Movie RX
Dr. Benjamin prescribes movies that help and heal through his own experiences or the experiences of others.
Movie RX
The Hate U Give (2018) ft. Alexsis
In this episode, I, Dr. Benjamin PhD, along with Alexsis, a passionate social worker from Omaha, reflect on the compelling themes of "The Hate U Give." We share our personal stories and frustrations with the ongoing racial injustices highlighted by the film and the deep emotional impact of Khalil's tragic encounter with law enforcement. This isn't just a film analysis; it's a heartfelt conversation about real-life struggles and the importance of empathy and awareness.
Join the Facebook Page!
Follow on Instagram and TikTok!
Like and Subscribe on YouTube!
Also, Check out the Merch!
This episode of MovieRx contains discussion about hot-button topics like race and police brutality. If this subject is triggering for you, it should be. It should be triggering for all of us, but if you can't handle it, step away and take the time to see to your needs. Thank you for listening. Hello, and welcome to MovieRx, where I prescribe entertainment, one movie at a time. I am your host, dr Benjamin PhD. What does the PhD stand for? Today it's a message Prevent hate and discrimination. And my producer has stepped away so she can't shake her head at me or anything. I think she would agree, though.
Speaker 1:Today I have a guest. I have a social worker out of Omaha works with at-risk youth who experience trauma factors like poverty. Today, my guest is Alexis. Welcome, alexis. Hello.
Speaker 1:So the way that I typically start this thing is I will I'll kind of talk about my initial impression, impression about the movie. Uh, and it's usually a little bit more technical as far as this movie goes. I might've seen the trailer for this movie before it came out, but oddly, I don't feel like it was well-marketed. I didn't. I don't really remember seeing a whole lot of stuff about it after it came out. Um, and and that seems very strange to me. Um uh no, this is a movie that you brought me, so thank you for bringing me this movie.
Speaker 1:Today, we're going to talk about the hate you give. Uh. This movie is a Fox 2000 production, released in 2018, directed by George Tillman jr. Uh stars Amandla Stenberg, regina Hall and Russell Hornsby. And the IMDb description on this one. Typically, alexis, imdb descriptions are not typically very good. Let me hear your thoughts on this one. Star witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, star must find her voice and stand up for what's right.
Speaker 3:Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1:That is the description for this movie on IMDb.
Speaker 3:If this was a cupcake, that would be like the frosting they're missing the whole cake the whole cake is gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the cake is gone. It sounds like it sounds like a blues song actually. Yep, so, um, now, my, my initial movie impression with this was that the cinematography in this movie was excellent. Uh, fantastic use of lighting to change moods, uh, portray themes and and move emotions. The music was good. Dustin O'Halloran made the original score. Um, and and uh, some old school rap, tupac, uh, supported by some more modern artists. The music was really really good. Um, but the, the star of this movie really is the story, um, the story was moving. Uh, I have a hard time watching these movies, uh, as I, as I tend to get really emotional, and not not always healthy emotional. I, I, I can sometimes get very angry.
Speaker 3:Um, when, when I watch movies like this sometimes get very angry when I watch movies like this. How did you feel about the movie? I felt really similar. Honestly, you feel that anger and I think a lot of it. For me is there's nothing that one person can do to fix the problem, and that was even before seeing some of the things that I have like it, of course, like resonated because we all know, like police brutality is a major, major issue, um racial oppression, all of the things, and I think, seeing the story, like I was like okay, this is very upsetting. And then I feel like it just gets more and more upsetting as time goes on because we realize how real this is and I think I think that's kind of the point.
Speaker 1:Um, this is almost like a I I feel like a love letter to white people, like I don't know if you remember that show that was uh. I think it was on netflix several, a few years ago. I mean, I don't know, uh was like, I think it was called like dear white people or something like that. Um, but but this this feels like a really good letter to uh, to people who would be completely ignorant of uh, of a situation that they may not understand, and sometimes it's just because there's no uh, there's no opportunity to. I live in the Midwest but I live in, you know, south central Nebraska. There's not, there's not a whole lot of diversity here.
Speaker 1:I mean it's, it's growing, but as I was growing, yeah, there there wasn't really much diversity at all here at all when I was, when I was in middle school and in, uh, elementary school, high school, even. As far as the characters go, I I've got some characters listed, but there's just tons of them that like and some of them kind of surprised me at how much, how important they were to me uh, as far as the story goes, kind of changed a little bit more than what I thought they would. So I don't know, I guess I kind of just want to talk about some of our favorite characters. Why don't you, why don't you start?
Speaker 3:you give me, give me one of your favorite characters um, as easy as it is, I would definitely say star. Seeing her growth throughout the movie and hearing her narrative of like what is going on? How is she processing this? What are her next steps? She's just a very wise soul. Two wives.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like there were times like you just wanted to hug her and be like, oh my gosh, I wish you didn't know or have to know about these things.
