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