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
This was a very interesting perspective and you bring up very valid points. I enjoyed reading your thoughts and how you interpreted the movie on the pathos mind set. I liked the connection that you made about how we can all relate to this as college students in this time period.
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely pathos created as this is a very relevant issue today. The audience this resonates the most with, the African American community, would feel sympathy to the characters in this movie as they talk about the various stereotypes relevant in our society.
ReplyDelete-Aaron I
In further analysis, I would like to add that, although I have yet to watch the film in its entirety, it seems the that Simien exploits the clash of the white and black community setting in a youthful setting because thats the audience who will gain the most of the lessons he is trying to provide through this film. The next generation will lead the movement to a better and equal nation so formatting the slang or actions into ways commonly familiar to young adults today creates a more established sympathy for the piece that Simien made in order to reinforce it outside in diversified situations. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteI really like you interpretation of the movie. I especially thought the part where you mentioned the actual news articles at the end. It’s easy to think people would be in sync with what’s going around them but it is true that a lot are unaware. Movies like this really help to spread around ideas even when set with a fake story line.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent post, and really good comments guys. I also wonder what it says that this film is a satire. In a sense, the film satirizing the precise types of conversations brought up in affluent academic environments like our own.
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