Despite the provocative title, Dear White People is a fairly mild mannered look at race, though much more so, an honest examination of how people butt against the racial, gender, class, sexual and behavioural pigeon-holes society creates for them.
The closest this ensemble piece has to a protagonist is Sam, one of the many black college kids in the film trying to come to terms with their place in society. She is outspoken on micro-aggressions, 21st Century black rights, and all the issues that get swept under the rug with dismissive terms like "outrage culture" and "SJW bullshit". But she also has a white boyfriend who she treats like a dirty secret, lies about her tastes in films, frizzes up her hair, and generally feels the need to appear "more black" than she really feels. The cast all face similar crises of identity, trying to assert their place in the world whilst dealing with the anxiety that they are behaving too much, or not enough, like they should. These pressures disproportionately effect non-straight, non-white, non-male people, but it's still relatable if you are a white, straight man. Everyone feels out of place sometimes.
Politically charged films tend to scare off viewers, not necessarily because they are bothered by the opinions being presented, but because more often than not political pieces tend to not be very fun to watch. Dear White People is fun. It never takes itself so seriously to not have light hearted digressions about how shit Tyler Perry movies are, or laugh at the labels used on black people. Occasionally the direction can be a bit too quaint, the visuals drawing attention to itself like a cute Wes Anderson movie, but it mostly makes for an entertaining and visually interesting story.
Dear White People isn't a film insolent enough to pretend it has the answers. It does not seek to solve race relations in two hours with some smushy "let's just all work together!" conclusion. Instead it is more interested in presenting the problem in the first place. In a society where it is now commonplace for people to proclaim equality has already been achieved, that is an important enough message, and one which you should also listen to. Yes you.
Film Sincerely, Black People.
Despite the provocative title, Dear White People is a fairly mild mannered look at race, though much more so, an honest examination of how people butt against the racial, gender, class, sexual and behavioural pigeon-holes society creates for them.
The closest this ensemble piece has to a protagonist is Sam, one of the many black college kids in the film trying to come to terms with their place in society. She is outspoken on micro-aggressions, 21st Century black rights, and all the issues that get swept under the rug with dismissive terms like "outrage culture" and "SJW bullshit". But she also has a white boyfriend who she treats like a dirty secret, lies about her tastes in films, frizzes up her hair, and generally feels the need to appear "more black" than she really feels. The cast all face similar crises of identity, trying to assert their place in the world whilst dealing with the anxiety that they are behaving too much, or not enough, like they should. These pressures disproportionately effect non-straight, non-white, non-male people, but it's still relatable if you are a white, straight man. Everyone feels out of place sometimes.
Politically charged films tend to scare off viewers, not necessarily because they are bothered by the opinions being presented, but because more often than not political pieces tend to not be very fun to watch. Dear White People is fun. It never takes itself so seriously to not have light hearted digressions about how shit Tyler Perry movies are, or laugh at the labels used on black people. Occasionally the direction can be a bit too quaint, the visuals drawing attention to itself like a cute Wes Anderson movie, but it mostly makes for an entertaining and visually interesting story.
Dear White People isn't a film insolent enough to pretend it has the answers. It does not seek to solve race relations in two hours with some smushy "let's just all work together!" conclusion. Instead it is more interested in presenting the problem in the first place. In a society where it is now commonplace for people to proclaim equality has already been achieved, that is an important enough message, and one which you should also listen to. Yes you.