‘Dear White People’ Back and On Point

After an explosive first outing, Justin Simien’s ‘Dear White People’ (2018) returns to Netflix for a worthy sophomore season. Picking up where the first season left off in the wake of Winchester’s disastrous town hall, Troy’s prowess with a shovel and Reggie staring down the barrel of a white cop’s gun, the groundbreaking adaptation of Simeon’s 2014 film adeptly explores the aftermath of racial tension at the fictional Ivy League university.

Though very little is said about what happens after black trauma, ‘Dear White People’ doesn’t shy away from the effects.

Still focused on one of the ensemble per episode, the show zooms in on its compelling characters each grappling with the strain of the last few months. Reggie (Marque Richardson), the mellifluous activist, suffers from the post-traumatic stress that often plagues black men randomly held up by police. Sam (Logan Browning) is less confident about her radio advocacy and is hounded by a racist right-wing Twitter type troll. Lionel (DeRon Horton), the intrepid reporter, deals with having had The Independent shut down after his expose while navigating the gay dating scene. Troy (Brandon P Bell), the golden boy, struggles with his identity after his liberating act of rebellion and Gabe (John Patrick Amedori) attempts to atone for being the white guy who excessively called the police with a documentary that may be more self-serving than he realises.

Still asking the tough questions, mining discomfort and interesting in its integration of a historically black residence where white people find themselves in the minority, ‘Dear White People’ missteps with a bit of missed opportunity as well as a lacklustre secret society arch but teases doing better in a third season.

Timely in its consideration of the alt-right, the power of social media and the internet particularly in the context of emboldening racists, white supremacists, right-wingers and foaming nationalists, the series also explores how these sentiments hurt and manifest in real life buoyed by an excellent ensemble.

Continuing in its tradition of truth bombs in questions like “you think the black man has the monopoly on suffering?” spouted by a more developed Joelle (Ashley Blaine Featherson) reading a homophobic, conspiracy theorising hotep to filth, ‘Dear White People’ highlights the problematic within the black community while being unequivocally pro-choice in a Coco (Antoinette Robertson) arch with more on Kelsey (Nia Jervier) adding to the intersectional.

Tune in to volume two for the same reasons you watched the first season. It’s real, relevant, inspiring of crucial conversation and like nothing else in the stream.

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