It seems sad that in the year 2014, most people don't appear to understand satire and we still mustn't talk about race, and perhaps this is why many in the IMDb community are so uncomfortable with the upcoming Sundance award-winning film, Dear White People.
At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Dear White People won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough talent, and film review site RottenTomatoes.com summarizes the soon-to-be-released satire in the following manner:
"...Dear White People is a sly, provocative satire of race relations in the age of Obama. Writer/director Justin Simien follows a group of African-American students as they navigate campus life and racial politics at a predominantly white college in a sharp and funny feature film debut that earned him a spot on Variety's annual '10 Directors to Watch.'"
To this point, the Rotten Tomatoes tomoatometer is at 100% fresh, as 15 out of 15 critics have reviewed it favorably, giving it an average rating of 7.6/10.
Here are some of the critics' comments regarding the film:
"One of the sharpest and most audacious comedies of the year ..." - Stephanie Zacharek (Village Voice)
"An edgy premise and memorable cast make for a potent first impression." - Justin Lowe (Hollywood Reporter)
"Percolates with pointed observations about racial and cultural dislocation." - Colin Covert (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
"It's anger that gives Dear White People the charge lifting it from funny to great." - Calum Marsh (Village Voice)
"While it veers toward smugness and self-satisfaction at times, the Spike-Lee-lite exercise nonetheless heralds a fresh and funny new voice on the scene in writer-director Justin Simien ..." - Justin Chang (Variety)
"Clearly a work by a young director, the film comes at you with a torrent of sharp dialogue, multiple characters and a traffic jam of scenes and story points." - Kirk Honeycutt (honeycuttshollywood.com)
"Smart, funny, generally on target...like early Spike Lee, only more polished." - Roger Moore (McClatchy-Tribune News Service)
"A delightful dissection of the Ivy League that stirs the pot in the way most folks mean when they call for a national discussion of race." - Kam Williams (Baret News)
"Justin Simien impresses with this debut - a social satire, exploring, debating and studying racial identity, and what it means to be black in contemporary America." - Stefan Pape (HeyUGuys)
"Despite some melodramatic moments and an overabundance of characters and incidents, the film smartly pinpoints people's universal need for acceptance and belonging." - Tim Grierson (Screen International)
"The film doesn't aim to condemn the fools who believe racism in America has ended, but rather open a vast discussion of how the subject of race -- and merely identity -- in our country has evolved." - R. Kurt Oslenlund (Slant Magazine)
"One of the most vibrant, engaging debuts at this year's Sundance Film Festival." - Michelle Orange (sbs.com.au)
"Works almost perfectly to showcase for its cast and crew of mostly unknowns, demonstrating a considerable pool of talent waiting to be tapped for bigger and better things." - Dan Schindel (Movie Mezzanine)
"Dear White People has both ambition and execution, with its satire sharpened, not dulled, by the characters and real emotions inside it." - James Rocchi (The Playlist)
"Simien's script is at its funniest when at its most confrontational, touching on a number of keen, pointed observations on the subtleties of racism." - Travis Hopson (Examiner.com)
So, according to film critics (thus far), the film is sharp, funny, about identity (and how it has evolved), and opens a discussion about race. In other words, people of all stripes should see this film, it will likely make us both laugh and uncomfortable, challenge our beliefs, and most likely prompt us to engage in a discussion with others about the subject matter at hand. That right there sounds like a film I want to see!
However, some in the IMDb community feel differently, and without having seen the film, have decided to take the title and run with it, by making the following comments (among others):
- "That's what all of this is about. There exists a double standard in America. If you have light skin you better damn well keep your mouth shut about other races and ethnicities. But if your skin is darker than white then... yawn 'whatever'. Its simply amazing. Going off what others have previously said, can you imagine what kind of sh!tstorm would happen if this movie was titled 'Dear Mexicans', 'Dear Black People', 'Dear Yellow People', or 'Dear Redskin People'... lol are you kidding me?? But 'Dear White People'... ohh well you know I guess we (as in all of us crackers) had that coming didn't we. Yes it is 2014 and we are still paying for the sins of our grandfathers, great grandfathers, and great great grandfathers."
