Visual Elements: Dear White People (2014)

An interesting production note to discern about the film Dear White People is that a majority of the movie is shot on film rather than with a digital camera. This switch gives the film a very regal look which perfectly matches with the tone since it is set in an Ivy League college. The director also spends a lot of time on group tracking shots to depict the divide between the different groups in the school while Lionel is shown with mainly closeups and solo shots because he has not found his group. There is also the usage of graphics to show the passage of time and the phases that lead up to the climax (the blackface party). Music also adds to this experience with a mix between modern hip hop playing in the background when the viewer enters the Armstrong/Parker house while the Swan Lake suite is played while everywhere else on campus to add to the Ivy League look of the school. The audience also gets to see how social media (particularly YouTube) plays a role in the film with characters who video blog and host their radio shows on the website and see the results of their work. For example, when Coco posts her rant about her hair and Sam's radio show, she sees another girl dressed like her at the blackface party. At the party, the editor uses fast cuts and stretched out slow motion shots to further emphasize the madness going on. This editing technique is also done in other films criticizing the hedonism of modern society such as The Wolf of Wall Street, which is interesting to note. – Sana Shah

Visual Elements: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

When watching the film, To Kill a Mockingbird, it is notable that the director spends a great deal of time capturing close-ups and extreme close-ups to capture the emotions of the characters.  During moments of dialogue throughout the film, the camera tends to spend more time on the person listening and receiving the message than on the one who is speaking.  This sends a powerful message because, this way, the audience is able to receive the message in the same way as the character in the film, and thus react similarly to the information.  What is also interesting to note about the visuals in this film is what they decide not to show the audience.  For example, when Scout, Jem, and Dill arrive at the courthouse to see what Atticus was doing, the audience is not able to see inside the courtroom to see the action until a later point in the movie.  When a mysterious man, later identified to be Robert Ewell, attacks Jem and Scout, Scout hides inside her ham costume while Jem is being beaten until another mysterious figure steps in and kills Ewell.  During the whole scuffle, the camera focuses entirely on Scout's eyes as she witnesses the action, only for the information about what actually happened to be revealed in later dialogue.  This way the director is able to engage the audience's reaction to the piece by allowing them to sympathize with the characters and feel the suspense by not being allowed to know what's going on immediately at all times. – Joshua Davis

Logos: Dear White People (1962)

Even though Dear White People is a film set at a fake college with fake characters, there is strong logic behind it. The possibility of a black community rebelling against a predominantly white school because of harsh stereotypes and biased housing assignments is high. Most of the script from the movie is very logical. Sam, one of the main characters, speaks out against racism. She says things like "Mass media from fox news to reality TV on VH1 makes it clear what white people think of us" or "Black people can't be racist because we don't benefit from such a system." These quotes were essential for their protests against white oppression. The white characters in the film don't believe racism exists, they throw a huge black themed party at the end because of their desire to be like the black students. The film combats this notion through proof that it isn't a sense of admiration but blatant disrespect. The images provoked in the last party scene of the white students dressed as gang members and drug dealers are concerning. After hearing about this party, why wouldn't the white students rebel? There is no logic behind the party but there is logic behind breaking it up. The party and stereotypes present prove that racism still exists and is still a huge problem in society. – Jack Vigneron

Logos: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

To Kill a Mockingbird's main source of logos lies in Atticus Finch's case for Tom Robinson that he presents to the jury. He talks about how Mayella has an injury to her left eye which makes it clear that a left handed man must have punched her. The audience later finds out that Tom Robinson previously got his hand caught in a cotton gin which makes him incapable of injuring Mayella. They also find out that Tom Ewell (Mayella's father) writes with his left hand when Atticus asks him to write his name on a piece of paper. Another form of evidence is the fact that Mayella's and Tom Robinson's story do not add up. Mayella claims that he came by to help her around the house and just jumped on top of her but Tom gives a more specific account of how she consistently asked him to come over to help her around the house and on the night of the supposed rape, she leaned up and kissed him. Mayella's lack of composure and all of the evidence Atticus showcases would lead anyone to believe that she feels guilty for having feelings for a black man and is beaten into submission by her father. But because of society's prejudice against African Americans at the time, the jury is unable to let a "negro go free." – Sana Shah

