The Hate U Give

I am a Dalit from India. Dalits are blacks of India. The experience of Dalits and Black lives are very similar. Only difference is America has a moral conscience and constantly tries to correct the wrongdoings of history while India is in denial about its wrongdoings and actively suppresses people from unprivileged background.

Here are the experiences of Starr Carter which most of our people find completely relatable 1. The Black Panther movement her father is part of, we have a similar movement. 2. The constantly switching of personality between her own people and white people. Hiding your true self to get accepted. 3. Constantly hearing sly racist comments and yet not able to do anything about it but stay silent while you mind is angry as hell. 4. The character Hailey who pretends to not be racist is constantly making racist remarks and is a racist. I had friends like those, after watching this movie i have decided to not be friends like this people anymore. I have unfriended them on social media and have deleted their numbers. 5. The portrayal in media as stupid and taking the worst elements of the group to portray the entire community as wrong. 6. Police brutality and denial of justice. 7. Black people suppressing other black people.

There are so many moments in the movie where i had tears in my eyes and i could see my people going through the same thing. I was emotional throughout the movie. The articulation of frustration of oppressed people is so real and raw.

Most people who are giving this movie bad reviews are looking it from technical perspective and dont have the lived experience of the people. They dont have the experience of daily frustration of living a life where your community is subjected to discrimination, mockery, injustice everyday and you have to live among same people who do this. Movies like these would never get made here. Thank you very much for making such movie.

Because I'm from the city of St. Louis where we have our share of race issues, particularly issues that involve police, I really connected with the subject matter. It's a story worth telling, though I felt it was a bit over-written and more complex than it needed to be. But my biggest problem was that the presentation was too heavy-handed. Even though this movie unbiasedly explored the perspectives of everyone involved, it left no room for the viewers to form their own opinions. We were spoon fed, and at times it had the feel of an after school special. From the writing, to the performances, to the music, everything was very literal. There was no subtext or anything to read into. Maybe the filmmakers accomplished exactly what they were going for. The overall style was consistent throughout and it seemed that the artists behind this mostly hit their mark. For my money, however, I prefer an approach that is more challenging. But 6 out of 10 is still a passing grade. This is a subject that needed to be acknowledged on screen and I do feel that it was handled with respect and fairness.

It was promising, but halfway it got lost into many messages it wanted to send. The performances were really strong, though.

As a white guy who's spent all of his life in England, it's hard for me to relate to most of the issues raised in this movie. However I feel the actors did a fantastic job of helping me see from the characters perspective, in what is undoubtedly tricky subject matter.

I found Russell Hornsby's portrayal of a father who's lead a colourful life, leaving it behind to concentrate on raising his children in what he sees as the right way, particularly compelling.

Amandla Stenberg was fantastic in the lead role. A teenager struggling to deal with the loss of a friend, and the injustice that follows. The feeling of barely contained rage was palpable in some scenes.

There is strong theme of societal injustice throughout the movie. The blame isn't placed squarely at the door of "white America" as some have suggested. The film doesn't shy away from gang & drug problems that plague communities across America & the wider world.

I feel like its a shame, that one of the few scenes that detract from my overall enjoyment of this movie, was the films most pivotal scene. I felt no real sense of injustice attached to this. If I was pulled over by a cop in the US, I'm doing exactly what he/she tells me. Instead the character Khalil (Algee Smith) decides it's the right time to have some fun with his friend Starr (Stenberg). This leads to his death, and while racial profiling certainly had a part to play in the incident, the actions of Khalil ultimately were what lead to his demise. Perhaps the way I view this scene says more about my place in society, or society as a whole, but it's hard for me to see it any other way. It's interesting that later in the film, a scene between Starr & her uncle Carlos (portrayed by Common) gives us some insight into what would have been going through the cops head as he carried out the traffic stop.

Overall I thought it was a good movie with some emotional & tense scenes, acted very well & is definitely one to watch.

I believe this film creates an opportunity to open the eyes of someone not privy to our perspective. Sometimes they have to see these issues play out in front of them. A story or speech may not reach deep enough to connect you to the heart of people who have suffered loss and live in a near impossible situation. If you just see it as a I HATE WHITES movie, you've missed the point. Dig deeper.

Do I have some criticisms, of course. Some scenarios are obvious slaves to plot progression. One argument could be that only 1-2 characters had a complete arc and that some questions were left unanswered. Well, I agree. That's art imitating life.

I believe the dialogue regarding the title of the film was clever and introspective that I haven't been able to get it out of my head. It also asks me to form MY OWN opinion of the phrase's meaning. So: Mission Accomplished.

I'd say the acting was pretty good. Not the biggest fan of the language but unfortunately I know I'm in the minority there. Every character performed. It was exciting to see Anthony Mackie in this role. I think he sold it. Seven's actor stole his scenes. I believe that Common was allowed him to play himself, because a farther reach may not be believable. Amandla is something special. She is such a star and I can't wait to see what's in store for her.

Im proud to have seen it and it has the opportunity to open the eyes of some so blinded by their own privilege 8.5/10