"the hate you give little infants fucks everybody" - Tupac Shakur
The Hate U Give is one of those modern teen films that I've had on my 'to-watch' list for ages, but always overlooked in favour more of classical cinema such as Shrek and Timothée Chalamet movies.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect as I hadn't read the book, but judging from the trailer I thought that it would be centered around the topic of police brutality in America and include some coming-of-age clichés. The film exceeded my expectations in terms of relatability, and I loved that it shone a bright light on issues such as code-switching and the media's portrayal of black people.
The opening scene depicts Maverick educating Starr and her brother Seven about how to appropriately behave around the police. This is reminiscent of the all-important 'talk' that black children receive after a traumatic event has occurred or before they start school, it's that fateful day that you learn that society treats people differently based on the colour of their skin.
I suppose that I was struck from inception by how much of myself that I saw in the protagonist and quickly realised that up until the turning point of the film, Amandla Stenberg was telling a story that many average black teenage girls could relate to.
In the first scene The Carter's are shown to have framed photos of Malcolm X and 'Black Jesus' in their home. The former was a major inspiration and proponent of the Black Power movement, and the latter is an emblem of refusing to accept white standards of beauty and holiness. These images arguably serve as an introduction to the concept of 'THUG LIFE', a phrase which is mentioned three times throughout the film and becomes a refrain of sorts.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect as I hadn't read the book, but judging from the trailer I thought that it would be centered around the topic of police brutality in America and include some coming-of-age clichés. The film exceeded my expectations in terms of relatability, and I loved that it shone a bright light on issues such as code-switching and the media's portrayal of black people.
There are a few spoilers ahead!
The opening scene depicts Maverick educating Starr and her brother Seven about how to appropriately behave around the police. This is reminiscent of the all-important 'talk' that black children receive after a traumatic event has occurred or before they start school, it's that fateful day that you learn that society treats people differently based on the colour of their skin.
I suppose that I was struck from inception by how much of myself that I saw in the protagonist and quickly realised that up until the turning point of the film, Amandla Stenberg was telling a story that many average black teenage girls could relate to.
THUG LIFE
In the first scene The Carter's are shown to have framed photos of Malcolm X and 'Black Jesus' in their home. The former was a major inspiration and proponent of the Black Power movement, and the latter is an emblem of refusing to accept white standards of beauty and holiness. These images arguably serve as an introduction to the concept of 'THUG LIFE', a phrase which is mentioned three times throughout the film and becomes a refrain of sorts.
The title of Angie Thomas' novel was inspired by the late rapper Tupac Shakur's mantra 'THUG LIFE', which stands for: The Hate You Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody.
The acronym explains that the behavior of 'thugs' is a natural reaction to a system that was built to oppress them, and the consequences of this affect everybody.
POLICE BRUTALITY
Thomas was also inspired to write her novel by the tragic deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and Sandra Bland.
Police brutality is a major theme that runs throughout the story and Starr witnesses her childhood friend Khalil, being murdered by a police officer. Officer 115 claims that he thought that the teenager was reaching for a gun (when in fact he was reaching for his hairbrush) and the result of this 'misunderstanding' causes a series of protests in Garden Heights, Starr's neighbourhood.
I found the depiction of Khalil's murder on-screen particularly interesting because the officer was visibly scared out of his wits, and I think that this was perhaps a probe to inspire the audience to reflect upon how police officers are trained to interact with young black people.
The film also addresses the issue of black police officers being ostracised by their communities and told that they're 'standing with the wrong side'. This attitude is of course extremely problematic as the force needs more officers of colour, periodt. The representation debate has impacted every industry over the past few years and in relation to the police, it is perhaps as relevant as ever. The more that people of colour obtain positions of power and authority in society, the more likely it is for change to happen. Black police officers should be celebrated for breaking the mould and doing their part to help their communities.
CODE SWITCHING
Throughout the film, Starr struggles with her identity and lives a double life of sorts as her home community and school community are astronomically different.
Although I agreed with the film's portrayal of the art of code-switching for the most part, as a viewer at points throughout the film it became painful to watch Starr's extreme Hannah Montana charade, and you just wanted her to be free to live her truth. She does however come to the conclusion that she doesn't have to hide who she is, as those who truly care for her will always be there - a wonderful and true teen movie cliché.
The code-switching element of the story additionally gives the audience an insight into the pressures experienced by black teenagers, such as the desire to be perceived as an equal rather than the token black person, which leads to the development of an alternate persona where one's blackness is purposefully downplayed.
THE MEDIA
The Hate U Give highlighted the fact that some news outlets tactically portray black people in a negative light so that their target audience believe a certain narrative and retain their prejudiced perceptions of the black community.
At one point in the film, Khalil's mother is described on TV as a woman recovering from a drug addiction and is interviewed soon after she learns that her son is dead. The footage that is aired by the news outlet shows the grieving mother in a disheveled state, which would lead the average viewer to believe that Khalil was probably a just drug dealer living in a poor neighbourhood who had it coming. After this scene, we see Khalil's mother extremely composed and well dressed as people visit her home to pay their respects. Visually, this is quite powerful and it explains the media's bias in very little words.
The penultimate scene of The Hate U Give is quite emotional and re-grounds the film in the concept of THUG LIFE (and that's all I'm going to spill as I'd rather not spoil this part for anyone who hasn't seen the film).
The popularity of this movie makes me wish that something similar had been released when I was around fourteen, as I would have majorly appreciated seeing myself represented in this genre of film. The Hate U Give is definitely worth the watch, it's a bit of a tear-jerker and makes you think about how you can use your voices to change society for the better - so for a 2010s coming-of-age film I'd say it's top-tier.
Next on my teen movie list is The Perks of Being a Wallflower, as it's becoming more and more unacceptable that I have no idea what that Emma Watson car scene is about.
I've heard that if you watch this film as an older teen or adult it just makes you depressed that you didn't do reckless things in Year 9 and say things like "let's go be psychos together".
The Hate U Give Trailer:
