The piece I am choosing to write about is the movie adaption of “The Hate U Give”, a movie directed by George Tillman Jr. in 2018. The movie is based on the infamous novel written by Angie Thomas, in which Starr Carter, a Black teenager caught between the two worlds of her mostly Black neighborhood and white prep school, witnesses the murder of her childhood best friend.
The film depicts themes of identity, race, police brutality, and other intersecting factors that encapsulate Starr Carter’s identity as a Black woman. She is torn between not acting “Black enough” at home, and acting “too Black” at her white prep school. However, her entire world and the facades she creates are shattered when she witnesses her childhood best friend being murdered by police. She questions morality, the foundation of the universe, and everything in-between.
I chose this movie because I feel that it connects cultural, political, social, and spiritual themes in a very cohesive way. Police brutality is a huge theme in our current climate, especially considering the BLM movement and the outbreak of protests in June of 2020. That movement is linked to the Black identity which is linked to themes of spirituality, such as connection to the church, and also linked to cultural norms that are unique to the Black community. I feel that there are a lot of important social and cultural constructs I am able to comment on within this movie adaptation.
The “Hate U Give” is a powerful commentary on how police brutality uniquely affects the Black communities livelihood and ability to navigate the social and political climate. The movie also explores how this targeted attack on Black lives can affect mental health and relationships.
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From your description of the film you choose, I thought that it captures all these powerful themes you’ve mentioned well. The details of the film you’ve mentioned can definitely fit towards the intent of evoking ethos and pathos from the audience. It’s also great that you are also deciding to explore such topics in a “cohesive way,” as you’ve stated.
What a great choice! Since problems like this occurs to this day, I feel like this topic will be great and the way you caught on with the themes will lead you to delievering a great essay!
I feel this is an excellent topic to speak upon. I watched the movie a few years back before the BLM movement, and it’s outrageous that much hasn’t changed in our society today. I feel like you have a strong thesis statement you can build on.
The topic you chose can go into deeply from any points of view. This will definitely be a great research paper and knows more truth/fact about the society. I am so excited about your paper!
Yes, great film and topic. I read a headline recently about an attempt to censor this film by schools in the southern US – in line with the recent debates about Critical Race Theory and its teaching in school. What does it mean that an honest portrayal of systemic racism and police brutality would be labeled as controversial in the US? Why does the US attempt to whitewash or sanitize this reality?