Headlines about what it’s like to be black in the US right now are rarely out of the news, but what if you asked the question, ‘What does it mean to be young and white in the US today?’
MTV’s ‘White People’ is a groundbreaking documentary on race that aims to answer that question from the viewpoint of young white people living in America. The film follows Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker, Jose Antonio Vargas, as he travels across the country to get this complicated conversation started.
‘White People’ asks young people from across the US what’s fair when it comes to affirmative action, if they think “colourblindness” is a positive thing, whether privilege actually exists, and what it’s like to become the “white minority” in your neighbourhood.
“The topic of whiteness and white privilege is especially charged for young, white people – as they often are too nervous to actively engage in a conversation for fear of being offensive,” says Vargas. “Race is a sensitive subject no matter who you are, and our goal with the documentary is to treat each person, story and community featured in the documentary with the utmost respect, all while exploring what race means to them.”
“MTV Is always at the forefront of conversations that young people are having and this US documentary is part of a series that looks to challenge social thinking. Locally, we are working on a documentary of our own that will see how young people view race in South Africa today,” says Dillon Khan, channel head, MTV, Africa,
‘White People’ airs on MTV (DStv channel 130) on Monday 16 November at 20:50 CAT.
