“Dear White People”: The Two Sided Debate

by Meghann Patterson

“Dear White People”: The Two Sided Debate

The Johnson Center Cinema comfortably seats 294 students. The large crowd for the screening and public discussion of “Dear White People” [on 5 February] occupied every available inch of the room in the theater. [A second screening was scheduled for Friday afternoon, to accommodate viewers who could not fit into the Cinema for Thursday night's event.]

“As a black student, I was interested in seeing this film because I wanted to see how the filmmaker tackled the topic of race but also wanted to see if the film was going to be just one sided,” senior Briana Haygood, a psychology major, said.

“Dear White People” focuses on four students who must deal with being a black face in a white world. Activist Samantha White, the protagonist in the film, brings attention to the unjust housing system at the college through her words and her art as a filmmaker.

The film touches on many pop culture references while at the same time using historical references.

.... “Race is part of the film but it makes race more complex then what people think it is. There are different types of characters that represent different intersections of race and people. The film showcases a more complex picture that a lot of other movies haven’t been able to do,” said Christina Lee, student liaison for African and African American Studies.

Read more of Meghann Patterson's article in The Fourth Estate here

 

Dear White People at George Mason University, with a post-screening discussion led by Gayle Wald and Mark C. Hopson, was sponsored by Film & Media Studies, African & African American Studies, Film & Video Studies, SI Films, the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education, English, and Women & Gender Studies. 

Photos by Blythe Dohey