Speaker 1:And I just think, seeing her resiliency, yeah, she, absolutely, she lives up to her name for sure, she's a star well, and on top of that, I think that there's so much of her story that we don't that she has already lived. Some of her story was not told to us before before we come in into the story, because, like they talk about periodically throughout the movie, they talk about the hood trio. You know how. They were all Harry Potter fans, her and her two best friends, and when the movie started one of them was already dead.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Um, because because of similar, uh, similar situation. So it's like this is not new for her. I mean experiencing it the way that she is, that she does in this movie is new.
Speaker 3:Like being that close to the situation was new, but other than that, like this is not, it's almost like just tuesday yeah, for for this girl a lot of, I think, the people around her too, like death is very like, oh, I'm gonna die when I'm old. And for her it's very much opposite. It's like this could be my last day, my last five minutes, and that's because of the trauma that, like, this poor child has already gone through and I don't really think that she before um, the death of her friend that we see in the movie happen, um, that she had actually like processed through that. I think, yeah, like you said, it was just so normal because you don't know anything different. And yeah, I think that is one of the hardest things is, like when you see them actively going through it, but they don't really know how bad it is.
Speaker 1:Because for us, we look at it from the outside and we're like, oh my god, like this poor child, this family, like very much has gone through absolute hell and, yeah, for them it's just another, another day and you can definitely see that divide, um, um, like I mean I I had put in here on on kind of some of the talking points, the, um, you know, the the star, versus Williamson star or star 2.0, the, the one that she is at home, uh in in garden Grove, I think is what it's called, uh in in garden Grove, I think is what it's called, uh, and her, when she's at school, are are two completely different people, because the people that she sees at school they don't understand it.
Speaker 1:They don't, they're not a part of that life, they're not a part of that culture or anything. They a lot of them, like to think that they are, but uh, but she, she just plays along, uh in in a way that is very, uh, vanilla. But you can definitely see, like especially in some of the situations that she comes in after, after the the incident in the movie, like the way that people talk to her when she's, when she's getting sick, sick after she wakes up the first time, going to sleep after her, after watching her friend get shot. Her dad says the first morning is always the worst yeah you know, and and it's like, wait a second.
Speaker 1:Always like, like, like this is expected, like this is almost a rite of passage in like how many times have you gone through this where?
Speaker 1:you know what to expect and you know how to prepare another person and your child like he knew to be sitting next to her bed when she woke up like I don't know, I, I that comes back to the whole white privilege thing I, I never would have thought of that. Um, that's, that's something that I never had to think about and never would. Because I, because I inherently have something different about me that protects me from that. I guess I don't really want to jump too far into the into that part of it, but at least not until we get into the talking points. Now, one one that I was kind of surprised with how I felt about was her boyfriend. I thought I was going to hate him. I really did. I thought I was going to hate that kid.
Speaker 3:I thought he was going to be a villain, he was going to be part of the awful things, and I was surprised.
Speaker 1:He was a little bit of a hero, a bit of a dork hero, but a total hero, like some of the things that he did for star, just because he cared for her, uh, went, went beyond reason and went beyond logic and went beyond self-preservation. Yeah self-preservation. Yeah uh, I mean when, when he walked into king's house with star to go get seven I was like I.
Speaker 1:The first thing that happened, the first thing that went through my mind was kid, get the fuck out of there. What are you doing? What are you doing in a gangbanger's home when his, when he's not home and his wife is like get out? But it was. But I mean, he, he didn't care, he didn't think twice about it, he just went right up, got, you know, helped, helped the kids get out of the house, get into his Range Rover and take off like and, and then then took them to the rally, like the, the, the protest downtown and everything like that, and then helped through that. Yeah, I don't know I I really liked him. What about what? What about another one of your favorites?
Speaker 3:I would say star's mom, I think kind of like her dad. They always just like, knew how to comfort her, and it's equally as sad as it is sweet because again, it's like they are so prepared, it's just part of their routine, but I think they were amazing and calm and, honestly, I I wish all parents were like, were like they are, because they, yeah, just knew what to expect. Um, she was very, very like. She gave star the space that she needed, but she was always there and made herself available and I think, yeah, that's part of the reason why, too, I wish everyone could watch this is just get some points on be there for your kids, because she did it.
Speaker 1:It was kind of nice to have her there, because she was there thinking the things that nobody else was.
Speaker 1:Like do we need to get a lawyer for this girl Because the hood isn't going to like her talking, but it's not the right thing to not talk. You know and and things like. Like. I mean, she was. She was the first one to put herself in star's position and be like. Y'all need to take a moment and recognize what. What position this girl is in.
Speaker 1:One of my other favorites was Maverick, her dad, um. I think the reason why why I loved Maverick so much was because he was, um, he was smart and understanding when he needed to be. He was tough when he needed to be. I know I know you're supposed to be mad at him for doing it and everything, but like you know, after after they have the bullets going through the windows and everything, but like you know, after after they have the bullets going through the windows and everything, he, he got his family safe and then he went back because that says something that a lot of people, I think, don't understand. That it is it's a little bit machismo, but not really like there's a thing about it. That is just. This is my home and I am here to protect it. I have what's important to me inside the home, somewhere safe but, I am going to protect my home.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That he was able to do that. That's something that you see in men, regardless of where they live, what color they are. Any of those things I would be the same way. And to see him be able to do that full scope everything from being supportive to being protector and then handing off that mantle of pride to his daughter, especially like right there at the end of the movie, it was just. It was great. I loved it. Everything about Maverick was just really great for me.
