The critically acclaimed novel The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas was just recently reconstructed into a motion picture in the big screens, it aired on October 5th. The movie is about a sixteen year old girl named Starr Carter who fatally witnesses the death of her childhood best friend Khalil, caused by the hands of a police officer. After going through a very traumatic time in her life, she has to decide if she will keep quiet and let society judge Khalil or speak up and protest against police brutality and the in ending racial profiling that continues to kill unarmed black men and women.

This movie is one of a few movies based on an African American author that has gotten a lot of attention in box offices, although carrying a very major and usually unshown plot to it. The movie allows a very fragile and crucial issue to be discussed in America that big screens don’t portray enough.

This movie is very relatable to African Americans, it portrays the struggles they face daily and reminds them that although we have lost many to police brutality, we should speak out on behalf of them and seek for justice. Even though the plot of the movie mainly pertains to African Americans, it is not only a relatable movie to only African Americans, it has so many different elements to it that make it engaging and relatable to anyone.

When the plot illustrates how Starr often times feels as if she tries to align herself into two different worlds, it captures the struggle that many individuals in society face as well. This movie in general captured very essential topics discussed between her family, but mainly discussions between Star and her father as well as Starr and her uncle. Two African American male figures that she loved, this gave her perspective on a make  African American’s perspective and point of view on everything that’s been going on. She also get more insight through her friends, boyfriend who both are non African American, which plays a role on how Starrr holds herself in two different communities.

Tupac was also an essential part on Starr’s growth. Through his vision and words she saw social structure and class portrayed in blacks and why the victims were always called  “gang bangers”, a “thug”, or the “drug dealer” even though that was not the case. His poetic words The Hate U Give Little Infants F$&@’s Everybody really played a part in how these words built her understanding of the unjust social factors African Americans have faced for generations.

The movie incorporated a lot of elements from the novel that truly illustrated the purpose of those particular parts and allowed viewers to interpret specific scenes or details their own ways. Although, the movie is brilliant, there are some questions I personally have on a few parts and why some areas that were avoided. The motion picture was not an exact representation of the novel, but it was close enough and maybe viewers may understand where I am coming from.

There was also some controversy when the movie cover of the Hate U Give was first released. Although they were trying to connect with the original book cover, there were a few lying questions. Many alike my myself questioned why the cover of the movie starred a lighter skinned female with braids, when in the book cover it was a more darker skinned tone female with curly hair. Honestly it was very off than the book cover, even the clothes worn were different than the one in the original cover. I’ve noticed that there are few darker skinned girls that take lead roles in movies, and when I saw this movie I was hoping for the movie to not follow those ways, but that was not the case. There were also some scenes that did not occur in the book, that took part in the movie.

Although this movie did not stay exact to the novel it still provided an immense interpretation and portrayal of the struggles of the African American communities. It also created discussions among communities and races. Recently, on October 30th our school held a discussion on The Hate U Give reviewing both the movie and the book. It was a great experience reviewing how other individuals felt and perceived the movie. Everyone interpreted the movie as well as the book in their own way and there were good points/topics that were shared.