Dear White People (2014)

The lives of four black students at an Ivy League college.

Director:

Justin Simien

Writer:

Justin Simien (screenplay)

Stars:

Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner

14 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyler James Williams	...	Lionel Higgins
Tessa Thompson	...	Samantha White
Kyle Gallner	...	Kurt Fletcher
Teyonah Parris	...	Colandrea 'Coco' Conners
Brandon P Bell	...	Troy Fairbanks (as Brandon Bell)
Brittany Curran	...	Sofia Fletcher
Justin Dobies	...	Gabe
Marque Richardson	...	Reggie
Malcolm Barrett	...	Helmut West
Dennis Haysbert	...	Dean Fairbanks
Peter Syvertsen	...	President Fletcher
Brandon Alter	...	George
Kate Gaulke	...	Annie (as Katie Gaulke)
Brian James	...	Martin
Keith Myers	...	Mitch

Storyline

A social satire that follows the stories of four black students at an Ivy League college where controversy breaks out over a popular but offensive black-face party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in acutely-not-post-racial America while weaving a universal story of forging one's unique path in the world.

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Plot Keywords:

race relations | satire | ivy league university | controversy | election | 

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Taglines:

A satire about being a black face in a white place

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tessa Thompson and Kyle Gallner previously worked together on Veronica Mars (2004).

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Goofs

When Sam is in the dining hall and chastises Kurt for eating in their dining hall - just before she stands up; she closes her Macbook twice.

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Quotes

Sam White: You're trying to frighten me, but I think you're the one who's scared.
President Fletcher: And I think you long for days when blacks were hanging from trees and denied actual rights that way you'd have something to actually fight against.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits include photographs of the real-life blackface (and brownface) college parties that inspired the film's climax.

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

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Soundtracks

Linger Awhile
Composed by Marian McPartland
Courtesy of KPM APM

User Reviews

Lame

The first 20min was OK... I thought it was going to be funny. Then it gets laughably silly, campy and pretentious. The actors are caricatures of real people. At first you think in the next scene you'll suddenly find more depth and things will come into focus, but no... In the end it's got this sad "Stick to your own people, stop trying to pretend to be white/black if you're not" message which really makes me feel sad for whomever wrote this. What a dark little world they live in. The bits about colleges throwing black-face parties all the time are even a bit ridiculous. The movies based in some fictional ivy league school, but the examples they give are all of tiny colleges no-ones ever heard of. I'm not saying there isn't a race problem in this country, there is for sure. But what this movie is portraying is wildly exaggerated. This is the kind of movie the real racists watch and say "That doesn't happen! It's all made up!" and they're right.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 2014 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Dear White People

Filming Locations:

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$347,959, 19 October 2014

Gross USA:

$4,404,154

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,633,961

Company Credits

Production Co:

Code Red, Duly Noted, Homegrown Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color