Just because the sexual scenes are repetitive, however, doesn’t mean that wasn’t Ballard’s intention. While not completely without erotic qualities, the sexuality in the novel has a distinct undercurrent of dysfunctionality – and that’s the relationship our society has with sexuality. What better way to convey this than to shock the masses with the marriage of the supposedly most affectionate act with the most damaging one? Perhaps the message to the reader is that maybe they’re not on opposing sides of the emotional spectrum after all.
         A most intriguing aspect of the novel is Ballard’s decision to use his own name as the one for the narrator. It’s common practice to speculate that the author has written from his or her own experience under the guise of a fictitious character. Here, Ballard is aware of the implications of being associated with the unusual subject matter and plays a game with the reader: “Did I experience all of this or not?” Indeed, this disturbingly clever ploy on Ballard’s part undoubtedly contributed to the novel’s initial shock value. As the story unfolds, there’s the constant nagging that only a person who experienced this strange world himself could write about it in such detail. Did Ballard ever act out on these fantasies?
         After reading the novel, I decided to rent the DVD and compare it to the book. Watching the movie is another experience altogether. Thanks to the lame selection of my video rental store, I could only acquire the R-rated VHS version of Crash . The unrated DVD version contains 10 minutes of extra footage that was previously censored in theaters. Despite the fact that most people nowadays didn’t consider the content of the story to be terribly shocking, the MPAA deemed parts of the movie to be so horrible that they shouldn’t be viewed. What didn’t they want me to see? More often than not, my mind concocted far gruesome and/or sexual scenarios than what I was actually missing. After all, I read the book. Was there a section I skipped over? I chapter I missed? I couldn’t recall anything that objectionable. I grudgingly rented the video and made a careful comparison of the book and the movie.
         I had been warned by several people that the film version of Crash was to be avoided at all costs; now I understand why. Cronenberg certainly crafted an extremely faithful adaption of the novel – but maybe that’s the problem. Unfortunately for the movie, not much really happens in the book; it’s mostly men getting off and women giving hand jobs while thinking of broken headlights, bloody windshields and steaming radiators. While this may seem like an appropriately shocking premise that would draw wide-eyed crowds to the show, the movie drifted into theaters for a short time and then disappeared. I was admittedly bored while watching James Spader and Holly Hunter get it on. I can only imagine the disinterest of someone who hadn’t read the novel. Those ten extra minutes I felt cheated out of? Now I was glad I didn’t have to suffer through them.