director said she knew is an embarrassment. You don’t have to be a genius to follow the story. It’s a pretty straightforward plot device. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I asked the initial question about the blanks because I’d watched it at home and admittedly not paid very close attention (like one would in the theater). You and lots of others weighed in that she did indeed know they were blanks. About the same amount of people explained why they thought differently. You have the director’s commentary to back up your superhuman powers of perception. Does the number of people who didn’t catch that particular aspect of the storyline not suffice as an argument that perhaps the scenes were not executed as well or clearly as the director had intended? Forgive me for going off half cocked, but your attitude is unfounded and insulting. Again, just because you didn’t pay attention doesn’t mean one has to have superhuman perception to see this. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/43 "2006-04-27T01:49:21Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > Well, it’s not like artists never offer deceptive, fanciful, or revisionist interpretations of their own work. But no, I doubt that he’s lying. Still, he did not make it _obvious_ that the daughter knew, _nor was he trying to_, because he didn’t want _us_ to know. It’s supposed to be a surprise for us at the end of the movie when we see the blanks box. (Yes, I know already that everybody in the anti-_Crash_ faction knew they were blanks from the beginning. Pin a rose on you.) Yes, he did make it obvious. The first scene is only fleshed out when you see that they are blanks, but it plays out that way on purpose. The scene with her father also shows that she knows. What else do you want Haggis to do? Must she look into the camera and say she knew? > [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > As **garygnu** points out, it doesn’t really matter whether the daughter knew, anyway; it’s the father who couldn’t know. No, it’s both. If her buying blanks is an accident, then any discerning audience member will wonder how she didn’t realize this while buying the bullets, or loading the gun. It’s almost impossible that she didn’t know. Plus, it builds upon the theme of people acting instinctively, and as a medical professional, she would try not to do harm. Thus, buying blanks was in line with that philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/44 "2006-04-27T03:21:29Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Because this is a very obvious that she knew. I don’t see how anyone could reasonably think otherwise. Understood. But just because you don’t “see how anyone could reasonably think otherwise” doesn’t negate the fact that very many did in fact think otherwise. Your estimation of their degree of reasoning is immaterial. Again, if \* that \* many people didn’t catch it, that kind of renders the term “obvious” invalid. > [@](#): > > And to argue the point after knowing the director said she knew is an embarrassment. An embarassment? To whom? I assume the people paricpating in this thread were doing it out of a quest to speak of a shared experience, and perhaps gain new insights. Again, I agree, I’m not sure what the point is in arguing the storyteller’s intentions once he’s spoken about them. But, so what? I question your seeming need not only to be “right” , but to put down others who saw the story from another angle. For one who waxes knowledgable about the art of storytelling, you sure missed the boat on the day they covered “irony”. Indeed, regardless of the director’s intent, he would have told a much better story had he told one in which the daughter \* did not \* knowingly choose blanks. I hope that doesn’t go over your head, Coppola :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > You don’t have to be a genius to follow the story. It’s a pretty straightforward plot device. Don’t have the energy or desire to repeat myself; see above. > [@](#): > > Again, just because you didn’t pay attention doesn’t mean one has to have superhuman perception to see this. I don’t have a concensus on how many people on the “she didn’t know” side of the fence watched it at home, and so I can’t speak to what the attention paid / knew they were blanks ratio might be. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/45 "2006-04-27T04:11:12Z")
What I want to know, is whether or not you, **brickbacon** know that you are shooting blanks… As to the movie … I, in particular, did not like the bit with the HMO bitch and the man ineptly trying to advocate for his Dad’s healthcare. I know that HMO’s are easy pickins, and Lawd knows I got my complaints, but it doesn’t work like that. There are medical directors and formal review processes with committees of doctors if you got a complaint and/or want to appeal. The overlapping stories just didn’t click together enough for me and it all strained credulity too far to allow suspension of disbelief. Good fodder to start off discussion about each of our occult racist tendencies, but not a movie that I appreciate more upon more thought. The fact that people argue about the blanks question rather than othe meatier issues is good evidence that this movie wasn’t really of the usual best picture “caliber.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/46 "2006-04-27T04:33:23Z")
Everyone please answer the following two questions: 1. Did she know? 2. Do you have much experience with firearms? For me the answers are 1-no, 2-no. (I’m testing a theory…) -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/47 "2006-04-27T09:50:38Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > I really didn’t like it. It was a really overrated movie that tried to touch on racism a bit too much for my tastes with a plot that I wasn’t really interested in. Brokeback mountain should’ve won. I’m with you on not liking it a lot. My Fiancée and I went to see it, and walked out both saying that was terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/48 "2006-04-27T13:54:14Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Everyone please answer the following two questions: > > 1. Did she know? > > 2. Do you have much experience with firearms? > > For me the answers are 1-no, 2-no. > > (I’m testing a theory…) > > -FrL- Yes Not much. One firearm with some fmj bullets. She kept trying to talk her father out of buying a gun, then when he bought one anyway she said she wanted the red box and she knew what kinds of bullets they were. I knew she was buying blanks at that instant, when I found out later in the movie I wasn’t suprised. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/49 "2006-04-27T14:11:40Z")
The more we’ve been talking about this, the less I can even remember the scene in question. I’m going to make some time to rewatch this over the weekend, and this time pay particular attention to this part. Not because I don’t believe that she knew; I just want to see how I missed it the first time. (I do still think it’d be a far more interesting story if she hadn’t known. ) I agree with **DSeid** that the whole HMO storyline was lame, in that anybody who’s ever dealt with one (which is probably most Americans) knows it doesn’t happen like that. But that part where she tells him her name and he says something like "Shaniqua; big fuckin’ surprise. . . " rang so true with me. I have heard that exact same sentiment far more than I care to think about. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132/50 "2006-04-27T14:46:35Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > She kept trying to talk her father out of buying a gun, then when he bought one anyway she said she wanted the red box and she knew what kinds of bullets they were. No, she did _not_ say she knew what kind of bullets they were; that’s why everyone keeps arguing the point. See the dialogue quoted by **gigi** above. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crash-did-i-miss-something/354132.md?page=2)