Movie Review: The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give is a powerful movie that focuses on the life of a teenage girl, Starr, who becomes an activist because of a terrible experience.
In The Hate You Give, during the first scene in the movie, Starr’s father (Russell Hornsby) is explaining to his children what they should do if they were to get pulled over by the police. He explains that they should keep their hands on the dashboard and obey every order that an officer gives. Starr (Amandla Stenberg) later witnesses one of her closest childhood friends, Khalil (Algee Smith), be killed by a police officer while at a traffic stop.
Since Starr witnessed the incident, she now has to decide if she wants to speak out about it. She fears that if she does, people will be out to get her. As a black student attending a predominantly white high school on the other side of town, she fears that her classmates and friends will start to feel sorry for her, see her as just another girl from the ghetto or not take the shooting seriously.
Starr eventually decides to speak out about the shooting, but all the reporters she speaks to are focused on whether Khalil was a drug dealer or not, instead of asking about what really happened that night. As the movie progresses, we see how Starr changes from being afraid to voice her truth to leading a protest.
The main problems addressed in this movie include, but are not limited to, police brutality, racism, and the oppression of African Americans. But there is also positivity found in the film when Starr overcomes all of the hate and injustice put in front of her. Starr stops caring about what others think of her, and instead she thinks about how Khalil would speak up for her if their roles were switched. Starr gains the confidence that she needs to speak out about what she saw.
I would give The Hate U Give five out of five stars. Overall, it is a great movie that tells the story of a black teenager and the injustices in her community. Those injustices represent the problems of evil, but the way she reacts to those problems makes it all worth it.
