We live in a world where we like to tell ourselves that everyone is equal, but we know it’s not true. Racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, just to name a few, still exist; they are being overlooked and forgiven by society, underwritten as misunderstandings and irrational sensitivity.
“Dear White People”, a film branded as controversial by the mainstream media—a label usually pasted on anything that speaks the ugly truth that the bulk of society isn’t ready to accept—helps highlight the racial inequality and low-key prejudices that are manifested in society and are happening every day.
It’s offensive and quite frankly, rude as hell, for example, to run your fingers through anyone’s hair, not just a black person’s. It, in a way, dehumanizes the person and it’s just nasty, you wouldn’t want someone running their hands through your hair, would you?
Via: Hype Hair
The film also explores what it means to be black in a world overrun and controlled predominantly by white people. It shows how different characters cope with their blackness; some characters put on two faces. Like an actor when they’re in front of the camera, they act in a way that they feel they must in order to please or appeal to the white characters. Some completely deny their blackness and front a white-like façade. Others embrace their blackness because they know it’s something to be proud of, despite what history and society tells them.
The film underlines racial inequalities and speaks out against the usage of slurs and offensive terms. It’s never okay to say the n-word if you’re white; and, for the sake of full disclosure, I used to be one of those people who used that term loosely. I told myself if it’s not directed at someone of color (i.e. I’m singing a rap song or texting one of my friends like “hey what’s up n***a”) that it was okay, but it’s not and everyone needs to realize that. It’s not a colloquialism, it’s a racial slur and it’s offensive.
I know that, as a white person, it may seem weird coming from me, but the fact is everyone needs to see this movie – especially if you’re white. The film uses satire to educate viewers on just how offensive and nasty some of the things white people do are. You’ll laugh at the scenes but very quickly you become uncomfortable and you’ll catch yourself snarling because by seeing it played out in front of you, you realize just how wrong it is.
Via: Complex
The films closing scene takes place at a gut-wrenching party named “Release Your Inner Negro,” hosted by the film’s antagonist, a rich, entitled white boy whose father is the school’s dean. During the party, there are several shots of people in blackface, wearing afro wigs and embodying negative stereotypes, over-sexualized prototypes and caricatures of black people.
But that’s not the most impactful part of the film. That comes as the credits begin to roll. News clippings taken from online news stories and photos taken from Facebook show people wearing blackface on college campuses across the country, even here on our very own University of Florida campus.
Had those pictures not been included, I think a lot of people would have written the film and the closing scene off as a Hollywood dramatization of real life, but those photos make what’s happening in the film undeniable because it shows that it’s happening all over and in real life, even in our own backyard.
I’ve seen it with my own two eyes, this past Halloween I can’t tell you how many people I saw dressed in Native American headdresses with feathers in their hair and face paint on, or guys dressed as “Muslims” or as some said “terrorists,” I even saw someone on my Facebook feed in full on black face. It’s not acceptable.
Feature photo courtesy of: High Def Digest