Pathos: Dear White People (2014)

The leading force behind Justin Simien's Dear White People is its strong use of pathos, especially in its black audience.  The way that the director achieves this goal is by bringing up typical relatable situations that experienced in today's society, like attempting to use certain slang to appear "cultured," the debate regarding who gets to use the n-word, the unequal opportunities for employment or benefits, and so on.  When the audience sees the debates regarding white privilege or the fact that some believe that racism doesn't exist near them, it builds up a sense of rage and protest, which is clearly seen through the rebellious acts of protest demonstrated in the film.  At the end of the film, there is a huge blackface party, accompanied by several newspaper articles in the end credits showing how such parties are still happening in college campuses today.  When you see things like this in a film, knowing well that such events are currently happening around you,  the pathos becomes so strong that it craves some sort of action to be done about it.  But alas, the issue continues and the ignorance, or perhaps the simple lack of respect, lives on.

Outside of the war between racial groups, there is also pathos created within the black community because there is a pressure associated with remaining true to your race and being "black enough."  For anyone who is in a similar situation, it's easy to see how pathos can move them because they may face the oppression that comes from being born black by race, and not being accepted by your own community by personality.  When it comes to issues of race, the struggle becomes both external and internal; and, by hitting both sides of the spectrum, Simien achieves a strong pathos. – Joshua Davis

Pathos: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Robert Mulligan's film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird uses pathos to rally the audience behind the idea that prejudice can blind a person to the truth. A particularly powerful scene is the revelation of Boo Radley and the resulting interaction between him and Scout. Throughout the film, the only image the audience gets of Boo is how other characters describe him. Jem for example describes Boo as having a "foaming mouth and yellow teeth." But when Scout (and the audience) see him they realize he is just a regular man who is shy due to the ugliness of the world surrounding him. Although it is revealed that Boo kills Bob Ewell, Scout and the Sheriff defend him by stating that a shy person like Boo would not be able to handle being a neighborhood hero because of his shyness. It would not suit who he is as a person. It would be equivalent to "killing a mockingbird", which is a sin. Scout's realization mirrors the audience's: finding out that Boo Radley was a normal human being capable of kindness despite being a recluse influences the audience to admire his desire to protect Scout and Jem from Ewell even more. Initially Scout and Jem were afraid of Boo, but after he saved their life, they realize he has his own struggles with his society just like they and Tom Robinson do. – Sana Shah

Ethos: Dear White People (2014)

Credibility in a movie is tough, especially if the movie is fictional. Although Dear White People is a movie about current stereotypes and issues on race, it is not real. The plot is fake and so is the setting, so one might think, what is the ethos to this rhetorical film? The ethos is hidden inside the movie and the characters. The students in the movie attend Winchester University,  a predominantly white elite ivy league college. The students intelligence and knowledge on racism in America and the history of it proves them credible. Also, the dean of Winchester University is an older African American man. His understanding of what racism used to be like compared to what it is today establishes his credibility. Justin Salem, the director of the movie, also went to a predominantly white college so much of what he directs, he went though himself. He shows his authenticity from his background as a African American college student. – Jack Vigneron

Ethos: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

To really understand the ethos in the film of To Kill a Mockingbird, one must really go back to the origins of the the book from which the story originated.  The original book was published in 1960 by a woman named Nelle Harper Lee, better known as simply Harper Lee.  Harper Lee grants herself the greatest ethos by writing the story based on her own life as she experienced.  The setting was based in Alabama, like her own hometown; and, every character was based on people she knew in her own life.  Her personality lined up perfectly with that of Scout, her brother was four years younger than her like Jim, and her father was a lawyer who defended black men in racial trials, such as the Tom Robinson case.  Some sources mentioned that she also used the 1931 Scottsboro Trials as inspiration for the trial, as she was also alive during those cases at the same time as Scout in the book and film.  It would be very difficult to doubt and question the facts written by a woman who wrote about the life she lived and the lessons she learned from it.  In this way, Harper Lee plays the ultimate ethos card through her story.  The picture to the left shows Harper Lee and actor Gregory Peck, who played Atticus Finch in the film.  This picture shows that Harper Lee played an active role in the production of the film to ensure that it was being made in a way the best fit with her vision and the story that she wanted to tell. – Joshua Davis

