Approximately four
months ago, I was floored when I first learned of and saw the movie trailer for
the film: Dear White People. I was so
taken aback that I had to watch the trailer two or three times, and call around
to confirm that his was an actual movie coming to the big screen and not just a
spoof; as I had previously thought. Initially I thought the title was very
bold, but also perfect for the space I was in. Just a month prior to the
release of the first trailer, I ended one of the most enlightening and
rewarding experiences of my life; studying abroad with Semester At Sea. At the
same time a majority of my experience were in some ways very similar and often
identical to the environment depicted in the film at Winchester University.
About a week ago; after
being reminded of its debut—largely from experiential articles and blog post
about the reactions from viewers during “gay scenes” presented in the film, I
went to see the film. The film didn’t disappoint; however others in the theater
did, and proved what I had read and hopefully disbelieved—to be true.
(Spoilers ahead)
We were walking in as
the trailers were playing; my friends and I had coordinated this effort as a bonding
experience and needed a break from our course work. The lights were already dim
and to my surprise, the theater wasn’t full to capacity. I suspect this was
because it was a Tuesday night, but worked in our favor as we rushed to the
middle of the theater and found the perfect seats, well…almost perfect seats as
a group of people sat in the prime time middle seats, so we sat in the row
directly in front of them. I was excited and soon regret having chosen these
seats.
While there are a few
main plots in Dear White People, the film is primarily centered on the lives of
four black students. One in particular, is a kid name Lionel, played by
“Everybody Hates Chris” star Tyler James Williams. In the film, Lionel is seen
as awkward and has a hard time fitting in. In fact he does not fit in with
anyone; not the gay kids, not the white kids, and surely not the black kids who
have treated him with homophobia and cruelty. In the film, Lionel’s character
plot represents homophobia in the black community. In addition to the other characters
heterosexual romances, Lionel has one of his own with another man. This was disappointing
to the other people in the theater, and their reactions and responses to Lionel’s
romance scenes were breathtakingly horrendous to me.
I tried my best to
prepare myself when Lionel’s romance scene was coming up. I had read about
various reactions from the audience in blogs post and was unsure of how this
audience would react. When Lionel had his first same-sex kiss I held my breath,
my palms began to sweat, and my heart began racing. And sure enough homophobia,
showed up. “What the fuck!?” someone in the row behind me yelled, another in
shock managed to get out “c’mon Chris, how could you,” others in the audience
followed suit. I could feel the negative energy in the room, as people began to
express in disgust and disbelief what they had just seen. The sly homophobic
comments kept coming with “sighs” and “grunts” until Lionel wasn’t on screen. I
hadn’t realized it but I had sunk so far down in my seat that my posture
reminded me I wasn’t sitting upright anymore. When I realized what I had just
witnessed, I turned to look at my friends, and all we could do was stare at one
another in in disbelief. I had butterflies in my stomach, but not the excited anxious
ones.
I felt sick. And it
only got worse.
Near the end of the
film, Lionel leads the charge in breaking up a racist party held by the
President of the University’s son; depicted as the antagonist of the film as an
entitled white jerk. Throughout the film he verbally (using homophobic
language) and sexually (in one scene pulling out his penis while talking to
Lionel delivering the line “you have to talk to these people in the language they
understand”) harasses Lionel. In this particular scene the racist white jerk knocks
Lionel down on the ground, calls him a faggot, and jumps on top of him. In
retaliation, Lionel kisses him (the audience was really expressed their disgust)
after delivering the line “I guess you got me right where you want me huh?” and
the racist white jerk reacts by repeatedly punching Lionel in the face.
What happened next left
me speechless. Individuals in the audience began to cheer and support the
racist white jerk’s actions of delivering repeated blows to Lionel’s face. It
was as if time froze and I was back in my 6th grade English classroom
at Annapolis Middle School when myself and Austin; a white kid sitting next to
me in class, had just got into an argument which led to him calling me a “nigger”
and tackling me onto the floor. I felt for Lionel as I did for my 10 year old
self when no one saw the wrong in what Austin had said to me, let alone what he
did (I swear my shoulder was practically fractured from hitting the floor so
hard), but I found myself suspended for repeatedly calling my white teacher a
racist after she refused to acknowledge the fact that Austin called me a
nigger. When the scene was over, I heard someone in the row behind me validate
the actions of the racist white jerk because Lionel was a “homo.” I found some
relief noticing a couple (in which I later learned were the only non-black persons
in the theater) left the theater following the scene. I couldn’t really tell
why they left, but could attribute a large part of it to the reactions from the
audience. It was practically hell; however, I was determined to see it through.
When the film was over,
I couldn’t describe the emotions I was feeling. As we followed others out of the
theater, it became apparent to me that a vast majority if not all of the
reactions came from other persons in the black community. What made it worse
was hearing the continued homophobic comments about “Chris” and what appeared
to be a medium sized group of heterosexual individuals stare me down as we walked
through the atrium of the theater. I had become used to the unwanted attention
since the Kappa incident; however, in this moment I wish I had a boyfriend and
that I had brought him to the movies with me that night—because I would have
grabbed him, and landed a wet one on him in passing of the group. I’m not a fan
of PDA (public display of affection) and usually take the high road in
situations, but my emotions were raw, and I was so ready to dictate to anyone
in the theater: DEAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE…..