Speaker 3:I agree, I think a lot of parents in that situation, like when the bullets were flying, would have just like gone out there and tried to fight whoever was doing that to them and like not acting out of like the fight or flight Like he was very, very I can tell where like star got her wisdom and her strength from and it's absolutely shown through, yeah, both her mom and dad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think the uh like an important distinction with that is that I think I think I would have felt differently about Maverick leaving his family with Carlos. I think he would. I think I would have felt differently about Maverick leaving his family with Carlos. I think I would have felt differently about how he handled that situation if, instead of going to his home, he would have gone looking for King. Yeah, but he didn't. He went to his home and he waited, and that shows a lot of wisdom and a lot of control.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and again, I think that shows a lot of wisdom and a lot of control. And again I think I think that shows a lot of where star got it. Um, now, something that is kind of questionable is taking his boy with him. That was a little bit. I was a little bit angry with him about that.
Speaker 1:Like you should have left your kid at home. I'm just saying, but, but at the same time you know, um, I mean I, I don't know the dynamic in that of you know, well, this is going to be you someday and you're going to have to learn how to protect your home, you know, or or that, but uh, but either way, I don't know. So in the talking points the first one I got on here is the right at the very beginning of the movie the talk, uh, right off the bat this movie got me, uh, it.
Speaker 1:it was a kick in the teeth and a kick in the stomach, um and it, and it got very personal for me, uh, because he he was having a very important talk with his family, uh, with his children, about, um, uh, about, about growing up as a black person.
Speaker 3:The realities that come with it.
Speaker 1:And and the horrible truths that come with it. And having that talk, my nephew is black and because we grew up in a white neighborhood, we're all white, we, we didn't know about that, we didn't, we didn't understand the talk and how that needed to happen. And so, uh, especially, you know, in 2020 and 2021, when a lot of that stuff really started getting thick it, it was kind of scary to see some of that stuff and and realize that in some ways, we had kind of dropped the ball by not having this knowledge to give to, to give to my nephew, um and and so. So this movie got really personal for me right from the beginning. It was kind it was. It was really rough. Uh, I mean, I, they didn't even get the, they didn't even get the damn name of the movie out before I started to, before I started to get stinging in my nostrils, you know, like that, that ouch you're already coming to like keep yourself composed right it's, and it's like, okay, that's not even fair.
Speaker 1:Damn you, alexis warned you guys but uh but no, it was, it was, that's.
Speaker 3:That's the mark of a good movie, you know, one that can really one that can really get to you that way, um I think seeing that and seeing as, like someone who was born white, like you, it's something that we're never going to have to deal with and that we're never going to understand, and I think that makes it all the more heartbreaking.
Speaker 3:Anything within your power as one single person to make that not happen and I think that's what's really, really hard is knowing that I can do, I can live my life completely normally, as I usually would, and not have to ever even think about like what those kids had to think about, because that had to be traumatic, like as an adult to hear, but like thinking of a kid, that's like it's even harder yeah, like right right in there with that talk, like right at the tail end there, you know, I mean he, he told them how to how to handle a traffic stop and then, and then he goes into their, into the uh, into the black panther you know our own bill of rights kind of thing um, which are very different.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you've ever looked that up or anything like that, but uh, it's um, it is very different, but God, I love them. Like there's just there's a lot of message there and I mean I could probably almost have a whole episode of of a podcast just about that I know a little piece of the movie because it's huge, like the meaning behind it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, within the first five, ten minutes it's like you can already.
Speaker 1:It's just very intentional and I think it needed to happen the way that it did and there's no easier way to really to really start a journey like that Than a great big crash. And they sure accomplished it. Oh yeah, for sure. So one of the next points I had on here Was the Star versus Williamson Star. It's weird to me how she starts discussing Star Versus.
Speaker 1:Star 2.0 at school because, like I mean, she's making all these comparisons like and it and it feels very much like like she's talking about cutting parts of herself out just to be normal, yeah, um, and it's like, well, I mean, is that really normal then? Like, cause, again my white privilege? I grew up everybody telling me to be yourself, just be yourself, you know, and things like that. But she talks about how going to school slang makes star hood, that she hates that, she does it, but she still does it. Um, has that been something you've ever noticed somebody doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Um, yeah, just like every day at work, Um, we have some kids that are closer to like the middle school age and it's already a hard age because you already, like, want to fit in with your peers.