- "If there were a movie called Dear Black People the whole country would go crazy. But black people can make this..."
- "(I'm gonna make dear black people) It's about black people needing to stop blaming white people for everything. Get off welfare, stop having multiple kids to get a fat welfare check and get a damn job. Respect yourself."
- "If someone were to make a movie called 'Dear Black People' and have it be about white people at a college campus starting a culture war because a black person took a position normally associated with white people. How fast would it take for all these racist black people to start crying racism and rioting(complete with assaults, vandalisms, muggings, murders, and burglaries) in the streets, all while calling it peaceful protesting and claiming all white people are racist? My guess is, less than a week of the movie's announcement. I have no issue with this movie being in existence. However, the movie's purpose is to start a race war. There's no other reason than to see how non-black people react so that black people can call them racists."
- "Giving voice to stupidity is exactly part of the problem with 21st century America. Yes, I see the irony in posting this fact on a message board but to counter fictitious ramblings the truth must be at least seen at times. Paranoid reverse racism is neither funny nor enlightening. It's tolerated for all the wrong reasons. It's a shame that the African American community encourages such moronic endeavors."
- "Thats right, its against white people so its not racist, and its black people saying it, black people cant be racist i forgot"
- "Granted, I've only seen the trailer but this looks to be this movie appears to be blatantly racist. It does nothing but create an unnecessary friction between two groups of people. Sure it might be good for a few laughs but not at the expense of the well being of the community.
I'm disappointed that this kind of movie can be considered entertainment."
Yes, it's like I said at the outset of this writing, "It seems sad that in the year 2014, most people don't appear to understand satire and we still mustn't talk about race, and perhaps this is why many in the IMDb community are so uncomfortable with the upcoming Sundance award-winning film, Dear White People."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2235108/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dear_white_people/
At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Dear White People won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough talent, and film review site RottenTomatoes.com summarizes the soon-to-be-released satire in the following manner:
"...Dear White People is a sly, provocative satire of race relations in the age of Obama. Writer/director Justin Simien follows a group of African-American students as they navigate campus life and racial politics at a predominantly white college in a sharp and funny feature film debut that earned him a spot on Variety's annual '10 Directors to Watch.'"
To this point, the Rotten Tomatoes tomoatometer is at 100% fresh, as 15 out of 15 critics have reviewed it favorably, giving it an average rating of 7.6/10.
Here are some of the critics' comments regarding the film:
"One of the sharpest and most audacious comedies of the year ..." - Stephanie Zacharek (Village Voice)
"An edgy premise and memorable cast make for a potent first impression." - Justin Lowe (Hollywood Reporter)
"Percolates with pointed observations about racial and cultural dislocation." - Colin Covert (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
"It's anger that gives Dear White People the charge lifting it from funny to great." - Calum Marsh (Village Voice)
"While it veers toward smugness and self-satisfaction at times, the Spike-Lee-lite exercise nonetheless heralds a fresh and funny new voice on the scene in writer-director Justin Simien ..." - Justin Chang (Variety)
"Clearly a work by a young director, the film comes at you with a torrent of sharp dialogue, multiple characters and a traffic jam of scenes and story points." - Kirk Honeycutt (honeycuttshollywood.com)
"Smart, funny, generally on target...like early Spike Lee, only more polished." - Roger Moore (McClatchy-Tribune News Service)
"A delightful dissection of the Ivy League that stirs the pot in the way most folks mean when they call for a national discussion of race." - Kam Williams (Baret News)
"Justin Simien impresses with this debut - a social satire, exploring, debating and studying racial identity, and what it means to be black in contemporary America." - Stefan Pape (HeyUGuys)
"Despite some melodramatic moments and an overabundance of characters and incidents, the film smartly pinpoints people's universal need for acceptance and belonging." - Tim Grierson (Screen International)
