Dear White People (2017)

DWP does want to be provocative, just not too provocative. Mostly it just wants to keep an open mind and open heart. Mostly, it succeeds.

The series maintains a perfect balance between joy and trauma that exemplifies the duality of the black experience; its writing is sharp and contemporary. Even the moments of parody feel relatable as opposed to over-the-top.

Dear White People gives you an abundance of characters to care about and entertains with its inspired, hilarious storytelling. Simien keeps and hones the heightened reality style of his film. The meticulous compositions and meta-awareness are reminiscent of the Coen brothers and Spike Lee.

The entire cast is outstanding, and Simien’s script is masterful. On the one hand, he is dealing with very complicated identity issues with intelligence and directness. On another level, though, he’s writing exceptionally funny comedy, crackling with credible wit that often packs a not-so-secret weapon: thought-provoking points of view about how we deal with issues of race and identity. Or, in some cases, how we don’t deal with them.

Identity is a prominent theme in the story of college kids struggling to discover who they are and what they stand for, and the series’ first two episodes feel deeply unifying. The premiere episode is a streamlined effort with an impressively strong voice; the next half-hour is equally affecting and vocal, an ideal split between entertaining and illuminating.

In the astounding third season, creator Justin Simien pushes his characters toward thrilling new beginnings. ... Dear White People really is an exploration of humanity and beauty and people and places, damn it. They should teach it in college.

Dear White People has leveled up in quality during its second season--no small feat considering how consistently strong it was during its freshman outing.

Maybe Dear White People isn't sure yet how to also be a generation-spanning mystery. Watching the show built over two seasons leaves me with little doubt that Dear White People can grow into that genre as well. In a Too Much TV landscape, Dear White People is a show I didn't write about at all in its first season, but it has become one of the best things on TV and deserves to be discussed as such.

The season does sag a bit around 206-7, but it’s forgivable given how fascinatingly it ends, with a series of episodes that are moving, funny, and brilliant.

Season 2 is a statement of understanding as much as it’s a means to help viewers engage with what’s happening in American culture. Simien and his talented writing staff, directors, and cast are more confident with a season under their belts, and that conviction burns through the screen.

Truly awful. Even if this weren't laced with a sledgehammer and an overtly sanctimonious approach towards racism, it's just poorly done. Every single character feels one-dimensional if not a full-blown caricature, and the dialogue is utterly cringe. It reminds me of a less talented Aaron Sorkin (whom I can't stand), writing argument after argument to win against themselves. All the while, snarkily gloating about being able to defeat their own straw men. And regarding the black-face party that is the rather convoluted seedling for the plot... Not to suggest black face doesn't happen, it still does. But it's frankly overrepresented. I have been to countless Halloween/Frat/Costume parties over the years. Not once, ever, has a even a single person donned blackface in my experience. Let alone a whole coordinated and themed event take place. "It's a thing white people do. Google it", the show tells us. I don't want to go down the rabbit hole of explaining how stupid college students ignorantly engaging in (literally) surface-level racism is so not an equivalent as to when, say, lynchings were normality, but I will say such occurrences are still atypical. Speaking of convolution, the classical/operatic score only compounded the pretentiousness and sanctimoniousness of the entire experience. Hearing Carmen while being spoon-fed wokeness is just a laughable approach. Kubrick you are not. Lastly, the showrunner who just resigned due to Dave Chapelle is a WHITE trans-woman! Why is that particular racial demographic ok instead of someone of color? I hate when alleged moralisms have no logical consistency.

A real waste of time just another Netflix Blm woke racist garbage show against the white people.

This was very racist, I don’t get why if the black people are racist like they always are against the white, then is ok, the opposite is unacceptable. This was just a racist crap, I’ll give zero.

If it wasn’t obvious this show is very hypocritical. The show is very racist but you could’ve got that from the name. Annoying uninteresting characters,bad writing,below average direction. It’s just not good and if that’s not enough it is racist and offensive.

I mean, what is there to say. The irony that this show claims to be against racism while being this racist is palpable. Not worth a watch and a reason for the ongoing divide.

One of the best original series on netflix. If you read the bad reviews from here you will know that the series has hit who it should.

One of the best series nowadays. Racism is still strong in america and the show portraits that. In the second season it becomes more clear why people usually criticize movies or tv series about black people. It's disgusting to see a tv show critic acclaimed like this to have a 3.6 user score.

It's an amazing portrait of society. A must-see series, especially, for fear white people!

The title of the show is racist, you can't justify it at all. If it was called Dear Black People you can imagine the fuss people would create. Don't just lump people into race, judge an individual by her or his actions.

Racist and pathetic this is even okay. What if there was a show called "dear black people". Yeah there wouldn't be because its not okay just like this isn't. And portraying trump supporters as kkk members is a joke.