Dear White People

I recently watched this movie by writer/director Justin Simien. It takes place at a fictional ivy league school where tensions are on the rise between black and white students and faculty. For a first-time director, Simien wrings lovely visuals out of his film, frames great shots, and gets excellent performances out of most of the actors. Its most impressive aspect, I found, was that the narrative packs in all the personalities, situations, and the subsequent friction in between that American culture at-large has to deal with. To paraphrase the director, 'it's about people who are navigating a culture that has largely defined them before they have even had the opportunity to define themselves.'  There are some great comedic moments and examples of every situation that the United States struggles with every day.

See it, pay attention to every side of the equation, ask questions of your friends and yourselves. There's a lot on display here and it goes a long way towards explaining what is causing so many "interracial" problems around us.