Stasis Theory: Dear White People (2014)

Many people would argue that Dear White People is a film of the past. They would argue that racism doesn't exist anymore and that this film should have been produced at a time when it could actually mean something. Director/producer Justin Simien uses several different stasis to take a stand to oppose the mainstream beliefs. His main stasis, I believe is Fact/Definition. The main argument of the movie was to prove that racism still exists, that even almost 60 years after the Civil Rights Movement we still see racism prevalent today. Cases like Trayvon Martin and Jamar Clark  are perfect examples of black lives being taken too soon. Now although this film doesn't portray violence, it displays the deeper stereotypes and racist jokes that are overlooked today. Quotes like," Dear white people, please stop touching my hair. Does it look like a petting zoo to you?" or "Dear white people, the minimum requirement of black friends needed to not seem racist has just been raised to two. Sorry, but your weed man, Tyrone, does not count," brings up ideas that people wouldn't even think about. This film does a excellent job in reassuring that racism is still alive, different, but definitely still alive.

– Jack Vigneron

Major Rhetorical Argument: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee's 1960 novel of the same name. It was released during the peak years of the Civil Rights Movement, which makes it a relevant film for the time because of the injustices that African Americans were facing during that time period: especially in the south. The case of Tom Robinson personifies this issue as a black man falsely accused of a crime he did not commit and the prejudice he faces during his trial. The film also shows a role model for how to respond to this discrimination through Atticus Finch. Atticus embodies the best of people even in a town as intolerant as Maycomb by defending Tom Robinson's case because he fundamentally believes that every person deserves a fair trial. The film's title character, Scout, acts as a way for the audience to connect and learn how to respond to the horrors of the world. She initially is afraid of Boo Radley and questions her father on why he is defending Tom Robinson but as she gets to know them, she realizes every person has their own personal struggle they are going through, which is what the film wants the audience to take away. This film is timeless and profoundly influential because of its ability to empathize with any person who faces injustice and provide a solution on what the right action to take is: to understand and "climb into [a person's] skin and walk around in it." – Sana Shah

Kairos: Dear White People (2014)

Dear White People is film directed by Justin Simien that takes place in fictional Winchester University, where African American college students continue to deal with the stigma that comes with being black in a predominantly white institution.  It is one of the few films produced in this time period that addresses race-related issues in the present day.  Typically, we see films like Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom or Selma, which are movies that are produced recently; however, they are not about recent events.  As a result, the audience makes the mistake of attempting to separate the past from present events and burying the racism that is still prevalent today.  Dear White People unearths all of it and brings it out into the open, declaring that this is still a prevalent issue that needs to be discussed.  After watching the movie, this leads people to talk about the uncomfortable issues of race, identities, stigmas, stereotypes, and working towards changes in social norms and ideologies.  Race has become such a sensitive topic that no one wants to touch because it is so easily to offend others; but, this is the only way for change to happen.  There are no concrete answers to resolve this issue of race; but, that does not mean that it can be ignored until it goes away, because it won't.  Dear White People is a bold film (especially in this era with a title like that) that serves as a tremendous catalyst for discussion and generates an awareness that events like the Baltimore riots or Ferguson and what happens in Winchester University are not as far apart as people want to believe. – Joshua Davis

Kairos: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

To Kill a Mockingbird represents something much bigger than the typical popular movie. It is an immensely well known film, because of its social influence, bold message and cultural impact. At a time when the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak, To Kill a Mockingbird was just another example of what it was like to be an African American in the south. The fight for legal recognition and federal protection were just some of the challenges black people faced. This movement, which was characterized by civil protests and nonviolent disobedience, lasted from 1954 to 1968. To Kill a Mockingbird symbolized the fight and struggle of African Americans. In the movie, Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Even though he is innocent, racial prejudice comes into play and Tom is deemed guilty. In the midst of a time where hatred against blacks was extremely strong, this movie makes a bold statement having a respected white man, with a lot to lose, defend a black man. Instead of focusing on color and race, the film shows that human goodness can withstand the assault of evil, which was a prominent value during the Civil Rights Movement. – Jack Vigneron