DEAR WHITE PEOPLE Shatters Racial Stereotypes [REVIEW] | Sun

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE Shatters Racial Stereotypes [REVIEW] | Sundance 2014

26 Feb, 2014

Article by Cindy Maram

Black power and militancy versus white supremacy, Black culture and identity, racial discrimination and stereotypes, commodification of blackness, interracial relationships, sexual discrimination, these are all themes that encompass the satirical film ‘Dear White People,’ which world premiered in the U.S. Dramatic category of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Written and directed by the young publicist turned filmmaker, Justin Simien, ‘Dear White People’ was a winner at Sundance taking the U.S. Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent. It is funny, witty and throws you for a loop. But according to Simien, that’s what satires are supposed to do:

“The best satire ultimately makes you feel some type of way…Satire is like, oh my God, I’ve been laughing and having a great time and at sometime you’re like oh, wait a minute, I do not feel good inside right now…It’s funny and interesting. And at some point you feel extremely uncomfortable about what you’re watching. And that’s the way a good satire should operate.”

Watch the Sundance video interview with writer/director Justin Simien below to learn more about Justin and ‘Dear White People’:

The film begins with Sam White (Tessa Thompson) a media student that DJs and has her own show at the college radio station. Sam represents black militancy and black power. Rocking a pompadour hairstyle, she is unique, strong and is always pushing for the black students in her college to gain status and power in a school that is dominated by whites and socially led by white supremacists. In the film, we have a variety of characters, each representing a black stereotype. For example, Troy, who is the head of student government, is the son of the dean. He represents the successful, proper and nonintimidating black male. He has a white girlfriend and on the surface, seems to have it all together in terms of knowing who he is and his direction in life. However, underneath his public, political persona, is a young man that just wants to get high and write jokes. So, he really doesn’t know WHAT he wants. Sam is of interracial background. She is light-skinned and possesses unresolved feelings about her white father. She runs for president at her college never believing that she could win. Sam does what she thinks she is supposed to do and is the voice of the black students. After winning the election, she is in shock, but feels the need to stand up for others and act her part. There is an incredible scene in her residential cafeteria in which she kicks out Kurt, the white male character, who is the hateful and aggressive leader of a group of white supremacists at the college. She speaks to Kurt as if she is fearless and appears to be 100% devoted to black power. As the film rolls on, we see her confusion over her identity as she is in love with a white boy, but is a leader in the school’s black power movement. Sam feels the need to hide this from her group of black friends and especially from her other love interest played by Marque Richardson, a character modeled off of Malcolm X.

There is an interesting play on Black identity and how the role of one’s hair comes into play in regards to acting as a public mask for these characters. Simien explains that hair is a huge part of black people’s identity in real life:

“I think hair is a big identity thing for black people…So, Sam who rocks the pompadour…you see that look as more of a militant, “about my blackness” kind of thing. But her authentic hair actually falls kind of flat. And it wouldn’t naturally take that shape. And Lionel, who has the big afro, is also very much associated with black power and “I’m black and I’m proud.” But he has an afro, because he hash’t made a choice about his hair. And you also have Troy who sort of has the finger wave, is constantly brushing the hair and the line is always right. You know, that is sort of like the look. That’s how a lot of black men feel like they’re supposed to look. And so I think that each of their hair speaks to wanting to appear authentic, but also speaks to them feeling insecure about who they are and what they want to put out to the world. I kind of wanted to talk about the hypocrisy of that and how hair is sort of used to portray something to the world that may or may not even be genuine.”

Dear White People: Brandon P. Bell (Troy)

‘Dear White People’: Brandon P. Bell (Troy)

Coco, played by Teyonah Parris, sports different straight haired wigs throughout the movie. She wants success in life and strives for this goal through her desire to fit in with whites at the school. Her definition of success is defined by what women possess. She wants the life that she sees white women living. She even wears a shockingly golden blonde wig to a Halloween party. Teyonah explains the role of hair in regards to her character Coco:

“For me, I think for Coco, everything she wears is part of an armor and costume in a way. And so, I think the first hair she has, which is the black straight wig…I definitely think that [she is thinking], ‘This is how I want to present myself. It’s straight. It’s neat. It’s clean lines. It’s perfect. And so am I.'”

Dialogue is opened by the film in regards to how people wear public masks, which ultimately need to be thrown away in order to be true to oneself.  Sam realizes this at the end of the film. We see this symbolically when she finally lets down her hair and we see her natural long hair that falls below her shoulders. It becomes public knowledge that she is dating a white guy and her black power clique is shocked and up in arms over it. Racial and social stereotypes are shattered as we learn more about each character.

When Tessa Thompson was asked how she prepared for the role of Sam White, she explained that the film was inspired by Bergman and satires like ‘Network’ and ‘Persona’:

“I did lots [of research] just because Justin was mining from a really deep and layered well of content. He’s unabashedly stealing from Bergman. So, there was a lot to watch, because of his references. There were a lot of references for where we were going [visually] and also tonally. I watched every satire I could get my hands on just because I haven’t worked in that space. And as much as you want to feel like these people are real people, there is something presentational about the film. And they are archetypes. And it doesn’t exist. It’s not naturalism. So, there’s tons to watch. ‘Persona’ was a huge thing for him. So, I watched that a bunch of times. I had seen it before, but [was] watching it from a new lens.”

Lisa Bonet of ‘The Cosby Show’ and ‘A Different World’ fame is referenced and a comparison is made between her and Sam White. In the film, we see many different sides to Simien’s main character, Sam. At times she is Angela Davis, and at other times she is Annie Hall or Lisa Bonet. The film has many deep themes, but it appears that the strongest theme of all is that of identity and the inner struggle between what society expects one to be and that of who we truly are within ourselves.

Simien does an outstanding job of balancing serious issues of race, identity and sexuality with satirical humor. The characters are very “in your face” and there is a boldness to each of the characters that causes the viewer to want to stand up and fight for personal truths and acceptance on a deeper level. Not just acceptance in regards to fitting into social cliques or societal expectations, which the film does touch upon, but the acceptance of oneself in the midst of the threat of societal opposition, prejudice and discrimination.

Congratulations to writer/director Justin Simien and the cast of ‘Dear White People’ for their bravery in addressing these issues and bringing them to light in a way that is enduring, meaningful, moving and intelligently comedic. And a BIG thank you to the Sundance Film Festival for the opportunity to interview the actors and director of ‘Dear White People’ and ultimately discuss issues that are evident and prominently experienced in modern 21st Century America.

Read the exclusive, full Sundance interview by Dig In Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Cindy Maram with writer/director Justin Simien and the cast of ‘Dear White People.’

Learn more about the film, ‘Dear White People.’

About the author

Cindy Maram

Cindy Maram is a Dancer, Public Speaker and our Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the entertainment, fashion and arts publication, Dig IN Magazine. She is an accredited film critic for Cannes Film Festival in the South of France, Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, SFFilm Festival and CAAMFest, as well as a runway fashion photographer and editor for London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. She also serves as a professional sports photographer and writer. She is a prolific art critic providing media coverage for Art Basel Miami Beach and surrounding Miami Art Week fairs. As a creator, Cindy is a writer, vlogger, podcaster, social media strategist and manager possessing a Bachelor's Degree from UC Davis and Master's Degree completing graduate work in Mass Communications + Popular Culture Studies with an emphasis in Film/Marketing/Writing from Cal State Fullerton. Further, she is producer of independent feature length and short films, and is committed to supporting the visibility of underrepresented groups in the media and film industry.

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