From the creative mind of Justin Simien comes the Netflix original series “Dear White People,” a unique, satirical television show about race relations among young people in modern America. Comedies as dynamic and well-written as Simien’s latest only come around every so often, making “Dear White People” must-see television.
Based on the 2014 film of the same name, “Dear White People” is a comedy about racism at a fictional Ivy League college in a supposedly post-racial world.
The protagonist is a media studies major named Samantha White, played by Logan Browning. She hosts a radio show called “Dear White People,” in which she satirically comments on microaggressions that white students make toward black students.
Taking offense to her show, a group of white students then decide to throw a “blackface” party where students dress up as black celebrities in defense of their free speech.
Unlike most shows currently on television and online, “Dear White People” expertly handles the subject of race in modern America because it adeptly wields the weapon of satire.
Simien is a self-aware artist who knows how to get his arguments across using humor. It’s an uncommon sight in modern television where writers tend to sensationalize drama when it comes to the issue of race.
Rather than tell viewers to “sit down, shut up and listen,” “Dear White People” invites them to lunch where they can have an authentic and genuine discussion about race in America.
While “Dear White People” is certainly a show about racism and the interactions between groups of different races, it is also about identity within the black community. The main vessel through which this theme is shown is in the main character, Sam.
Sam is biracial. Being mixed race, she has a difficult time fitting anywhere in society. Her skin color makes her an outcast in white society, but she is also cast out among her black friends when they discover she has a white boyfriend.
And yet, this is what makes Sam a great character to root for. She is a true outsider looking to carve out her own niche in life — the audience can’t help but want her to succeed.
The film is also centered around Sam, but compared to the original film, the television series is a step down when it comes to casting and plot.
The series has the sharp writing and aesthetic vision that the movie had, yet none of the film’s actors remained for the Netflix adaptation. This does the show a disservice, as the replacement actors aren’t half as good as the starting lineup was.
Reviving the film and expanding its plot into a lengthier series has its advantages and disadvantages.
Multiple episodes give Simien more space to work with other contemporary issues regarding race that were not touched on in the movie. There is a constant stream of talking points when it comes to race relations in modern America, so “Dear White People” has no shortage of material to keep the series going.
Still, spreading a condensed story out into multiple episodes seems to slow the narrative’s tempo and the arcs of its characters.
In one episode, viewers are only able to get a good sense for the main character, Sam, whereas the peripheral actors seem static and unimportant. In the same 30 minutes, the film was able to craft several dynamic and interesting characters.
While the show pales in comparison to its source material, it is by no means something that should be skipped over.
A real modern comedy, “Dear White People” is witty, satirical and fresh. It handles a sensitive topic like race so deftly, it would be a shame to miss out on this exciting new series.
I’ve watched all the episodes, and for the most part I found it a good show. The parts I did not like are probably due because I am white, at least that is what the show wants me to believe. Let me say from this white person’s point of view the show missed the opportunity to bring home a good point from all sides by setting the background in an Ivy League school, which the majority of the nation cannot associate with on a social level. Also lets not avoid the point the white people on the show do not act like normal white people or any mature person I know, instead they are portrayed as uncarring, white mindless raciscts with no mortal compass. We do not support racism, and I can say without a doubt I don’t know a single person, white or black, who s associated with slavery. If I did, they never brought it up. In my lineage, no one has ever gotten a leg up because they’re white, and we have all suffered through tough times with a shortage of jobs and money. If being black is being opressed, poor, and uneducated, I guess I was once black too, but have since receivef an efucation and have had a black presifent and a current black boss. I dont think of him as a black boss, just only as boss and avsharpnome at that. Now the black people on the show. They acted more like black people on a TV commercial and definitely not like black people I know. Anyone will back me up on that, the show missed reality, and the true harsh reality of racism which is blacks are just as racist, if not more, but not because of the present day white populace, but because they were brought up to hate white people from those who were oppressed. I am not saying the white racist have disappeared, I’m saying they are the growing minority in our combining cultures and we need to use the word WE more instead of individual name brands.
Martin, I agree with you. I also watched all of the episodes and I didn’t like all the Racism against White people.
You pretty much summed it up because it was based on an ivy League college. There is too much Racism going on and blame put on White people for the treatment of Blacks. I too don’t know any black people that associate themselves with slavery and I also have a Biracial daughter who has the best of both worlds and was not brought up with all that oppression talk like these Racist Blacks talk about. We all have hard times in this life not only Black people so I won’t be watching it again.