Dope: Revenge of the Nerds
Dope (2015) is just one of those movies that you have to watch with a group of friends. It’s funny and sometimes complicated but most of all, it's entertaining. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa and making a premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, this film made $18 million on a $7 million budget. Dope is a coming-of-age story that follows three geeks trying to battle two things at once: being a teenager and living in a tough neighborhood (Inglewood, California). After being invited to a party in Los Angeles, Malcolm (Shamike Moore ) has a wild encounter with a drug dealer. Without any warning, that party quickly turns violent, unexpectedly leaving Malcolm and his two other friends with some baggage (literally). After realizing he is now responsible for hiding drugs that the drug dealer snuck in his bag, Malcolm and his friends must try to hide the drugs while maintaining their “nerd” image so they can be accepted into prestigious colleges.
This film is interesting because Famuyiwa blends the topics of race and adolescence together. Dope never explicitly confronts racism, but with the heavy influence of 90’s fashion, music, and culture we know exactly how the role of Black culture impacts this film. I'd also like to think the executive producers helped with replicating the 90’s aesthetics (Sean “Diddy” Combs and Pharell Williams}. It also takes place in a heavily black neighborhood, so I guess we can say Dope is meant to speak to a certain audience. Although I was raised in a suburban neighborhood, I easily relate to the situations these characters were put in. Even the color in this film was quite fantastic because the skin complexions of the characters were quite beautiful. The only thing I believe this film lacked was immersive cinematography. I hoped for a wider range of camera movement to help me connect more with the characters, but it’s okay, the amazing soundtrack made up for it.
Although this film has a creative twist on the traditional drug film, I think what's most compelling about this film is the characters. Not only is the lead character black, but the supporting characters are people of color as well. We get the chance to see “nerds” who aren't just white kids who aspire to go to Ivy League schools but instead people who exist in the world but do not get to see that on screens. I also enjoyed seeing A$AP rocky make his acting debut because it added to this sense of Hip Hop aesthetic. On the other hand, Odie Henderson says Dope left him feeling agitated by the end of the film, but I can’t help but feel happy to see black nerds on a large screen.
Chow For Now!
-Mara Knight