Speaker 3:You try to wear the same clothes, you look for the same brand, like you want all of the things, just so that you stand out in a positive way and not in like a, an outsider way. But to add on on top of oh yeah, this language, like these people around me aren't going to understand, so I'm going to keep it on the down low, but it's okay if they say it and if I try to join in or if I repeat the same thing, it's going to be taken very, very serious or like on a very, very different level, and I can definitely see that. And just like blending the different, diverse backgrounds and it is very sad because you're already going through a hard time at that age again, like just trying to fit in, so to add in like just things that the way that you joke, the way that you talk, the different slang, the different words that you use at home, where you're able to do that and be completely yourself, and then you have to almost like mute yourself.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, and when you think about it, it's like, especially in that kind of a situation, you're stuck trying to find your identity twice. You're you're stuck trying to find your identity at home and with your friends at home and your friends in your neighborhood and you know whatever. And then you're also stuck trying to find yourself at school, with your friends at school, and I mean it's just, uh, and. And then in in that place there's a, there's, you know, your friends at school, in class, and your friends in activities and your friends in.
Speaker 1:So the struggle of of finding where you fit, uh is already difficult enough without having to manufacture one that is completely out of your control. Uh, that is. Yeah, it is. That is out of your realm of control.
Speaker 3:Yeah, um, and a lot of kids haven't even processed like that race has even.
Speaker 3:I mean you know it's present, but yeah, a lot of kids like you don't imagine them to have to process those things, because you think of kids and you think of like innocence and not having to have that stressor or have any of those like extra layers that you have to worry about. And that's what she probably sees, the kids around her and she's like, why, like, are they having to go home and be a completely different person? Are they having to come here and be a chameleon? And it's I think she is starting to recognize that in this point in the movie and she's like, okay, like I, I think I'm the only one around me that's having to be a chameleon and read the room.
Speaker 1:Right now, uh, shortly shortly after, we learned a lot about uh star and her life at school, her life at home, things like that. Uh, that's when we meet Khalil um, which I I just think that's the coolest damn name ever, khalil, like I just I love it. But we meet Khalil and at first we like him and then we like him a little bit more, but then then we're like, oh God man, like when he goes and kisses her when she has a boyfriend, he knows it, and all that other stuff. And then and then you, then you just absolutely love the guy when he says it's okay, we got time, and you're just like, okay, this guy, this guy is so cool, he has taken some cool from everybody else.
Speaker 3:Seriously.
Speaker 1:Like all the rest of the guys, just to be that cool. And seriously, what girl doesn't want to hear that?
Speaker 3:Very similar to like her emotional and like wise level, and I think that's why, like they gravitated toward each other because, yeah, especially at that age, I feel like most boys or they wouldn't even have a second thought. Yeah, like kind of knew that this would create problems for her and he respected her enough to be like okay, like this isn't the right time.
Speaker 1:But right, no, it was it. The with as much, with as much as they were able to pack into that, I don't, I don't even know it was five minutes, but there was. There was not a lot of interaction with him on the screen and by the the end of it, you love the guy. Yeah. And then he goes to take her home and gets pulled over after moving, you know, a hundred feet. Yeah.
Speaker 1:As they pull away, he gets pulled over and then and then we get put into a into a situation where star knows exactly what to do because her dad had to talk with her and so she's trying to execute. Khalil is not going along with it. She is urging him, she is pleading with him to just do as he's told, and things like that. And the situation gets hairy with the officer. He ends up getting taken out of the car. Situation gets hairy with the officer. He ends up getting taken out of the car. The officer is going back to go look at his information and he reaches in and grabs a hairbrush, puts it up against the side of his head to brush his hair a little bit and gets shot. I believe it's three times and that is the event. I mean, that's the thing that really kicks off. Uh, the rest of this movie, um and, and it's pretty intense.
Speaker 3:The whole lifetime that you've like gotten to know these people. And yeah, didn't even fully kick off yet.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to say I don't think it was 20 minutes in that all of this happens. But this girl can act that when he got her cuffed and put onto the ground next to the tire of that car and she was screaming at him talking to Khalil while he was laying on the ground, God, she could, really. She could just reach into and grab those emotions and really start pulling them out.
Speaker 3:You can just tell it came from the soul. I feel like part of that absolutely acting, but part of it. She probably felt really similarly to how we feel and yeah, that's just the emotion and like the genuine.
Speaker 1:So the next part that I have here. I've got two sound bites. These are two sound bites from the interview with the police after the shooting. The first one is the first half. And then mom kind of steps in and says hey, I need you to give her a moment. They give her a little bit of time, star says she's ready to go and then they start questioning her again and I split this up into those two different sections. So here's the first one. Witnesses of the party stated that there was an altercation and gunshots.
Speaker 4:Did Khalil have anything to do with it? I mean, no, we were just talking. When the fight broke out, he offered to take me home because he wanted to make sure that I got home safely.
Speaker 1:And that's when 115 pulled us over for no reason. Who the officer? That's his badge number. I remember it, star, do you?
Speaker 4:know why Khalil reached into the car. I think he was checking to see that I was okay. You think you don't know? No, I don't know, because, because that's what had happened, did you and Khalil. Would you please just give her a second?
Speaker 1:So that was the first half of the interview, and the reason why this little bit kind of stood out to me a little bit was because they were talking nothing about except what happened before, which I mean, a little bit of that is to be expected with any kind of investigation. Usually it's not that much further before, usually it's just you know the events leading up immediately to whatever point. But I mean they're talking about potentially an hour and a half, two hours before and they're really they're really focusing on on where Khalil is and and kind of what. Uh, what his frame of mind is, whether he's inebriated or otherwise compromised. Yeah, I don't think they were being so transparent that it was getting past them. Yet here in the second half of the interview I think we kind of see a little bit of a change in the direction that things are going. Did you drink alcohol at?
