Review of Dear White People (2014) by Joe I — 08 Mar 2015

Dear White People does what it sets out to do. It is a movie so many of the characters can be seen as stereotypes in a movie that is suppose to deconstruct the stereotype may throw people off. This however still doesn't take the focus off the point.

Racism is not gone, it is not a specific term that can be used to signal one group yet it does focus on the racial tension that was brewing before this movie and continues after it. There is a line in the film where the main protagonist Sam, played by Tessa Thompson, is asked whether she is just holding up a mirror to her audience.

This does go with the film itself, with the debatable topics beyond black vs. white politics that many will see this film as. True there are moments that do feel like soapbox moments but the film doesn't let the message become heavy handed that would cause people to turn away from the message.

Instead, it tries to look at the issue from as many lenses as it can and show how there are aspects of every group that causes both the problem and can cause the solution. With the ending credits showing examples of how the idea of this particular film as happened in reality of our universe, that is the mirror.

See these things that you may be doing without knowing that are hurtful and why it is such a big deal and needs to be treated. This film may not fix anything. A film is never meant to and in realty is never going to be.

What this can film be is funny, thought provoking, a little touching and a great way to maybe start a conversation on finding a solution to the problems brought up in the film. If anything seems out of place or not in the right context, please bring it to my attention and I will try to make myself more clear.

But who am I kidding...no one reads these when I post them.