I feel like African-American cinema is having a mini-renaissance in the latter half of this year with fresh, original films like Sorry to Bother You, Blindspotting, and BlacKkKlansman each exploring parts of the contemporary Black experience in this country. The novel also spent time as a #1 New York Times Bestseller. This film is based on a young adult novel of the same title written by Angie Thomas and published in 2017. THE HATE U GIVE is based on the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller by Angie Thomas and stars Amandla Stenberg as Starr, with Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Issa Rae, KJ Apa, Algee Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Common and Anthony Mackie.When a black teenage girl witnesses her black friend unlawfully shot to death by a police officer, she is forced to confront complicated, adult issues of identity, violence, and racism in her hometown. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what’s right.
The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. Here’s the official synopsis for The Hate U Give: Be sure to check out Adam Chitwood's rave review right here. The Hate U Give is currently in select theaters and due to expand on October 12th before its nationwide release on October 19th. You can catch that in the video interview at the top of this article and, in case you missed it, click here for my interview with Thomas and The Hate U Give director George Tillman Jr. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Stenberg and Smith (another young star well worth keeping an eye on) and we discussed an especially powerful line of dialogue in The Hate You Give, and they also shared a part of their daily routines that may have a positive influence on anyone looking for something to brighten his or her day. She's got to find her voice and stand up for what's right. She juggles the two well enough by making sure she behaves a certain way at each place, but when her childhood friend Khalil ( Algee Smith) is senselessly murdered by a white cop during a traffic stop, Starr knows she can't keep her two lives separate anymore.
The movie is based on the book by Angie Thomas and stars Stenberg as Starr Carter, a young girl who calls a predominantly black neighborhood called Garden Heights home, but attends a mostly white high school.
Stenberg has made a very noticeable effort to use her star power for good by doing what she can to spread acceptance and respect, and now you can see both of those qualities - her talent on screen and activism off screen - come together in the rousing drama The Hate U Give. She made a huge impression as Rue in The Hunger Games back in 2012 and ever since, she's been building a reputation as one of the best of her generation - both on screen and off. The world better watch out for Amandla Stenberg.