YA (Young adult) movies and novels are often dismissed as throwaway stories, ok to fill some time but not something to think about past the shower later on. The Hate U Give is something you can't wash off. You need to watch it when it comes to Disney Plus.
It's easy to imagine Disney Plus as an idealised sugary sweet platform full of nothing but fairytales, but it's the presence of stories like The Hate U Give that make it one of the best streaming services. Based on Angie Thomas' 2017 bestseller and boasting a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes you need to watch this movie ASAP when it lands on July the 7th.
The story follows Starr Carter (the brilliant Amanda Stenberg), a 16-year-old girl who attends a prestigious, majority-white private school but lives in a predominantly African-American neighbourhood. It sounds almost like a typical teen movie set up, "an ordinary girl living a double life". But in reality, these two sides of Starr are at odds and she finds herself constantly code-switching to fit in with those around her- and she hates it. People at school stare, have different expectations of her and talk to her differently but that is in fact the least of her problems.
The flashpoint of the movie is the horrific police killing of her friend and its explosion into national news that thrusts Starr (the only witness) into the spotlight. It is only after being let down by the justice system that Starr starts to be true to herself. Of course, to those in her neighbourhood, she's an outsider, while her white friends can't possibly understand her situation.
Although released in 2018, it doesn't sound too different from news stories that persist to this day and it's a stark reminder about life as an 'other', something that as a white man I can never really understand.
No one has ever explained to me how to avoid being shot by a police officer when pulled over. There are lots of elements in this movie that I can't relate to, and frankly, I'm lucky that's the case. It's not always comfortable viewing, but challenge yourself and watch this movie.
