Malden Reads’ companion books that were sold at the entrance. Photo by Carlos Aragon Aldana.
A special screening of the film The Hate U Give was presented by the Black Culture Club in the Jenkins Auditorium. The tickets were being sold for two dollars with the proceeds going to the Women’s Shelter. Following the conclusion of the film, there was a short discussion about the topics that were being explored within the film.
The Hate U Give, which premiered in October of last year was based off the original novel written by Angie Thomas. It follows a young African American girl by the name of Starr Carter, played by Amandla Stenberg, whose life takes a very drastic turn when she witnesses a longtime friend, Khalil Harris, played by Algee Smith, get shot by a police officer. Throughout the film, we see Starr alternate between two personalities since she lives in a black neighbor but goes to a predominately white prep school.
The inspiration to show the film sprouted last year when the club partnered up with Malden Reads to host a showcase based off the book. Club president and Blue and Gold member, Cedrina Missamou, then decided that it could be a good idea to screen the film to address “the controversy going around the film and whether it was an accurate portrayal of police officers,” and so having the discussion after would give students the opportunity to express their opinions. Missamou states that “what’s important is the fact that we’re having these discussions, and actually analyzing the impact that media can have on the community” and even after the film ended and the discussion began, she saw that there were many insightful comments being made by the students.
Before the screening, Principal Chris Mastrangelo gave thanks to Malden Reads for “selecting the book last year” along with purchasing the film themselves. As for the film since he has previously seen it, he described it as powerful. Missamou gave a short introduction before they started the film.
After the conclusion of the film, the discussion was held which covered a variation of topics in the film including their views on the film to which there were many mixed reactions. Junior Xavier Rios said that he particularly disagreed with the direction of the film because he thought it didn’t accurately present the novel well. Another topic covered analysed Hailey’s character, played by Sabrina Carpenter, who many felt was overly racist or ignorant. Some students believed that it was mostly ignorance while others claimed that it was a mixture of both, but the racism was masked with unconsciousness. Principal Mastrangelo also chimed in saying that because Hailey has the same racial background as the police officer that had killed Khalil, she was more biased to empathize with him rather than the victim due to that privilege. They also discussed the portrayal of stereotypes within the film to which Moussami believes that they were quite “exaggerated.”
As for lessons that were to be taught from watching the film, Junior Pryanna Alpher believes that message is that everyone should be comfortable in their own skin. Overall, Missamou was very impressed with the turnout of students, and hopes that in the near future students take the time to learn more about social issues.
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