An early scene in the film says that in order to make a
point about an audience’s flaws, berating them is not the way to do it. The key is to turn the camera on them so that
they can see the flaws for themselves.
That is exactly the method by which Dear
White People delivers its social satire, turning its camera on the
so-called college elite to demonstrate that racism isn’t nearly so dead as many
folks seem to think. This is
accomplished by stepping into the shoes of four black college students, each with
a unique and interlocking story that has as much to do with grappling their own
identities as it does with navigating the stereotypes and expectations society
places on black shoulders.
The first of these students is Sam, a film
student who walks the line between being an anarchist revolutionary and getting
the world to see her as more than the “angry black woman” stereotype. Next is Toby, her ex-boyfriend obsessed with
appealing to a broad demographic for political advancement, often to the
detriment of his own interests and loyalty to his black peers. Third is Coco, a woman with naturally refined
speech who feels the need to “black it up” so as to garner attention and
Youtube hits. And finally, there is
Lionel, a gay black student who doesn’t feel at home with either the white gays
or the black population, as his identity doesn’t entirely jive with either
clique. These characters’ journeys are
placed in the context of a campus housing crisis, wholly fabricated by the
administration to split up the predominantly black Armstrong-Parker House. Characters fall on various sides of the
conflict, and nobody’s position is so rigid as to be dichotomous.
Like most satire, the comedy comes from observation of the
absurdity of many of the film’s racially fueled situations, but that absurdity
is something that white people should really keep an eye out for. Dear
White People is not just a catchy title; the film is quite literally
pointing out a list of shitty things white people do because they believe
racism is over, and shows it from a black perspective so as to communicate
exactly why that particular behavior is so shitty. The film is never mean-spirited or
accusatory; it just demonstrates common black experiences, all the while
emphasizing that there is no such thing as one defining black experience.
This is the first film from writer-director Justin Simien,
and he reminds me a lot of an early Spike Lee.
The upset over the poor state of race relations is similar to that seen
in Do The Right Thing, and while the
film never escalates to the level of full riot (which the film pointedly
acknowledges is something the media thinks only black people do), it does vent
its frustration with pinpoint accuracy.
It’s tempting to label the villains who throw a blackface-themed
Halloween party as hyperbolous, until the credits begin to roll and show actual
photos of college blackface parties from within the past decade.
In short, Dear White
People is precisely the type of film America needs right now. It uses its wit and charm to diffuse any
accusatory notions, yet is sharp and cutting in its critique of white society’s
reduction of black people to dehumanizing stereotypes. No one film is going to ease the tensions
that plague our country, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Have a favorite Spike Lee movie? Think Justin Simien will carry on that great
work? Leave your thoughts in the
comments below.
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