All I can assume is that France is a little better than the UK with race relations, and I think such a thing would be bizarre where I live (and possibly counter-productive).
I'm in this thread because I like learning what I don't know.
"Go read a book" or emoji replies suggest I'm baffling you so much on how wrong I am, and yet I'm going into specifics and explaining why I feel this way with the intention of reading something that will change my mind.
I can be ignorant and very stupid, but I'm not going to change my opinion because it's the popular thing to do. I'd rather wait until I understand.
Aight, bet:
A topic which was brought up in the very movie.
I laughed at the scene when it was posted on Reddit, and I thought that girl was "meant" to be ridiculous. And yet he movie follows her around as if she's the only one who has sense...
Sam isn't meant to be ridiculous, she's portrayed as someone who wants to be a revolutionary. She wants positive change for the black community, and she'll do anything for it. Her goal is to educate, and while her language can be aggressive and abrasive on her radio show, the entire purpose of her in the show is to paint how things can com across to the black community. The reason for this is as simple as quiet people aren't heard, and inaction gets us nowhere.
The movie doesn't follow her around as if she's the only one who has sense, neither does the show. In both cases, they've built her up as leader of their group, but every member, all the way down to Coco, Jo, and Reggie, share a unique narrative of the black experience and contribute something to the cause.
Essentially, would you ignore names like Kenneth Clark just because he wasn't MLK, despite his presence through the Civil Rights movement?
Don't forget that the film and show are satire, either, things are as exaggerated as a political cartoon at some point. It isn't meant to be black and white.
I keep telling myself "things are different in America". A black only festival in France doesn't compute with me.
I've been to Paris and Cannes, and you have black youth there integrating and mixing in groups of friends more than you do in the UK.
Like, where I work, in the Arndale in Manchester, I get bored and I look out for a group of young boys or girls that have a mix of races. It's been a couple months and I don't see it. "So it's not London", I think to myself. It's bizarre to me, and I don't understand why teenagers are like that here.
Things
are different in America, in that racism is significantly more overt than in the Commonwealth or Europe. This has only multiplied with Donald Trump's candidacy and presidency, which has given the alt right a platform and approval from a prominent political figure.
That being said, just because you see in this one show that there's an all black housing unit, and an all black friend group, doesn't mean that this is reflective of every single road in the USA. It's entirely reflective of where you are, the demographic. You're 100% going to find mixed groups in places like New York, or Atlanta, or Miami, but don't forget that Winchester (while fictional) is portrayed as a predominantly white school.
Let's talk demographics of Black people in these countries:
France: 5 million (7.5%), total population of 66.81 million.
UK: 1.9 million (3%), total of 65.14 million.
USA: 42 million (14%), total of over 300 million.
There's a significantly larger population of Black people in the USA than others, which is why it shouldn't be so easy for you to dismiss this show as the be-all, end-all of race relations in the USA.
Don't forget that France is one homogenous as fuck place, though.
When I was a teen, I was in Kensington & Chelsea going to a private school and there was less obvious racism there.
Overt vs covert. Like you said, less obvious, but not nonexistent. The only reason it isn't as noticeable is because it isn't considered acceptable. It could also be as simple as there not being a significant amount of Black people in the UK for this to be a prevalent issue.
If Dear White People is set in an elite college, the closest anecdotes is a relatively elite sixth form. Things have to be way different in the US if that movie is based on reality.
Let's go back to the population stats, right:
France: 5 million (7.5%), total population of 66.81 million.
UK: 1.9 million (3%), total of 65.14 million.
USA: 42 million (14%), total of over 300 million.
Think about this the next time you figure something is based on reality. Populations are diverse.
Also, segregated dormitories are rather uncommon, and HBCUs don't even have the majority of college students in the USA, so.
I can accept that. The race relations are different there. I don't accept that I somehow missed all of that stuff in the UK and was oblivious to it in France.
That's just it, though. You have to accept it, because it isn't nonexistent. You aren't noticing it, or it isn't happening outwardly on a frequent enough basis to be noticed. Your experience is limited to 3 cities alone, and Paris and Cannes probably have larger black communities than your city does.
crap I'm torn