Speaker 4:the party. No, I don't drink. Did Khalil?
Speaker 1:Not that I saw Did you ever see Khalil sell narcotics?
Speaker 4:No, I never personally saw Khalil sell drugs or do drugs, but you knew that he did. You have not asked my daughter one question about the cop.
Speaker 1:We just want the whole picture. Why don't you?
Speaker 4:ask questions about what happened. 115 killed Khal Kalou and he didn't do anything wrong, so I don't know what more of a bigger picture you need.
Speaker 1:And then that's that's where they kind of uh I, I think I've got a, uh somebody that I once heard say the say the phrase showed their ass. I mean, they, they weren't being bashful at all.
Speaker 3:Like I think, honestly, they were trying to find quote unquote, like justification for what they did, because they knew that there was absolutely no reason to even pull him over in the first place, let alone do what they did shoot him three times right, and I think it was really like it was the start of the what's the word? Almost making him a villain, like villainizing the victim.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Instead of focusing on what the hell just happened.
Speaker 1:Right Like trying to solve the problem.
Speaker 1:Just kind of gloss over anything that had anything to do with that. They would have to find some way to turn him into a villain, I mean, and you can see that when he's got her handcuffed and on the ground and then he, uh, he's got the gun pointed at khalil on the ground after he's already been shot three times, and he says where's the weapon, where's the gun? And then he's looking around for it and then the only thing he finds is a hairbrush. And he realizes and and I mean you see it in his face shit like, oh god, what the fuck did I just do?
Speaker 3:and he knows he's screwed. He feels bad it's. Yeah, he knows he's screwed it ends up.
Speaker 1:we find out, uh, at a get together in the neighborhood that he's not screwed. Uh, carlos comes around and tells maverick and and star and, uh, the rest of the neighborhood that he's not screwed. Carlos comes around and tells Maverick and Star and the rest of the family that he's getting put on paid leave and then that's his punishment and that if they want to press the issue, that it's going to go to a grand jury. Really doesn't sound like he's terribly screwed there.
Speaker 3:That is when I watched this. When it first came out I was like thank God, this doesn't happen in real life. And then look at where we're at now. Like it it literally happens every day, wearing Did you drink alcohol. Like they're focusing on trying to find a why when the why is very much clear and that's only because someone took advantage and someone like victimized this person.
Speaker 1:Right Now. One of the next talking points that we have on here is one that you would put in I like it the hairbrush and how it represents racial oppression, the discrimination that's still that has been and still occurring today. Tell me a little bit about why you put that on there.
Speaker 3:I mean, there's been so many instances, even a few weeks ago with the boiling water, like it. It's the hairbrush, it's the boiling water, it I think it was a wall at one time Like it, I think it was a wall at one time like it's just a nonstop and unfortunate reality that we live in at this point. And I think, yeah, initially when I had watched the movie, it was like, oh, okay, like yeah, we don't ever have to think of this happening in real life. But it does. And it's not even about the person. It's just literally looking at their race or who they're hanging out with.
Speaker 3:It's trying to justify a reason why racial oppression is okay and even, kind of, like we had talked about earlier, they're not admitting to like, yeah, I'm a racist person. No, they don't do that. It's the actions and the continuous pattern of what we see happening. And it's kind of eerie because, yeah, like it was happening before this movie came out, and this movie, like you said to like wasn't mainstreamed near as much as it should have been. And I wish people could see this because I feel like they would also understand that something as simple as a hairbrush or like reaching for a pen, like it's totally different, as if you or I were to do that or if it was Khalil like it. It's very, very unfortunate.
Speaker 1:Well, and and that also kind of brings to mind a conversation that star has with Carlos later, when, when he's talking to her trying to get her to understand a policeman's side of it, and he tells star, you know, it's not always easy because you don't know like, you know what, if he's been using and he's high, and if they're, if they're conversing in the car, they might be trying to corroborate a story. If he reaches in the car, he could be reaching for a weapon and things like that. And what do I do? I shoot, you know. And and she said, well, yeah, but what if that's a white man? You know, are you still gonna? Are you still going to tell him to shoot? Are you going to tell him to put his hands up? And then it's almost like it got ripped out of him and he says I say put your hands up. And I don't know, I've.
Speaker 1:I know officers on so many different levels, some that you know I've, I've worked with when I was working at the paper. You know officers in my family, officers that I've worked with in the past at various other different jobs, ones that I've just known from the community that I grew up in, and it's all over the place. Yeah, I have officers that I've known for years that have told me that they don't know how to change it, but that it is different. They will tell you I treat a black man differently than I treat a white man. And some of these officers that I've talked to that say that are also officers of color and they don't know why. And every single one of them that you know that that at least acknowledges that they do that will tell you that they hate, that they do and that they wish that they could change it. They just don't know how.
