Dear White People: Movie Review

As I watched the new satire “Dear White People”, I couldn’t help but think of Spike Lee’s classics “School Daze” and “Do the Right Thing”. In fact that writer/director Justin Simien took inspiration from Lee’s early work when working on the screenplay back in 2006. Although the film does feel like a product of the early 1990’s, it is still smart and witty enough to recommend.

“Dear White People” centers on a small group of African American students. First we have Samantha White (Tessa Thompson) is the head of a traditionally black residence hall at Winchester University. She is also a black activist who hosts a college radio show called “Dear White People”. Troy Fairbanks (Brandon P. Bell) is former head-of-house before losing to Samantha. He is also the son of the university’s dean (Dennis Haysbert). Troy’s father has high goals set for his son, but Troy would rather join the staff of a well regarded college humor publication. Next there is Coco Conners (Teyonah Parris) a young woman who uses the internet to help her earn a career in reality TV. Finally there is Lionel Higgens (Tyler James Williams), a nerdy journalist student who is recruited to write an African-culture article for the college paper which consists of a mainly all white staff.

Each student in “Dear White People” comes to their own awakening about who they really are and that discovery causes them to make choices they normally wouldn’t have. It is Lionel Higgens though who I feel is impacted the most by his choice in the best way possible. “Dear White People” is smart, and funny. It also happens to sport a talented cast of newcomers that I hope to see more of in the future.

By: Marc Ferman