Review of Dear White People (2014) by Blake P — 06 Jun 2015

In an age of cultural appropriation (yeah, I see you lurking over there Iggy Azalea) and the all too frequent proclamation of but I have black friends! when being shitted on for inherent racism, 2014's "Dear White People" is so culturally relevant among the rising race wars that you may as well wallop in its scathing satirical slices. So sharp are its questions, its dialogue, that you find yourself unwilling to take sides. You want to analyze them, ponder why so much of the Internet age feels the need to mock, point, and 'gram instead of taking a minute to consider the widespread ignorance that corrupts so much of the current white population.

Director Justin Simien, making his debut here, doesn't pick a side of the room and stay there. He studies the people that reside within it, asking them how they feel about the nation's oft clashing racial identities and marking down the responses. "Dear White People" doesn't have a clear answer to any of its questions - there isn't a definite, universal one, anyway - but it considers all possible replies, giving an authentic voice to the left-wingers, the rights, the in-betweens, and the ignoramuses. His filmmaking style, whether it be pronounced through his direction or his writing, is, all at once, direct, polished, heavy, and funny. It isn't reluctant to explode, no (the ending is excellent in the way it pushes aside wit and finally lets characters put emotion first), and it isn't nervous to start additional national dialogue. Why "Dear White People" was put in limited release rather than wide is frustrating - it deserves to been seen by all, either to open minds or supplement them.

The film focuses on a group of black students attending Winchester University, a fictional Ivy League school with a serious diversity problem. The majority of the population is white, the blacks in a slim 2% margin. So when it is announced that plans are in motion to take away the student's ability to choose their housing, the racial tension that plagues the atmosphere snaps. The Dean (Dennis Haysbert) figures unspoken segregation will take a downturn - but Sam White (Tessa Thompson), a biracial media major who hosts radio show "Dear White People", sees it as yet another way to suppress Winchester's already miniature black populace. Much of the campus views Sam as an aggressive activist; many have a hard time agreeing with her straight-through-the-bullshit opinions.

Among her opponents are Coco (Teyonnah Parris), an aspiring reality show star who wears blue contacts, dons a silky wig, and isn't afraid to get negative attention as long as it's attention. There's also the Dean's son, Troy (Brandon Bell), who sees his father's plans as necessary, not hurtful to diversity. Worst of all is Kurt (Kyle Gallner), the white head (and yes, you could call him a pimple to the face of Winchester) of a fraternity that plans on throwing a party where everyone has to dress up like a black stereotype and have fun with it, ignoring the fact that they're being so offensive that everyone with common sense may as well shrivel up and die in the face of their unseemliness.

I connected with "Dear White People" on an emotional and an intellectual level, something rare and delectable to find in a movie. Simien's writing is astute enough to give all the characters, even the more detestable ones, the ability to carry on an argument with solid points (they are going to an Ivy League school, after all) - you never find yourself really taking sides because each one has something, something you can understand. That's why the film works so well; it doesn't so much scream for a call to action as it does ask us to have a serious conversation about what it brings up, preferably with a group of friends over pie at a local diner post-screening.

Matching Simien's passion are his actors: Thompson, with her magnetic poise and thunderous bravura, makes for an anti-hero who at first seems controversial then wise beyond her years; Parris, convincing in her wait until I'm an entrepreneur/personality/star/Emmy winner stature, moves as she slowly reveals her seemingly non-existent vulnerability as racial identity begins to eclipse fame. Best is Tyler James Williams, star of the underrated "Everybody Hates Chris", whose character's shyness allows him to be an insider getting a major scoop. His blooming sexual identity makes him a minority within a minority - soon, his quiet demeanor becomes fascinating as he no longer seems to be able to act as a mere voyeur to the world around him.

"Dear White People" stuns as much as its provokes one's thoughts; it demands we reexamine our outlook on the diversity that makes our nation what it is. Its only flaws are minor, mostly found in subtle directorial mishaps - the Wes Anderson-esque title cards don't much match the non-whimsical attitude of the film - but things like these hardly mare what makes the film so timely and smart. It needs to be appreciated, to be loved; it is important viewing.