SUV Smashes Subcompact then Tips Over Killing Mom and Thirteen Children: Final Thoughts on Cronenberg’s Crash

Although Crash does not moralize about the environmental effects of the automobile so much as examine the depth of the automobile’s social penetration, the movie can still be looked at as an indictment of car culture.

Crash implies a dull acceptance on the part of culture regarding the destructive nature of the automobile. In Crash, the practical use of the automobile as a means of transportation is secondary to its symbolic and social function. The characters in Crash care little about transporation, safety to others, or environmental consequences. Their notion of pleasure is also pointedly short-term — they are willing to die in a bloody, glassy, compacted mess in order to satisfy the compulsive thrills and social demands associated with driving.

In short, the characters in Crash are not unlike your average car owner.