The Hate U Give Movie Analysis Essay Example

In the film The Hate, You Give directed by George Tillman Jr, the historical approach is evident throughout the novel. The movie The Hate U Give explores how racism and violence against black people are rationalized in society by using preconceptions of the group. The students at Williamson Prep, where Starr attends school, and other white communities are shielded from institutional racism, which supports discrimination, by these preconceptions. To clarify further, it is these preconceived notions that society, for the most part, has accepted regarding inequalities that pertain to race. In other words, people who have a certain skin color are sometimes scrutinized more compared to other people. In fact, this is exactly what the novel demonstrates to the reader, specifically with respect to African Americans and how police treat them. Oscar Grant's shooting by an Oakland transit police officer in 2009 served as the impetus for the novel “The Hate U Give.” The key plot points of “The Hate U Give” are when a police officer shoots Khalil and when the police question Starr. In my opinion, I believe that this novel overlaps with the events that took place with George Floyd, specifically how race influenced how a police officer treated Floyd. As previously mentioned, society has been conditioned to accept that certain people are more violent, simply because of the color of their skin, which is entirely false. However, the novel reminds the reader that we continue to live in a society where racism exists, as demonstrated by the Caucasian police officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck until he passed away. At this time, I would like to conclude by making a few noticeable connections with respect to the novel and George Floyd. Referring to the major event that occurred in the novel, it is clear that Khalil never posed any threat but was shot and killed because of the police officer’s preconceived notions about race and people’s skin color. This proves a clear connection that racism is a real theme that occurred in the novel and the passing of Floyd. On a final note, I believe that the novel and Floyd, analyzed together, show interesting overlaps that help us to understand racism. For instance, in both cases, lives were lost because of poor judgment and preconceived notions. This is wrong. Also, equality, fairness, respect, and treating people the way you want to be treated should be basic rights. Unfortunately, Khalil and Floyd were never given those rights. Finally, I believe that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their skin tone. It also doesn’t make sense to assume that people would act a certain way simply because of how they look.