“Dear White People”: As Woke As It Gets

I found the decision to turn the clock back to the movieamp8217s climactic and eyeopening divisive amp8220Black Face Partyamp8221 a very racist party thrown by white students that parallels the very real events of a frat party thrown at Arizona State University in 2014 to be an interesting one amp160It goes on to tell a modified version of the original story that focuses on the original main characters and opens up to include their friends and fellow classmates amp160Fans of the movie will see reimagined versions of familiar events but unsurprisingly the narrative gets better when the metaphorical town hall hears more than four voices and even better than that when we get to see how the campus reacts to the reverberations of that party beyond the movieamp8217s original ending amp160For newcomers thereamp8217s enough exposition cleverly worked in by series narrator Giancarlo Esposito to bring them up to speed on the who what where when why and WTF of it allThe characters are still essentially the same but with minor differences Samantha White played by Logan Browning is still the campus revolutionary although sheamp8217s decidedly less abrasive but in a way that doesnamp8217t castrate her convictions so much as just make her a little friendlier See Her movie interactions with Lionel versus those in the series amp160Colandrea aka amp8220Cocoamp8221 played by Antoinette Robertson is still more or less avoiding her blackness though her motivations are different amp160In the movie she was intent on achieving literally any form of famesuccess while putting down black culture as much as possible because of her personal perception of blackness and ratchetness being synonymous amp160In the series sheamp8217s superintelligent and motivated by actual work ethicbased success with her disdain for her own culture being based on her constant position in life as the only black girl in the roomAs for Lionel Higgins DeRon Horton his life gets fleshed out as well focusing a little less on the social awkwardness of the no manamp8217s land that is being black and gay and introverted and focusing more on his unrequited attraction to the deanamp8217s son Troy Fairbanks still played by Brandon P Bell amp160Lionelamp8217s role as a reporter for the campus newspaper holds a bit more weight as well acting not just as a plot device that places him at the center of main events but also a way for his editor Silvio DJ Blickenstaff to keep it funky honest and keep it funny with him through their shared dialogueSamanthaamp8217s core group of friends has gotten a larger platform as well amp160They are a diverse group of students that represent different aspects of black culture lightskinned darkskinned male female gay straight and one dude whoamp8217s actually from Africa amp160All of them have voices and opinions of their own and while their banter is as hilarious as it is socially aware itamp8217s their emotional reactions that ring the bell of truthI have to single out Marque Richardson who plays Reggie Green In the movie his character was a tad more onenote in that he was aggressively focused on the campusamp8217s problack movement and his personal attraction to Sam amp160In the series Reggie still has the same motivations but has a greater range of emotionality that Richardson handles with ease amp160A lot of the main players in this cast have some pretty intense and thoughtprovoking moments many of which are punctuated by a fourth wallbreaking stare into the camera but Reggieamp8217s character in particular resonated with me on a personal level amp160Sure weamp8217re both goodlooking educated black men but itamp8217s specifically his confidence when vocalizing and defending his point of view that I envy mostly because before having this platform my opinions were often lost in the sauce or altogether withheld due to fear of social backlash or judgment from those closest to me amp160I guess in a way that makes Lionel a kindred spirit as wellAnd that is the genius of Simienamp8217s work Its ability to humanize everyone through an actual discussion about the social construct of race that does not villainize anyone until they villainize themselves amp160It helps feed a growing subculture of independent thinkers who are in fact actually postracial and waiting for the rest of the world to catch up amp160It allows me and others like me regardless of race to easily relate to these fictional characters and the very real issues that they face because we face them tooAbove almost all else Dear White People is hilarious amp160Yes it comments on everything from social media police interactions and cultural appropriation to relationship dynamics and race relations but itamp8217s also funny as hell amp160The comedic wit and everyoneamp8217s apparent inclination to amp8220clapbackamp8221 turns something that couldamp8217ve very easily been misconstrued as heavyhanded and opinionated into what feels like The Social Network meets a less overthetop Next Friday amp160The world needs more of this a lot moreStay wokeClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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“Dear White People”: As Woke As It Gets

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Ainsley Andrade

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“Dear White People”: As Woke As It Gets

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