An Analysis of the Film “The Hate U Give” Using Dalton Conley’s “You May Ask Yourself”

An Analysis of the Film “The Hate U Give” Using Dalton Conley’s “You May Ask Yourself”

Dalton Conley’s classic titled “You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist” mainly denotes critical bits of wisdom tailored to encourage an audience to reason like a sociologist. The piece challenges mostly learners to aim to utilize their sociological imagination to interpret the happenings in their surroundings. The author mostly explores critical aspects and events in society to help enhance the awareness of readers on the likely causes of their occurrence. One such facet is the race. Mainly, Conley expounds on this theme in the book, which leads him to explore its origin, manifestation, and implications in society. In this regard, this essay will aim to analyze the film titled “The Hate U Give” using concepts denoted by Conley in his depiction of race.

“The Hate U Give” is a film centered on exploring the issue of racism in the American Society. Mainly, it highlights the burden that minority communities, primarily African Americans, continue to contend with in living in America. In doing this, it places a significant emphasis on depicting the vices African Americans suffer in the country, including institutional racism and police brutality (Tillman). Also, it explores the concept of white privilege by portraying the liberties that white people in American society continue to enjoy as a consequence of their race.

Conley, in the text, describes racism as the notion among people that inclines them to see individuals from a separate race as different and unequal. This belief leads them to prejudice against them based on these differences (Conley 323). In examining this definition through the lenses of this film, one could denote that the author was accurate. Mainly, in displaying racism, the white actors in the movie mostly viewed their African American counterparts as different and unequal. They, thus, utilized these differences as the premise for their prejudiced notions.

For instance, the film portrayed the leading actress Starr, an African American teen, to be in a romantic relationship with a white schoolmate named Chris. This relationship often led Starr to be a subject of ridicule among white girls in the school. Mainly, their discriminate stares coupled with their inquisition of why Chris chose to date Starr signaled that the white girls saw her as unworthy of Chris due to her race (Tillman). It, thus, confirmed Conley’s assertion that racism mainly emerged when people chose to use the differences that exists between themselves and others as the premise for their prejudice.

In further exploring the theme of racism, Conley addresses the subject of white privilege. The author denotes the concept as the invisible knapsack of privileges awarded to whites in American society. Mainly, he signals these white privileges to include the freedom from engaging their children in a discussion regarding the reality of systemic racism for their protection (Conley 344). In examining Conley’s conceptualization of white privilege through the lenses of this film, one could denote that he was right in his reasoning once more. This situation arises because the manifestation of the concept in the movie profoundly aligned with his attestation.

“The Hate U Give” opens up with Starr recollecting an incident in which she and her siblings received a talk from their father on how to survive as an African American in the society. In the discussion, their father painted a picture of the burden they had to bear for being black in America. Mainly, he denotes that their survival significantly depended on their ability to strive to appear as non-threatening as possible when engaging with their white counterparts (Tillman). The portrayal by the film of this concept applying only to African Americans signaled to white privilege. Majorly, while whites could interact freely in their society, African Americans had to contend with being watchful of their conduct and speech to co-exist peacefully with their white counterparts.

Conley in the text also mentioned that white privilege manifested through the freedom of whites from the need to speak on behalf of their racial group (344). In examining this denotation through the lenses of the film, one could attest that it was profoundly factual. “The Hate U Give” denoted several incidences in which African Americans had to stand up to speak against the injustices meted on their people. For instance, it indicated a mass protest by the masses to object the failure by the courts to indict a police officer involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager (Tillman). There were also other incidences where the film portrayed blacks filming acts of injustices meted against blacks by the police, primarily during their arrest. These incidences denoted their need to continually exercise vigilance in society to safeguard themselves from such vices. They, however, seldom manifested among the whites, hence indicating white privilege.

In concluding his discussion on racism, Conley offered several suggestions that racial minorities could incorporate to respond to the vice. They included withdrawal, passing, and acceptance vs. resistance. The film conformed to three of these recommendations, including passing, acceptance, and resistance. Conley described passing as the inclination by the minority group to aim to blend in with the dominant one to help improve their social relations (356). In the film, audiences could see Starr and her siblings strive to assimilate into the culture of the whites through their dressing, behavior, and speech. The endeavor was necessary since they attended a school mostly dominated by whites. This pretense further denoted their lack of freedom to express themselves as who they were, which was not the case for their white counterparts. Overall, it enabled them to foster the development of meaningful social relations with their peers.

In regards to acceptance, the author described it as the inclination by the minority group to feign compliance and hide their resentment of racism to foster robust social relations with the dominant group (Conley 356). “The Hate U Give” denoted several instances where Starr opted to hide her resentment of the racism tendencies displayed by her friends for the survival of their social relationship. For example, although she did not enjoy the discriminate stares and comments that the white girls made regarding her relationship with Chris, she continued to afford them an occasional smile. Doing so helped Starr to conceal her real emotions hence allowing her to survive the discrimination.

Finally, Conley denoted resistance to manifest through the engagement of the minority group in civic action, including non-violent protests (357). “The Hate U Give” depicted several instances where blacks arose to advocate against racism. One such was the decision by Starr to confront her white friend when she accused the murdered teen of threatening the safety of the police officer using a hairbrush. Mainly, Starr resisted the argument citing it as illogical to warrant the murder of the boy. Also, African Americans in the film held a peaceful demonstration to oppose the systemic discrimination that permeated American society. Mainly, they argued against the failure by the court to indict the police officer accused of murdering an unarmed black teenager (Tillman). The endeavor helped to convey their discontentment with the system and racism. It aligned with Conley’s suggestion.