The Hate U Give

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Published: Monday, 10 December 2018 14:00

FastForward talks with director George Tillman, and actors Amandla Stenberg and Actor Russell Hornsby

REPORTERS/WRITERS: BT Salle-Widelock, Dante Cokinos and Brandon Llamas (FROM: Marin School of the Arts and White Hill Middle School)

The Hate U Give, directed by George Tillman Jr. is a powerful film adaptation of the book by Angie Thomas. Thomas, the author, was partially motivated to write her novel after a young person named Oscar Grant was shot at a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station in Oakland by a BART police officer nine years ago. In the film, Starr, the lead character, played by Amandla Stenberg, sees her best friend, Khalil (Algee Smith) shot by a white police officer who thought Khalil’s hairbrush was a gun. She is the only eyewitness to the murder, but she is afraid to speak up. She attends a mostly white, private school, while living in a poor, black neighborhood with a lot of gang violence. Starr deals with pressure from all sides while balancing her two lives. Code-switching—when someone makes a hard flip between two lives—is a major topic of this production. The film has many strong emotional moments, but also several great moments of laughter in a powerful film that examines racial disparities. I recommend this movie to both teens and adults because it is an eye-opening ride through the life of young African-American girl. The film provides us the opportunity to hear a distinctive voice, a clear voice, a voice that is important to take in and reflect on.

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Writer/Director Bo Burnham's Film Eighth Grade

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Published: Tuesday, 12 June 2018 20:16

ON CINEMA - June, 2018

FastForward Talks with writer/director Bo Burnham about his debut feature film Eighth Grade

Bo Burnham's debut movie Eighth Grade is a fascinating, challenging film that many of us can relate to. The movie follows Kayla, as she struggles to navigate friendships, drama, crushes, and all things middle school. It begins with Kayla creating a YouTube video where she talks about being yourself. She says, “being yourself can be hard, and it’s like, aren’t I always being myself? And yeah, for sure. But being yourself is not changing yourself to impress someone else.” Kayla creates her videos to give advice to people “like her.” By this she means people who may not be having the easiest time in school, people who feel misunderstood, or people who may be a little bit awkward. In her videos, Kayla brings up many deep colloquialisms. Burnham describes them as the things inside of a Hallmark card, stating, “The deepest questions are at the Hallmark store.” We asked how Burnham chose the topics of each of Kayla’s videos.

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