PREJUDICE REIGNS IN DEAR WHITE PEOPLE
The title is the name of a vlog operated by Samantha White (played by Tessa Thompson), a Black student at an Ivy League school (though filmed at the University of Minnesota). A candidate for the presidency of a dorm, she is annoyed by White naïveté toward her race and tries to inform students of their verbal foibles. But she is also annoyed by Uncle Toms, in particular incumbent Troy Fairbanks (Brandon P. Bell), whom she defeats in what appears to be a rigged election. The students are portrayed as overly articulate, responding to each other’s verbal barbs far too confrontationally. Evidently because of three actual racial incidents headlined in credits at the end (one involving Dartmouth), director Justin Simien is seeking to explain how Blacks might respond to White stereotyping of Blacks—and Black self-stereotyping—if they were so bold. In a Black audience, the film would be seen as a uproarious comedy. But for a Caucasian audience, Dear White People might be viewed as a wake-up call that would best be appreciated by liberal use of the stop button on a DVD so that the fast and brainy dialog can sink in. Or perhaps everyone will want the mythical book about how Blacks can survive in an Ivy League school! MH