For his first feature film, writer/director Justin Simien has really hit it out of the park. DEAR WHITE PEOPLE is an intellectually driven film laced with satirical humor that shows how, even in the company of the brightest students in the country, racism can run deep. The film follows a handful of black students at the (fictional) predominantly white Ivy League school, Winchester University, and focuses on the political backlash that stereotypes and insensitivity cause when the staff of a humor magazine hosts a Halloween party with an outrageously offensive theme. At first, the story feels like a racially focused, college-age version of MEAN GIRLS, with its mocking of stereotypes and categorizations -- except instead of popularity, the Winchester students strive for achievement as well as acceptance -- but as the film continues, it goes much further than that with its message.
Though I won't dabble too much in the plot, because that is where you will derive the most enjoyment (and moments of purposeful discomfort), I would like to comment that the story addresses more than just racial politics... it also deals with racial identity. And with identity on the mind, it isn't surprising to see all sorts of different characters come to the screen.
Of the plethora of people you will meet throughout the film, all of whom have very opposing viewpoints on the issue of identity, two stand out the most (and perhaps consequently, the best performances given were for these two characters). Sam White (Tessa Thompson), a biracial student whose interests include hosting a radio show called "Dear White People" and radical filmmaking, is ready to carry the entire Black Student Union on her back as she takes on the culture war between whites and blacks... to the point where she seems to endorse segregation to protect her culture. Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams) is not so willing to carry BSU, or any particular social group, for that matter. He is the gay black freshman stuck in between his fellow black students and white students -- he doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. His social ineptitude is endearing to the audience, but not so much to his fellow students, and this results in poor Lionel being shuffled back and forth around campus as he tries to find his place.
Other notable characters are Troy Fairbanks (Brandon P Bell), model student and son of Winchester's dean -- the kind of guy who "downplays his blackness" (and amps it up) according to the need of the situation; Coco Conners (Teyonah Parris), the black girl who wants to be white; and Kurt Fletcher (Kyle Gallner), the ultimate white rich kid who seems to have nothing better to do than pick on anyone who falls outside the boundaries of straight white men. Far from stereotypical and flat, these characters jump off of the screen at you with their intricacies. Many of them vacillate in and out of the boundaries of likability, but isn't that exactly what happens in college? Many a young mind has taken the train wreck route of discovering themselves, trying to achieve all that they can achieve and sometimes finding their dark side in the process... this is realism, and is exactly what Simien gives us.
There are a few moments where the acting falters a bit, and due to the swarm of characters, it can be difficult at first to navigate the different threads of the story, but overall, this is a strong film. Not only will it make you laugh, but it is sure to stimulate some deep and incredibly important conversation. Check out DEAR WHITE PEOPLE this week at the Midtown Cinema!
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