I was first exposed to Dear White People by its trailer. The trailer was so promising it put the movie to a much higher level of expectation than it actually is so it could have only been a slight disappoint. The film is smart, punchy, and funny, for a film about racism and racial tensions.
The preppy college setting screams for an amazing story about racial tensions and racism. The black characters that the film follows - Coco the girl who wants to be white, Lionel the awkward gay guy that doesn't quite fit in, Troy who fits in but isn't quite himself, and the infamous Sam who is basically a modern day activist with a secret boyfriend - are actually good archetypes of nowadays college educated black people because they are all unique if not for the color of their skin.
With this basis Simien delivered an interesting film about racial tensions between blacks and whites without shaming or blaming one of the two parties involved. But the film sort of feels like a fluff piece that didn't really dive deep into the subject. The white characters are mostly stereotypical, they are the same to be honest, arrogant, and entitled. The film quickly becomes more about about finding one's identity and western society in general than racial tensions. Maybe, that's the point, one of the message behind it is that racial tensions stems from the way our society is, with whites liking the black cultures but not its people? I don't really know but at least Dear White People is a good conversation starter.
As for the actors, I mean the ones with layers to their characters, they gave a stellar performance. Tessa Thompson portrayed a riveting Sam with talent, wit and insolence. And Tyler James Williams was probably the easiest character to relate to, he likes what he likes and doesn't try to change who he is.
For a first film Dear White People is interesting and if the trailer hadn't been so good I probably would have been in awe after watching it. @wornoutspines
