The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give is a powerful film, looking at the issues of police brutality, white privilege, casual racism, and black-on-black crime. I was shaken by it, and it didn't let go for hours afterward. I note that some of the reviews on Netflix dismiss it because of it's anti-police stand. Fuck those people.

Directed by George Tillman Jr., written by Audrey Wells, and from a novel by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give is about Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), who lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but goes to a prep school of mostly white students. In a voice-over narration, she tells us how there are two Starrs--the one back home, and the one at the school. She can't use slang at school. The white kids do, but they think that's cool. If she were to do it, they'd think she was ghetto.

Going back and forth between the two worlds, Stenberg is at a party when some shots ring out. She's driven home by her childhood friend Khalil, who is dealing drugs for the local gang. It's not his choice--there are no other job opportunities. He gets pulled over on a traffic stop and gives the cop a hard time. Stenberg has been trained by her father (Russell Hornsby) to put her hands on the dashboard and follow instructions. Khalil does not, and reaching for a hairbrush, is shot dead.

Stenberg is the only witness, and is pressured by both sides. The gang leader (Anthony Mackie) does not want his name dragged into it, and uses threats to keep her from testifying. But she finally does--she must give Khalil a voice.

The Hate U Give (the title comes from the acronym T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E., by Tupac Shakur--"The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone") explores all angles of the controversy. Stenberg's uncle, a cop (Common) explains to her what goes through a policeman's mind on a traffic stop, but even he admits that if it were a white man, he'd ask the man to put his hands up before shooting. Stenberg's white friend at school (Sabrina Carpenter), reveals casual racism, going to a BlackLivesMatter protest only because it gets her out of class. I found this very interesting, and many white kids act like they're black, but as Starr points out, it's all different when they are alone in an elevator with a black man. They clutch their purses a little harder.

The most powerful elements of the film are expressed by Hornsby, who gives a brilliant performance. He was once a gang member, did time, and now owns a store in town. He teaches his three kids how to deal with white police, and the rights expressed by the Black Panthers. His wife, Regina Hall, is more concerned with Stenberg's safety than making a point, but Hornsby wants her to testify, while he stubbornly refuses to move out of the dangerous neighborhood.

Stenberg is just great (she was Roue in The Hunger Games!) and gives white people like me a glimpse into what it's like every day for black folks in the U.S. The Hate U Give definitely takes a stand, and while it does not openly accuse the police of everything bad, it doesn't let them off the hook, either. It won't be a movie shown at the Policeman's Benevolent Society.