Dear White People

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Dear White People

R

2014

1h 46m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

133 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humor magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.

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Critics Consensus

Dear White People adds a welcome new voice to cinema's oft-neglected discussion of race, tackling its timely themes with intelligence, honesty, and gratifyingly sharp wit.

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Shadow and Act Staff

Shadow and Act

Sep 13, 2022

It’s remarkable how Simien keeps his film moving at such a breakneck pace, each line a reference to or a commentary on pressing sociological concerns that are rarely spoken about this openly.

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Phoebe Robinson

Bitch Media

Jan 22, 2021

Despite the chances not taken in terms of storytelling and filmmaking, there are also plenty of reasons to be excited about Dear White People. Simien took what started out as a crowd-funded film and turned it into a pop culture phenomenon.

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Jenna Marotta

IndieWire

Mar 31, 2020

...the film explores how two members of the same race can have vastly different experiences depending on how dark their skin is, as well as why certain people can say and act one way, but not others.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Aug 20, 2023

... a sharp, smart, ambitious satire of race, racism, privilege, prejudice, and power at an Ivy League college that has drawn comparisons to Spike Lee.

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Katie Smith-Wong

Flick Feast

Nov 20, 2019

4.5/5

Dear White People is sharp, entertaining and probably the coolest film of LFF 2014.

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Ryan Syrek

The Reader (Omaha, NE)

Jul 30, 2019

A

Dear White People deploys a full arsenal of intellectual weaponry to talk about race and much more in a way most can't or won't. It is hilarious. It is brilliant. It is vital. And it's Simien's first outing. More please.

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mean S

@ApeFace Jun 19, 2026

Modern hate that goes after the people named in it's title.

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Matt M

@RT05065497 Mar 30, 2026

Pretty much a movie that tries to be a documentary and funny, but being extremely racist at the same time

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Cfunk D

@Cfunk2085 Feb 4, 2026

The movie wants to be a documentary. It is racial propaganda. It isn't a comedy or drama. It's just an angry messy racist rhetoric. I love comedy movies and racial jokes if done right. But non was there. Even the narrator sounded angry. It isn't even satire. Just judging all white Americans for what a few do. If a white person came out with a title called dear white people it would be called racist immediately and hated by critics.

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Jake W

@RT27667306 Aug 12, 2025

Horrible movie made for the sole reason of stroking racial tensions

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J K

@RT92875432 Jul 23, 2025

Intelligent, witty, dry, satire. Well done, Justin Simien, cast, and crew!

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KB B

@Okbullard May 14, 2024

It was okay but I'd probably never want to watch it again. Watch if there's nothing else better on.

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Justin Simien

Director

Tyler James Williams

Lionel Higgins

Tessa Thompson

Sam White

Kyle Gallner

Kurt Fletcher

Teyonah Parris

Coleandra 'Coco' Conners

Brandon P. Bell

Troy Fairbanks

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Synopsis

A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humor magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.

Director: Justin Simien
Producer: Justin Simien, Effie Brown, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Ann Le, Lena Waithe
Screenwriter: Justin Simien
Distributor: Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Code Red, Duly Noted Inc., Homegrown Pictures
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.4M
Runtime: 1h 46m

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