Speaker 1:My producer just reminded me of of a mutual friend of ours that had the same thing happen in the military with when serving overseas in in Afghanistan. He wishes that he could change the way that he views people from the Middle East. He just he doesn't know how, because they are somehow made to be perceived as being the enemy in some way for so long that it becomes this hateful part of yourself and it's a struggle, I think, for on any level to think about any kind of compassion. Uh, just how difficult that could be. As Carlos is talking and talking about these things, I I sympathize with him on some level because? Because, yes, being a police officer is a very difficult job and it is very dangerous, but that doesn't mean that that that justifies that a black man being shot doesn't need to be treated the proper way.
Speaker 3:All of us I mean we all have to unlearn biases. Whether it's, it doesn't matter what it even applies to, like it could be something so small and it could be something major, like this. And you have to work through unlearning those and you have to think through processes. And it's scary, like even just in the recent events, that you had just some officers. They know that there's a problem and they don't think before they do things like that. Because, yeah, like you said, if it was a white man, they probably would have said, like, put your hands up, they would have taken a second to assess the situation.
Speaker 3:Like, even when you're doing CPR on someone, you're not just going to go in and start like, you have to assess the situation, like, look what's around you. Even if it's a very intense situation, situation, it should be no different with this. And I feel like the oppression that's in all of us, like the instinct that some people have not unlearned or even acknowledged is they just start shooting. And I think what gets me too is shooting three times and shooting in places that you it's not shooting to protect yourself, it's shooting to kill. And that's where, like, what are cops have tasers for? Aren't those supposed to come first and it's, it's insane.
Speaker 1:And yeah, I wish I could say like oh, it's not this extreme, but it is this extreme another thing to think about as far as carlos is concerned, something that I think maybe doesn't get thought about enough either. You know, carlos says if that man that reaches into the car is a white man. He says put your hands up. Is that because he doesn't want to be a black officer that just shot a white man?
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, is that part of it too? You know, I mean there's so many different levels to all of it too. You know, I mean there's there's so many different levels to all of it I totally agree, though.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it would have been probably the same or like a similar outcome if it would have been, yeah, like a black cop shooting and killing a white man, but instead of having the police department behind you, like it was in the case of the cop that shot khalil, it would have been the community as in, like they would have been behind the white person that was shot, versus, like in this situation, where it's the police department who's very much just justifying and making excuses for what happened. It's just like a flipped scenario.
Speaker 1:So, uh, the next one that I have. Uh, I've got another soundbite here. Uh, I'll, I'll just go ahead and play it. It's uh's, I call it a dim or shining star grand jury.
Speaker 4:Stuff like this ends up on the news. People get death threats. Cops target them. What will it mean at school? Will I suddenly be the poor girl from the hood who saw her friend get killed?
Speaker 1:I just gotta be quiet so a dim or shining star speak out or be retaliated against. As you had written down here, star was initially so scared of speaking out to defend khalil, and not just because of the police, I mean, there were people in her own community that were threatening her not to talk and not to testify. She's facing retaliation from both law enforcement and her neighbors If she says something.
Speaker 3:The system that's supposed to be there to protect you, because it'd be different if, say, it was a few people from the neighborhood and you know that you can rely on systems like law enforcement to intervene and help you. But yeah, when it's both, you are basically like you're screwed.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:I don't blame her. I think that's where a lot of people, that's still why a lot of people like, don't talk about things like this, is because it's oh, what are they going to say? What are they going to do?
Speaker 1:I don't have any protection threatened or killed by the people who are supposed to be like family, or harassed, threatened and killed by people who swear an oath to protect you and you can't count on either one for your safety. That leaves you a little bit feeling like you're just dangled out in the fucking wind, like I mean, like you've got nowhere to go, you've've got nobody to lean on, and and what the hell are you supposed to do besides? Stay quiet.
Speaker 3:And they do that on purpose.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Especially like we see it all the time, because, yeah, whether it's like a really wealthy family who is going to hire the best lawyer in town and they find ways around things, or it's a situation like this that, yeah, like all systems on each side are not going to advocate for you and you're going to be the only one, maybe besides, like a handful of people in your immediate family, that's, I can't imagine many of us would have done what she ultimately did and still stood up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, she grabbed a bullhorn and got texts from her mom complaining, you know, about leading protests and all that stuff. I mean, the kind of strength that that takes is is phenomenal. And and again, I think that a lot of that speaks to to the parents that gave her those ethics and values, even though they didn't know whether they were. I don't think that either her mom or dad knew what they wanted her to do. They just wanted her to do what she wanted to do, what she felt she needed to.
Speaker 3:It was probably torn between, like, we know that advocating is the best thing, but also it's their daughter and they don't want to see anything happen to her because they know it's. They have seen it happen and that's where, like, I wish we knew the backstory behind who they are as people and what their life looked like years before and as parents.
Speaker 1:Once people become parents, then that is 100. Their job, like, yeah, you still have to go to work and make money and things like that, but after you're a parent, 100% your job is to make sure that that person outlasts you. Like, that is, that is 100%. Everything that you, the fiber of your being, needs to go towards is making sure that that little human that you created lives longer than you do like. So when, when you have parents in that kind of a situation, they don't, they don't know what they want.
