I believe that the primary reason that Justin Simien's Dear White People works is that it refuses to make any one character totally sympathetic. Just when it seems like one character is in the right, they turn around and do something offensive or stupid. A prime example is when Sam White (Tessa Thompson) kicks the racist frat boys out of her cafeteria. It's a triumphant moment...right up until she also kicks out the quite, nerdy, and gay Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams). We're shocked and offended when Troy Fairbanks' (Brandon P. Bell) white girlfriend tries to seduce him while cooing over his "big black cock"...right up until we learn that he was the one who wanted her to do it. This dichotomy between being "right" and being "wrong" is what drives the film and leads to many of its most shocking (and rewarding) surprises. If I had to single out one thing to recommend about Dear White People, it would be its screenplay. But everything in this film works: the acting, the cinematography, the pacing, the editing, and so on and so forth.
9/10
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