Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Mon, 11/17/2014 - 12:00am
Movie Moles review Dear White People
Movie Moles Denise Morris and Frann Michel discuss Dear White People, an independent first feature written and directed by Justin Simien; funded in part via Indiegogo, it has been a big hit at Sundance and with critics. It's currently playing in Portland at Cinema 21. Dear White People centers around the lives of four Black students at the a fictional Ivy League university. Sam (played by Tessa Thompson) runs the controversial campus radio show ‘Dear White People’ which has been accused by the administration of stirring racial tensions around the school. Troy (played by Brandon P Bell) is under pressure to succeed in all aspects of university life from his father, the Dean of Students (played by Dennis Haysbert). Things begin to unravel when Sam beats Troy in the campaign for president of the one traditionally Black dorm on campus. Meanwhile Lionel (played by Tyler James White), is a gay sci-fi geek who writes for the campus alternative paper and is harassed by those at his dorm, including the son of the college president. And Coco (played by Teyonah Parris), a Black girl from the south side of Chicago who doesn’t want to be seen as the stereotypical ghetto girl, wishes her vlog got as many hits as Sam's. She takes the advice of a reality-show producer to try for more conflict, and proposes MC-ing for the Halloween party of the campus humor magazine, which this year adopts the theme of "release your inner negro." Denise & Frann also mention Lavelle Porter's essay on the film in The New Inquiry, and some related short promo films.
- KBOO
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