Speaker 1:Um, so first off, kudos to them for letting her decide what she wanted to do oh my god, yeah I mean, she already had enough damn pressure from everybody else, like the last thing she needed was pressure from her parents.
Speaker 3:So and already going through that like identity crisis of trying to figure out who she is and wanting to express herself but hating when she does it.
Speaker 1:And how she does it.
Speaker 3:The fact that she still had the courage to do what she did, and it's sad because I feel like a lot of it was almost like she's preparing herself for like. All right, this is probably what this outcome is going to look like, but at least I did something and at least I'm not just going to let Khalil be another statistic.
Speaker 1:Right Now, another one that we kind of jumped over pretty quick but we did. We did kind of brush up against the topic earlier of Haley and it's right after, right after, like a lot of this stuff starts happening with the, you know, with her doing the interview and all of that stuff then. Then we get a whole different thing with with Haley, and I've got a soundbite here for that.
Speaker 3:So I guess you're not going to get over it anytime soon.
Speaker 4:Get over it. Yes, Get over it. You can't even see that you're acting racist. Huh Cause I'm not. It's all our and us and black lives matter, girl, Until you clutch your purse when you're in the elevator with the black person, you don't need to use the N-word and use a fire hose on Black people to be racist. Haley, You're different Star. I'm different what I'm? The non-threatening Black girl, yeah you are.
Speaker 1:Your friend wasn't. He was a drug dealer. So, first off, I'm going to start by saying this interaction and the interactions that are leading up to this with Haley, that little actress is incredible. Because, the only thing that I had seen her in previously was Girl Meets World. Uh-huh, in previously was girl meets world and I I adored her in that show and in this movie I fucking hate her.
Speaker 3:I cannot stand her. I've never hated her in a show or a movie until this yeah, wow, like she's a really great actress.
Speaker 1:Just right there, because that if you can still appreciate somebody for the talent that they have and still hate a character that they portray, then then they're doing a good job.
Speaker 1:But yeah wow with this, with this little interaction, the big thing in this, I think, is the active versus passive racism. Star points out. You know that you don't have to use a fire hose and use the N word to be a racist. The thing that I think that a lot of people that is lost on a lot of people, especially when it comes to passive racists is that it's not, it's not necessarily hate as much as it is biases, things like um, like she had mentioned. It's all homegirl until you're clutching your purse on an elevator with a Black person.
Speaker 3:And she just happens to be one of the non-threatening.
Speaker 3:Black people and I think that's where a lot of Part of why I hate her so much in this movie is because she represents too much of the majority of the population that are like, well, I'm not racist, I have a friend that's Black, or I'm not homophobic, I have a friend that's gay, but like that doesn't mean you're being anti-racist or you're being anti-homophobic, like there is such a huge difference. I actually took a class on. It was specifically on being anti-racist and it was eyeopening for this scenario because I'm sure a lot of us, like growing up in small town Midwest, like we were like, oh I, the people that understand this issue and Haley very much is the people that are closed minded and they don't give a shit what you say and, honestly, it's probably not going to matter what you say because they're still going to justify.
Speaker 1:They are already perfect. They don't have to change anything about themselves because they are already perfect, just the way that they are. Yeah, I did. I did cut it off before that my, my producer just brought up the phrase after that was that somebody was going to kill him anyway. There's a reason I cut that off because when I watched this movie, that part enraged me. I had to leave the room at just how insensitive, uh and and ignorant that phrase was. Um, the lack of understanding and compassion that it would take for somebody to for somebody to think that is.
Speaker 3:I I can't comprehend it because again, what would it have been if it was a white kid that was shot? Everybody would be mourning. They probably closed down school for the funeral vigil there'd be, you know, lock-ins there'd be.
Speaker 1:I mean, there would be funding, that there would be some kind of a, some kind of a fund that was made to to fix whatever it was that hurt that kid and and all this, there would be t-shirts made within 24 hours. There would be people with with in memorial on the on the back window of their, of all the kids' cars and all of that stuff instant goddamn taneously.
Speaker 3:And it would go on for years, like it would be if there wouldn't be a oh. You're not over it yet.
Speaker 1:Right, it would still be. It would.
Speaker 3:yeah, those stickers would be on those back windows for the next 25 goddamn years, until all the white trash got rid of their cars like I mean it, just it would be, it would be a an ongoing tradition and I've unfortunately seen this not specifically with like racism, but the kids that were affected by mental health and they ended up dying as a result of that when I was in high school. Um, you'd see, like all these kids that came from really wealthy families, they have scholarships, they have annual golf tournaments, just constant shit. Like again, the school a school of like like 2000 kids shuts down to go to this funeral, which is beautiful. I love that, but like we didn't. None of that happened when it was a band kid or when it was a kid that lived in a trailer. Like out of the four or five in my high school experience, one of them, like one of these kids, got to be remembered the way that they deserved and it's only because they came from an all American wealthy family.
Speaker 3:And the same thing with this, like it's unfortunate because, yeah, it would be totally different if it was a white kid. Yeah, even if he wasn't into the things that he was, it would be the same thing, like they would find something else.
