w $îorilanô (Obstruer
N o ve m b e r 5, 2014
Right Kind of Discomfort
acco u trem en ts o f b lack culture as I black enough? Selling out? Selling
popularly depicted. (S im ien cannily short? H ow hard should I w ork at
a n d s p o t-o n , b u t h e r o w n b e h a v includes w ith the end credits new s
being non-threatening to the people
io r fre q u e n tly v e rg e s in to u n k in d articles estab lish in g that such p a r
w ith the m eans to help m e rise?
n e ss, in c lu d in g to th e w h ite b o y ties hav e sprung up on actual co l
W hat should m y agenda be if I suc
frie n d w h o sh e k e e p s se c re t fro m lege cam p u ses across the country.)
ceed ? W hat w ould success even
h e r o th e rw is e a ll-b la c k so c ia l set. H ow the party cam e to be and how
look like? Is there any point to ask
S am is running for leadership o f the b lack characters incite and re
ing these questions at all? W ill I
a residence hall w hose traditional spond to its elem ents is w here all the
even have any say in the answ ers
status as all-black has been altered d isp arate plot elem ents converge.
once I get there?
due to a ch an g e in university h o u s
E v ery o n e is angling. Sam in
A s a person o f m ixed (E uropean
ing policy. T his is a m atter o f co n tro d u lg e s ro m a n tic a tte n tio n fro m
and M exican) heritage, I related to
versy about w hich she disagrees R eggie, a political ally w ho she a p
these struggles, both from m y ow n
w ith her opponent, h er ex-boyfriend p aren tly sees as a m ore suitable
experience and from that o f m y friends
T roy, a clean-cut, athletic cam pus ro m an tic partner, though h er heart
from outside the dom inant legal
leader w ho is m uch easier for m ajo r d o e s n 't s e e m to c o n c u r. T ro y
culture trying to m ake it in the w orld
ity -cu ltu re sensibilities to accep t sm okes w eed several tim es a day to
o f law . B ut I also related to the
than Sam is. T roy is dating Sofia, the sm ooth his struggle to assem ble a
anxiety evident in the w hite ch arac
d au g h ter o f the w hite university p erso n a p o w erfu l-y et-n o n -th reat-
ters. E ven denial (also m uch in ev i
p resident, w ho in turn has edged en in g en o u g h to p lease his father,
dence) appears at tim es to spring
out T roy's father, the dean o f stu his w hite girlfriend, and en o u g h o f
from a place o f anxiety. I'm one o f the
dents, in m o st com petitions in th eir his peers to fuel his political am b i
good people, rig h t? I get it, right?
d e c a d e s - l o n g - r i v a l r y . S o f ia 's tions. C o co chafes at the sense that,
"D ea r W h ite P eo p le" d o e sn 't
brother, K urt, is the ed ito r o f the fo r b lack m en, she is d estin ed to be
p re s u m e to a n sw e r th e se q u e s
college h u m o r m agazine and a d efi only a w ay station to a w hite g irl
tio n s. It is w ise ly c o n te n t to p o se
antly politically incorrect p ro v o ca friend. B rig h t and o b serv an t L ionel
an d p la y w ith th em . In d o in g so, it
teu r w ho reserves especially o b struggles to find a vantage point
h as o ffere d u p a c o lle ctio n o f c h a r
noxious taunts for L ionel, a nerdy from w hich to express him self, but
a c te rs w h o , w ith th e e x c e p tio n o f
gay black student w ho d o esn't feel his ex p erien ce m ostly buffets him
K u rt (u n d en iab ly a je rk ) and L ionel
com fortable in any co m m unity and betw een b u lly in g and invisibility
(th e m o st g u ile le ss ), are b y tu rn s
w hose rangy afro evokes fascin a and exploitation.
u n lik a b le a n d w o rth y o f c o m p a s
tion in his w hite peers and irritation
S hifting betw een the half-dozen sio n . A n d it h as a sp ire d to m o re
in h is b lack ones. A lso in the m ix is p lo t elem en ts, the film 's tone often
th a n an y film I c an th in k of: a
C oco, a calculating econom ics m a feels self-conscious. B ut ultim ately
c o n v e rsa tio n a b o u t p riv ile g e an d
jo r from the S outh Side o f C hicago the co m p lex ity serves the film w ell;
id e n tity an d ra c e th a t sits w ith th e
e ag e r to distan ce h e rse lf from h er S im ien is trying to g et at them es w e
q u e stio n s in s te a d o f p re te n d in g
original nam e, C olandrea, and its resist lo o k in g at, and m ultiple v an
th a t th e y h a v e b een o r c an be
a tte n d a n t g h e tto a s s o c ia tio n s . tage p o in ts is a sm art w ay to back us
e a s ily p u t to re st, b y a n y o n e.
C o co seeks to forge a reality telev i into do in g that. T he film is pitched
Darleen Ortega is a judge on the
sion career and a m ore assim ilationist at satire, an d though the elem ents
Oregon Court o f Appeals and the
identity in direct contrast to Sam .
som etim es feel a b it too carefully first woman o f color to serve in that
A ll o f this cu lm in ates in a black- assem bled, they are m o re com plex
capacity. Her movie review column
gh etto -th em ed party in K urt's re si than stereotypes. T he film captures
Opinionated Judge appears regu
d en ce hall w here w hite students the sense that, fo r A frican -A m eri
larly in The Portland Observer. You
don black-face and p o ly ester and cans w ith a shot at rising, forging an
can fin d her movie blog at
g old ch ain s an d teeth and oth er identity is uniquely com plicated. A m
opinionatedjudge. blogspot. com.
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 9
T erry F amily
F u n er a l
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2337 N. Williams Ave,
Portland, Or 97227
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Friends an d family can find out service inform ation, view photos, read obituary,
Page 15
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