Review of The Hate U Give (2018) by John M — 13 Nov 2018

A conversation starter. This is the story about a young African-American high schooler named Starr (Amandla Stenberg). She attends a predominately white high school, but lives in an impoverished black neighborhood.

When her black friend is gunned down by a police officer during a traffic stop while she is mere feet away in the passenger seat, her life is irrevocably changed. Now this is based on an acclaimed novel that I had only heard about.

I knew about the subject matter, and it is absolutely in an important one, so I wanted to do my part to support this while it was still in theaters. Well, I am going to support it even a step further, because this material is so strong, I went ahead and downloaded the audio book onto my phone so I can delve even deeper into this story.

Now I know that this hasn't performing all that well at the box office, just barely making its budget back, but it isn't too difficult to see why. When you hear about what this is about, you automatically think you're going to be walking into a feel bad movie, which is just about the last thing that people looking for escapism want to see.

Well, I prefer it when the movies that I watch actually have a message, and this is some pretty timely social commentary. The Hate U Give is topical, and it is saying all of the things that usually are left unsaid; we see so much racism every day in this country, but it is rare that somebody actually calls it out like it is.

Why do black parents need to explain to their preteen children how to interact with a police officer if they get pulled over? It isn't that this is a normal talk that they want to have with their children.

It is the society that we live in, and yeah, it is more than messed up. Change has been long overdue, and I feel that movies and books that bring attention to a wide of group as possible are performing an invaluable service.

As far as the movie itself goes, you should see it. I don't think it is perfect, and while this will likely make the cut for my Best of the Year list, it will likely rank around the middle to bottom.

I feel like the direction is a little flat; that is not to say that it has any glaring problems, I just feel like there isn't a lot of flair that bumps it up to that next level. Still, the material itself is the star, and it shines a spotlight brightly at a conversation that demands to be had.

If you aren't going to listen, who will?