Speaker 1:Right, and I think that a lot of the point of that was missed too, because the deeper point I don't think was really was really pushed terribly hard, even in this movie, and that is the kind of places that black communities are in, the opportunities that they have, the jobs that are available, the amount of people that live in the area versus the number of jobs available, the opportunities that are presented to young people just to make a living are not always savory. And I mean you can say what you want about, yeah, well, move to a different neighborhood. Well, fuck you. Where's the money to do that? You know, I mean, there's so many different things that prevent black kids and and kids from those kinds of communities to get out let alone find something better.
Speaker 3:Uh-huh Like. There's kids even in our area that have to walk to school and hope that they don't experience some sort of discrimination or violence walking to school. And it's two miles away from kids that get dropped off by their parents and enter safely. Like it's, and it's again all purpose. Like it's the red lining and the opportunities are scarcely available. Because that's just. I mean people could do something about it, but they don't. And it's because of the same things it's. No one wants to tackle the problem, it's just easier to deal with it.
Speaker 1:Well, when, when the expectation is that young black people are drug dealers, people who have control over things like zoning can say well, I don't want black kid drug dealers in my neighborhood. So you know, I'm going to make this zone this big so that I can't, you know, and then I'm going to put a, a, an industrial zone between them, and you know, but I want to make sure that there's at least a commercial zone on my side so that it's not all stinky and smoky, and you know. And then, oh, over there, huddled in the midst of all of these warehouses, and you know, dangerous chemicals and convenience stores, we're going to put this neighborhood that is just perfectly affordable for black families that are struggling?
Speaker 1:God damn it, alexis. I'm mad, I'm so mad.
Speaker 3:It's just yeah and that's what. I just wish that everybody could watch it, because there's so many layers like it. One layer leads to 14 just under that umbrella right and that's just what is so infuriating. And the more time goes on, the more it just like, unfortunately resonates with you right.
Speaker 1:Really now we've kind of kind of, uh, we've kind of run over a little bit. I don don't mind, um, but uh. So this is where we get to the point where I talk about the active ingredient. Uh, the thing, the thing that has changed you, that has moved you, that has that has been medicinal for you, uh, what, what's your active ingredient with this movie?
Speaker 3:I think mine is be a part of the resolution and don't be a part of the problem. And it doesn't mean you have to dedicate literally anything drastic or extreme in your life. All it means is just do some damn like research. It doesn't take too much to go on Google and look at the facts, look at what's given in front of you and do something about it, or just be aware of what's going on around you. Like I know for me, I'm a very non-confrontational, not assertive person, so I don't expect anyone to go like start a march or start a protest. But if you see something, say something, stand up for people that aren't allowed to use their voice by society and just be a part of the change, because if you're not doing anything, you're only making it worse.
Speaker 1:Right For me. I can't really say that this has a definitive active ingredient for me, but what it was was a good reminder to pay attention First off to my white privilege, because I think I think, when forgetting that white privilege is about the time that it makes it easier for um, for that sneaky, passive racism to come in. And it also reminds me how important it is to to help where I can, uh, and to do my part by by speaking up for sure.
Speaker 1:Um, when met with a situation where I can make a difference, it is my duty to do so.
Speaker 3:Exactly, yeah, and I think that's where a lot of people get the whole like thought of white privilege wrong as well. What do I, what am I supposed to do about it? It's like, just be aware, look for things that are actively happening. Whether you're at the grocery store, you're in line at a drive-thru, things happen every day and you can either choose to not see it or you can see it and be a voice for someone, and it doesn't mean you have to go be a public speaker. It can literally just mean like offering emotional support for someone or listening, because we also can't go in and be like I totally understand what you're going through, because we never will Like we will never understand. But you can choose to understand to the best of your ability.
Speaker 1:Right the boyfriend.
Speaker 3:For sure, and that's just what makes it more powerful, too, is. He's an awesome example, and that's even like you do not have to go that extreme, but just being there and doing as much as you can.
Speaker 1:Yes, don't go walking into random drug dealers' houses, and especially not when their wife is home by themselves. That is not a good idea.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:We do not. We do not condone this action and and yeah, At any rate, Thanks, Alexis, Thanks for coming on, Thanks for bringing me this movie. I I hadn't watched it and I got just as fired up and pissed off as I thought I would, but it really was a good, unique experience seeing this movie. So thanks again for coming on.
Speaker 3:Of course, Thank you guys for having me. Yeah, I think it was a good opportunity to watch it and just yeah, I think the more things like this are talked about, the more it'll be understood and hopefully people understand it in the way that it's supposed to be sent and like message isn't completely what the extreme thoughts are on things like this now.
Speaker 1:Now, if you have a movie that's been medicine for you and you'd like to be on the show, you can email me at contact at movie-rxcom. You can also leave me a voicemail or a text at 402-519-5790. If anxiety is what's keeping you from being on, you can write me a couple of paragraphs about a movie and I can read them on air. Remember, this movie is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease, and we'll see you at the next appointment. Thank you, Bye.