Task A1 - Political themed film ('The Hate U Give')

Political themed film - 'The Hate U Give'

In the movie 'The Hate U Give', the political themes that are portrayed in the movie are gang violence, inequality and Black Lives Matter. The main character in the movie is the young lack girl Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) who saw Khalil (Algee Smith) get shot innocently by a police officer. Khalil and Starr were family friends since young and she just witnessed his death right in front of her, and she was not allowed to do anything about it.

In the scene of Khalil's death, a medium shot denotes Khalil at his car window was portrayed before the police man shot him and he dropped to the floor bleeding to death. This connotes heartbreak and anger which will be coming from all of Khalil's friends and family. Starr tried to run out of the car, but a long shot was captured which denotes her being out in hand cuffs by the confused and shaken police officer. The police man mistaken his hair brush for a gun, which made the police man shoot him instantly. Some of the audience may feel sympathy for Khalil and Starr, this is because Khalil lost his life innocently and Starr just saw her friend get shot in front of her. On the other hand, many may feel as if the police officer has a right to protect himself. The police officer showed no empathy and did not help Khalil at all, he just left Khalil to bleed out whilst a long shot of Starr begging him to help Khalil was shown. This showed the impact race has in America, many police officer would of just shot Khalil because he is a black boy and they want to ensure that their safety is secured but if it was a white boy many police officers would have verbally communicated with them before making any movements. They could just say 'Put your hands up!' but he didn't, which highlights the inequality in America between black and white people. Black people are not trusted and because of this many are treated very badly by society, especially police officers as they know they have the authorities to do this without any punishment.

During this scene, non-digestic music was being played and it was a very deep drum/piano audio. This made the audience feel the pain Starr was feeling through the audio being played. The music highlighted the sad moment which just occurred. The loud gun shot created tension and suspense in the atmosphere for the audience. This made the audience think that guns are very powerful in America when used by a police officer. Before cutting the scene, it faded into a sudden faint ambulance siren but all other noises were blocked out. This perhaps represents Starr's heart rate as she could be panicking a lot. 

The movie was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia and was set in 2018 as a drama/thriller. Khalil was represented as a very flashy in clothing and confidence. He dressed in very high end quality clothing and shoes such as Balenciagas. Some of the audience may feel as if he is doing illegal operations to be able to afford these expensive clothing. Starr does explain that Khalil's mother was suffering from cancer and some needed to look after his siblings. This could make the audience feel sympathy for Khalil and young black boys in America as they try to support their families with very little of what the government provides them with.

Moreover, Starr dressed very casual and loved wearing Jordan sneaker, which could be used as a product placement for Jordans to get more recognition and awareness. Starr was portrayed under artificial lighting during the march to City hall and this demonstrated her anger very well. All of her emotions was encapsulated very well in the long shots which denotes her screaming into the crowd, how she feels about this whole situation. She explains its not worth it, and everyone should just put their hands up. This allowed the audience to feel her deep pain and emotions this whole situation has made her feel. It brings all her emotions to life as it brings out the realism.

King (Anthony Mackie), was represented through simple clothing, however his tone of voice and facial expressions highlights his importance in the neighborhood as he is very respected. His very expensive car really encapsulated his boss-like character. King's tone of voice could get very aggressive and empowering which makes the audience feel very intimidated by him. A lot of the characters don't fear his lash outs, they fight back which could be because they're use to this types of characteristics as it is common in their neighborhood. This demonstrates that King is contributing to one of the major political problems in America which is illegal acts and gun violence. As Starr's father explains that many young black boys from the neighborhood fall into the trap which causes them to start selling drugs and getting involved in the wars the streets have because they are unable to find a decent job that will be able to help them to support themselves. The government isn't providing these kids with a lot of opportunities which increases gun violence rates.

In another film called 'Get Out' by Jordan Peele, racism is portrayed through a white family who uses their daughter to lure black men into their home so that they can remove their soul and use their body. In 'Get Out' Jordan Peele uses a community of white people who do not value black peoples lives as they sell innocent young black peoples lives to white people that want to live longer, as if their lives matter much more than the black men they are luring. This brings to light racism as they are not equally valuing everyone's life as if black people and white people are different. This perhaps makes the audience feel as if there's a lot of discrimination due to the colour of your skin. If you were not white then your life was not valued as much, which is very unequal as should not occur in life. Many of the audience may feel disgusted in the way that white people are treating black people, and they perhaps feel that there needs to be a huge change in society before it gets out of hand.

Similarly, in 'The Hate U Give' when Khalil died Hailey (Sabrina Carpenter) made it seem as if it was a casual thing. She did not care or value Khalil's life as if he was a human, she cared more about the police office who killed him and what his family is going through. This makes the audience wonder if Hailey is a bit racists which is why she isn't showing much emotions towards the death of Khalil, however some of the audience may also feel as if she believes that his death was an accident and the police officer shouldn't be treated like this.