It’s been about a week
since I saw the film, and I am still debriefing from my experience. I can
relate immensely to a number of themes presented in Dear White People. I can
recall different times in my life where I found myself in the Winchester
University environment. For example, it was just 8 months ago that I found
myself spending my spring semester in an educational environment as 1 of 21 “Students
of Color; everyone non-white, in which 12 of the 21 were black out of 500 plus students.
This environment was essentially the environment at Winchester University as depicted in Dear White People, and you can imagine how we
(a few members of SOC) felt when we were told that our 5 minute documentary video
titled “I Too Am Semester At Sea” for
the Spring 2014 Film Festival could not win first place. Part of the award for
the first place film, was that it would be published on Semester At Sea’s blog,
and let’s just says our film wasn’t fit to be published on the blog. Needless
to say, the documentary won the most awards in individual categories, and came
in second place overall.
I know what it’s like
to be a black student as depicted in the film. I have lived that experience.
More importantly I realize—I am Lionel. My entire life has been Lionel’s
character plot. No one knows his background or his story. We just see him as
awkward and an outcast primarily because he is (do we really know?) black and gay.
A perfect sequel to this film would be a film about Lionel; a film that tells
his story, through his eyes, and his own life experiences. And just maybe, the
title will be Dear Straight People…
Seeing this movie
reminded me that there is a need for non-heterosexual voices to be heard. There
is a need for their stories to be told through their own eyes and through their
life experiences. This very need is why I am moving forward with my book.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Morgan State University Writing Center
Morgan State University Baltimore, MD
October 25, 2014-February 28, 2015
Untold Stories: Narratives of the Young Gifted
and Gay
Edited By: Brian Stewart
About the book
In the fall of 2013,
Alpha Iota, the Morgan State University Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
Inc. made a clear statement when it denied membership to an applicant based on
sexual orientation. The complaint filed by Brian Stewart; an ambassador to the
institution and former White House Intern, made national headlines when the
public became aware of the gay slurs and expletives used by a member of the
fraternity. The complaint would go on to position Mr. Stewart in the public
spotlight, receiving both praise and criticism for speaking out on his
experience. At the same time, between messages of support and threats to his
well-being, Mr. Stewart began receiving stories from all over the country from
persons who experienced similar situations. First, the stories were specific
and came from current members of the fraternity and or deferred
applicants—narrating their experiences while seeking to join the fraternity.
Then, stories of everyday struggles with one’s own sexuality, family, school,
and life-in-general began to pour in. While all of the stories praised Mr.
Stewart and spoke of his courage in speaking out against the chapter, it was
around that same time that the first idea--of the possibility of a book giving
voice to the untold stories sparked by the incident, came to be.
Inspired by the personal
experience as a victim of sexual discrimination and the literary anthology
edited by Keith Boykin: For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When
The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough, Untold Stories: Narratives of the Young
Gifted and Gay edited by Brian Stewart is an untraditional anthology of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) voices in the 21st
century. This book responds to the ideas of homophobia, sexual stigma,
heterosexism, and sexual prejudice in regards to LGBTQ persons; by offering
narratives of personal experiences that will help the reader understand
hostility, oppression, and discrimination towards LGBTQ persons based on their
sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
How to submit an essay
From October 25, 2014
until February 28, 2015, we will accept essays and other writings to
include in Untold Stories. We are looking for insightful stories and or
experiences centered around one or more of the following major themes:
identity (in regards to sexual orientation and gender identity and or expression),
family, school, and life in general. Submissions should be between 1000 and
5000 words. Send your submission to whenbriansmiles@gmail.com. Please include your name,
email address, phone number, brief 1-paragraph biography and a jpeg photo
with your submission. Anonymous submissions will be considered; however, we ask
that you submit a pseudonym/alias to credit the work.
This particular
anthology will include both established and non-established writers. Our aim is
to tell the stories of everyday Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer,
and Ally (LGBTQA) individuals who have faced and or are still facing adversity.
While we plan to include submissions from known public figures, published
authors, and talented writers who have overcome obstacles throughout their
lives, we are particularly looking for millennials; recent graduate or
undergraduate students, and those who have faced bullying or harassment. No
matter how you identify, we are only interested in well-told stories that can
educate and inspire others. Ultimately, we would like to include the stories of
all persons so long as the stories are relevant to the purpose and the themes
of the book. It is our intention that this book will: give voice to what it is
like living in the 21st century as a non-heterosexual individual,
the challenges we face, and be an opportunity to tell our own stories.
Lastly, we don’t
anticipate every story to have a happy ending, nor do we anticipate every essay
to deal with adversity, harassment, or some sort of tragedy. We understand life
is complex, and want this book to be both educational and inspiring. We want
your stories to give voice to your real life experiences, and share those
experiences with others. We want to provide you the opportunity to tell your
story, just you and your experiences.
This book is expected to
be published in April/May 2015.
This post has been updated to reflect the changes in submission deadlines as well as adding "gender identity and expression" throughout the post.
