Dear White People Reading Log

“Dear White People” is a is a 2014 American satirical comedy-drama show written, directed, and co-produced by Justin Simien. The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of several African American groups.

Netflix’s “Dear White People” is a satirical show that focuses directly on racial tensions within a college campus, throughout the show the African American communities go against racism through the use of a radio show (called dear white people) where the main character (Samantha White) blasts white people for saying things she doesn’t agree with, things such as “What are you?” (referring to ethnicity).  The whole satire side of the show can be seen everywhere as it is quite obviously mocking the Social Justice Warrior mindset of almost everything by white people being racist.  The show is actually very relatable to me because some communities like SJW’s it is almost impossible to not be seen as a racist unless you are black and as a result I am often referred to as a racist for having different opinions, this TV Series sheds light on these forms of false racism. As a Maori/Pakeha person I see a very racist culture on both sides in New Zealand, I am fairly often racially abused for being white, because of this I really enjoy Dear White People because it is one of the only films of its kind simply because the topic is seen as politically incorrect and sheds light on some extremely important issues in modern society.

The movie likes to emphasise victimisation, this can be seen where the main character Samantha White takes her white boyfriend to their Black only club (also adds to the irony of the film), he is then attacked verbally by a member of the club for being white.  When he leaves Samantha approached him saying “Now you know what it feels like to be singled out, like I do every day on campus”.  Again this is mocking the SJW mindset of victimisation.  The whole joke of this line is the fact that they are constantly excluding other races to fight false and non existent racism. the whole show uses irony and mockery for it’s comedy and does a good job at showing people the irony if the SJW mindset

I feel like I can relate to the purpose of this show because we live in a very racist culture and many are very quick to silence and exclude white people in favour of the minority because of things that happened 100s of years ago.  Dear white people exposes the irony in this and because of that I love the film.

Suicide Room Reading Log

Sala Samobójców (Suicide Room)

Suicide Room is a 2011 Polish dramatic film directed by Jan Komasa.  The film is based on Dominik, a sensitive teenager and his journey through isolation, bullying and mental illness.

The early stages of the film give a strong vibe of normality, things seem very common and familiar in the beginning.  Dominik is well known at school, has good grades and is fits in quite well.  But after a series of events everything changes within a very short amount of time.  Dominik is eventually singled out as being homosexual and is bullied for it at school and online with people yelling things out to him or posting parody videos of him and other men.  As you’d expect this causes a strong impact on Dominik's mental health causing him to lash out.  An example of this is shown when Dominik attempts suicide by cutting himself with broken shards of his mirror.  With suicide rates in New Zealand being so high most people have some sort of connection with suicide meaning many can relate to the movies representation of Mental Illness

Dominik’s behaviour is, to an extent, relatable as it is common to isolate yourself when you are uncomfortable with how things are going for you.  Dominik hides in his room retreating to his virtual world of comfort.  Dominik’s virtual world has it’s flaws (like most online communities) as some people's intentions aren’t always what they seem, this is displayed when Sylwia (A friend Dominik found online) forces Dominik to lie to the therapist his parents sent to help him overcome his mental illness for his exams.  Throughout the film you can see Dominik’s parents seem to care more about his exam results than his well-being, it takes some time but eventually you can begin to see they’re very neglectful and often would rather hire someone to help him than do it themselves.

Another aspect of the film I can relate to is the idea of manipulation or convincing with power.  Due to Dominik's status inside the Suicide Room, he is very easily manipulated, especially by Sylwia who is considered to be the leader or the highest rank in the Suicide Room.  Dominik is very easily convinced and will listen to almost anything Sylwia says simply because of how powerful she is, many people including myself can fall victim to this thinking when we speak to teachers, parents or friends as we often see them as figures of power or knowledge.

Towards the end of the film, Dominik has a breakdown and his parents eventually realised only they can help.  Things begin to look good for Dominik as his relationship with his parents begins to grow stronger and he begins to become more social and “Alive”.  Dominik’s plans to meet with Sylwia with the pills were still in place and on the night they had chosen, he made his way to a nightclub where they would meet.  Dominik is forced by the bartender to purchase a drink and this result in him drinking a large beer, with Sylwia nowhere in sight Dominik goes to the bathroom to dispose of the pills.  In the bathroom Dominik finds a couple and they begin to socialise, Dominik is recorded in a drunken state mocking his parents and himself before leaving to find Sylwia in the bar, they meet and kiss.  At this point you can see Dominik is in love with Sylwia.  The Suicide Room discuss Dominik’s extended absence with each other before his account appears in the chat, using the account is Dominik’s mother who came to explain Dominik had committed suicide at the club.  Dominik meeting Sylwia was most likely a hallucination from large quantities of alcohol and pills.  This is a particularly strong part of the film because it seems like things are becoming better for Dominik and it shows us that just because things look good on the outside, doesn’t mean they are the same on the inside.

In my opinion the film sheds light on the darker and less exaggerated sides of mental illness, the only problem with this is that some people may find the film hard to watch.  As a teenager I think the film portrays Dominik as a teenager quite well and I beleive the film is very realateable and shows us that things aren’t always as they seem.