"The film doesn't aim to condemn the fools who believe racism in America has ended, but rather open a vast discussion of how the subject of race -- and merely identity -- in our country has evolved." - R. Kurt Oslenlund (Slant Magazine)
"One of the most vibrant, engaging debuts at this year's Sundance Film Festival." - Michelle Orange (sbs.com.au)
"Works almost perfectly to showcase for its cast and crew of mostly unknowns, demonstrating a considerable pool of talent waiting to be tapped for bigger and better things." - Dan Schindel (Movie Mezzanine)
"Dear White People has both ambition and execution, with its satire sharpened, not dulled, by the characters and real emotions inside it." - James Rocchi (The Playlist)
"Simien's script is at its funniest when at its most confrontational, touching on a number of keen, pointed observations on the subtleties of racism." - Travis Hopson (Examiner.com)
So, according to film critics (thus far), the film is sharp, funny, about identity (and how it has evolved), and opens a discussion about race. In other words, people of all stripes should see this film, it will likely make us both laugh and uncomfortable, challenge our beliefs, and most likely prompt us to engage in a discussion with others about the subject matter at hand. That right there sounds like a film I want to see!
However, some in the IMDb community feel differently, and without having seen the film, have decided to take the title and run with it, by making the following comments (among others):
- "That's what all of this is about. There exists a double standard in America. If you have light skin you better damn well keep your mouth shut about other races and ethnicities. But if your skin is darker than white then... yawn 'whatever'. Its simply amazing. Going off what others have previously said, can you imagine what kind of sh!tstorm would happen if this movie was titled 'Dear Mexicans', 'Dear Black People', 'Dear Yellow People', or 'Dear Redskin People'... lol are you kidding me?? But 'Dear White People'... ohh well you know I guess we (as in all of us crackers) had that coming didn't we. Yes it is 2014 and we are still paying for the sins of our grandfathers, great grandfathers, and great great grandfathers."
- "If there were a movie called Dear Black People the whole country would go crazy. But black people can make this..."
- "(I'm gonna make dear black people) It's about black people needing to stop blaming white people for everything. Get off welfare, stop having multiple kids to get a fat welfare check and get a damn job. Respect yourself."
- "If someone were to make a movie called 'Dear Black People' and have it be about white people at a college campus starting a culture war because a black person took a position normally associated with white people. How fast would it take for all these racist black people to start crying racism and rioting(complete with assaults, vandalisms, muggings, murders, and burglaries) in the streets, all while calling it peaceful protesting and claiming all white people are racist? My guess is, less than a week of the movie's announcement. I have no issue with this movie being in existence. However, the movie's purpose is to start a race war. There's no other reason than to see how non-black people react so that black people can call them racists."
- "Giving voice to stupidity is exactly part of the problem with 21st century America. Yes, I see the irony in posting this fact on a message board but to counter fictitious ramblings the truth must be at least seen at times. Paranoid reverse racism is neither funny nor enlightening. It's tolerated for all the wrong reasons. It's a shame that the African American community encourages such moronic endeavors."
- "Thats right, its against white people so its not racist, and its black people saying it, black people cant be racist i forgot"
- "Granted, I've only seen the trailer but this looks to be this movie appears to be blatantly racist. It does nothing but create an unnecessary friction between two groups of people. Sure it might be good for a few laughs but not at the expense of the well being of the community.
I'm disappointed that this kind of movie can be considered entertainment."
Yes, it's like I said at the outset of this writing, "It seems sad that in the year 2014, most people don't appear to understand satire and we still mustn't talk about race, and perhaps this is why many in the IMDb community are so uncomfortable with the upcoming Sundance award-winning film, Dear White People."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2235108/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dear_white_people/
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