By: McKayla Milam
A novel-based movie called The Hate U Give recently came out in select theatres on Friday, October 5th. The movie releases nationwide on October 19th. The author of the book, Angie Thomas, tackled the struggles of police brutality by having the main character witnessing the fatal shooting of her unarmed childhood friend. Amandla Stenberg played the lead role of Starr Carter, the main character. She has to balance living between two different worlds where she attends a predominantly white, prep school but lives in an urban neighborhood. Considering the number one bestseller book became a huge success, going on to win multiple awards, selling out in stores and even catching the attention of former U.S. president, Barack Obama, many are eager to watch this story come to life. A few of Hillgrove’s students went to go see the movie over the weekend and were more than willing to share their thoughts on what they thought of it.
An eleventh grader, Megan McClain stated, “I hope that people are exposed to these issues depicted in the film and realize that things like this happen all the time in our in our world and it is not ‘just a movie’.”, when asked what does she hope people take away from this film. “The main message of this movie is T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E. or The Hate U Give Little Infants F***s Everybody, which is very important to the movie because the people in Starr’s neighborhood of Garden Heights have no way of getting out and making money except through drug dealing. This leads to problems with gangs that affect the entire community just because they were not given equal access to jobs”, quoted junior, Kathryn Hodges. In response to what message can be taken away from this movie, Courtney Tolbert, who is in the eleventh grade said, “You should not discriminate or assume something based on someone’s race or background because their life matters just as much as yours.”
When questioned why she went to go see the movie, Megan claimed it was “because I read the book and when I heard there was going to be a movie, I knew I had to see the story come to life.” Kathryn said, “I went to see the movie because I read the book and loved the meaning [of] the whole story. The author Angie Thomas is able to explain the situation so clearly and pulls so much emotion out of her readers. She makes the story feel very personal to our age group demographic. I also went to see the movie because I love the actress Sabrina Carpenter. Even though she was very hate-able as Hailey in the movie, I think she did an amazing job in demonstrating white privilege for those who do not even recognize their own white privilege.”
As proven, people of different races from different backgrounds were able to take away an important message. Whether they were learning from the perspective of a white individual or a black individual, Kathryn, Megan and Courtney all enjoyed the empowering story that was relatable in many aspects for some.
An eleventh grader, Megan McClain stated, “I hope that people are exposed to these issues depicted in the film and realize that things like this happen all the time in our in our world and it is not ‘just a movie’.”, when asked what does she hope people take away from this film. “The main message of this movie is T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E. or The Hate U Give Little Infants F***s Everybody, which is very important to the movie because the people in Starr’s neighborhood of Garden Heights have no way of getting out and making money except through drug dealing. This leads to problems with gangs that affect the entire community just because they were not given equal access to jobs”, quoted junior, Kathryn Hodges. In response to what message can be taken away from this movie, Courtney Tolbert, who is in the eleventh grade said, “You should not discriminate or assume something based on someone’s race or background because their life matters just as much as yours.”
When questioned why she went to go see the movie, Megan claimed it was “because I read the book and when I heard there was going to be a movie, I knew I had to see the story come to life.” Kathryn said, “I went to see the movie because I read the book and loved the meaning [of] the whole story. The author Angie Thomas is able to explain the situation so clearly and pulls so much emotion out of her readers. She makes the story feel very personal to our age group demographic. I also went to see the movie because I love the actress Sabrina Carpenter. Even though she was very hate-able as Hailey in the movie, I think she did an amazing job in demonstrating white privilege for those who do not even recognize their own white privilege.”
As proven, people of different races from different backgrounds were able to take away an important message. Whether they were learning from the perspective of a white individual or a black individual, Kathryn, Megan and Courtney all enjoyed the empowering story that was relatable in many aspects for some.