The Hate U Give

Composite Score: 81.37

Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Anthony Mackie, Issa Rae, Common, Algee Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, and K.J. Apa

Director: George Tillman, Jr.

Writers: Audrey Wells and Angie Thomas

Genres: Crime, Drama

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements, some violent content, drug material, and language

Box Office: $34.93 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Racism and police brutality. Who wouldn’t want to watch a film focusing on those issues in American society today? The Hate U Give does its best to present an honest picture of those issues for modern audiences. It features solid performances – maybe not the best, but definitely not too cringeworthy – from its lead and featured actors. Its information is honest and compelling, if a little less than necessary, given the last two years.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Watch the news about real police shootings instead. Participate in the online discourse and advocate for a real end to police brutality and reform of the American judicial system if these are issues that you really care about. Watching a movie where a black teen is shot by police and his friends decide to protest and stand up about it does nothing to stop such stories from remaining in the norm in America. Even if you are not sure where you stand on such issues (I don’t know how you could be unless you literally did not go outside or online at all in the last 5-10 years), there are better resources to educate yourself on the issues that are still unbiased and going to help you realize the need for change in the U.S. judicial and policing systems. Also, it is possible to tell stories about and support the black community in the U.S. without centering on black trauma, in this case a police shooting.

                There are also little things about the story that keep the film from being a perfect advocate for change. For one, K.J. Apa’s character, Starr’s boyfriend Chris has moments where he performs almost as a white savior for Starr and her family, being seeming the only white person willing to engage positively with her and who comes to help her brother when he is in trouble. Starr does ultimately save her family and herself, so its not as universally problematic as some white saviors are. The issues with police brutality and racism seemingly are brought to an end at the end of the film, as if, by putting her hands up and standing in between the police and a black child, Starr also ended those issues. The subplot of gang violence is also ended by police intervention, which is viewed as a good thing, further sending mixed messages about the goals of Starr’s movement. I do not know whether these story problems exist in the book upon which the film is based or if they are additions made by the screenwriter and other filmmakers after the fact, complicating the film’s messaging to perhaps make it more palatable for a white American audience. Either way, the film’s messaging is complicated and fails to make a strong indictment of the American police/judicial system, which it certainly had the potential to do.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                This film should serve as a catalyst and conversation starter for a push for wider change on your part if you have not already started advocating for change. There are serious issues explored in this film, and it is important to be aware that such things occur and continue to plague American society. It is also important to watch this film not as an answer to the issues of police brutality and racism, merely as a way to connect the two. There are important messages contained in the film about standing up and the importance of having witnesses to police violence to hold them accountable and the right and wrong ways to show support for communities when such acts occur. These are all good messages that need to be heard, and if watching this film does it for you, then that is a good thing.

                I’m not going to spend a lot of time telling you to watch this film. If you want to as part of your deeper education into police brutality, racism, and the issues of systemic racism and oppression, by all means go for it. This film should not and cannot be your only source on these issues though. Simply watching a movie cannot solve these problems. Even if everybody in the entire United States watched this film, the problems of police brutality and systemic racism would not be ended. There has to be more done.