Review of Dear White People (2014) by Ed B — 27 Jul 2016

"Dear White People" is a film which follows the racial tensions erupting at an Ivy League school. The film focuses on four young black students who each struggle with their identity and how it fits in at a prestigious university mostly populated by white students. Although narration is sprinkled throughout the film that discusses several stereotypes and racist attitudes perpetuated by white people and directly addresses them in this discussion (hence "Dear White People") much of the film deals with characters on a more personal level, delving into the reality of being a person of color in a mostly white community. The film does not treat racism as the sole struggle and motivation for the black characters in it but rather the complicated icing on top of the identity crisis cake. This focus on black characters as individuals is incredibly effective in humanizing a group of people who are often represented as marginal or one dimensional.

While the opportunity for film roles given to people of color are already few and far between in Hollywood, the characters which are portrayed by people of color often represent stereotypes or tropes of their race. Consider Queen Latifah's portrayal of a "sassy black woman" in "Bringing Down the House" where her character's main purpose is to help lighten up the tight buttoned, white main character. This is just one example of the ways people of color are pigeonholed in film but "Dear White People" steps away from this habit by giving each character depth and room to grow within the film. Take for instance the character "Sam" who is aggressive, outspoken and unafraid of confrontation. This trope of the "mad black girl" is erased by displaying scenes where the audience is shown her sensitivity and vulnerability. She is represented as a stratified being, experiencing the same fears and anxieties as anyone else and trying her best to maneuver through them under all of the other pressures associated with life.

This portrayal of people of color, in particular black people, as capable of being critical of a system that they are expected to be a part of while also being humans with complex emotions and desires which are easily relatable is one of the best examples of representation in film. Few other films which are blatantly directed at white people, portray black people as anything other than slaves, maids, thieves, perpetrators or violent. Better yet these films almost always feature a white main character acting as the hero or savior of these black characters. Upon hearing the title of the film I think many white people would initially be put off or defensive assuming that the film's intentions are simply to point a finger or place blame. However, after watching the film I think they will find (subconsciously or not) that they can relate to an extraordinary amount of the same feelings, insecurities, desires, and experiences as black people. This film is crucially successful in its representation of black (and white) people, and the complicated nature of being alive.