The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Amandla Stenberg on Humanizing Black Victims of Police Shootings in "The Hate U Give"

Episode Date: August 22, 2019

"The Hate U Give" star Amandla Stenberg discusses the film's underlying call for empathy as it examines racially charged police violence and next-level code-switching. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey guys, this is Tom Segura. And I'm Bert Kreischer. And you're listening to Two Bears One Cave, or you should be listening to Two Bears One Cave. We are on Spotify. On Spotify. And we are not smart.

That's an understatement. But you'll have a lot of fun, hopefully. I think you might enjoy it if you give us your perfect blood work back from your doctor and you have full permission to tie one on, make sure you check out two bears one cave. It's with me, Tom Stegora and my co-host. Bert Chrysler. The machine. My shirt's off. Please welcome Amanda Stenberg. Welcome to the show. Thank you. And congratulations on a stellar film that is touching people, it's inspiring people. I mean, I saw people cry in the cinema at the end of the film because it really is gripping.

For those who haven't seen the trailers or know nothing. I won't spoil the movie, but I'll tell you the plot. It's a story of a young girl played by yourself who is friends with a young boy who gets shot at a police stop. A story that we're all too familiar with. And that's just really the beginning of the story. Before we even get into the story, I have th, I th, I th, I th, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, th, th, th, the, th, th, playing a character or telling a story about something that's happening now all the time? Yeah, I mean I think there was kind of a deeper sense of responsibility with the way that we approached it and knowing that we had to reflect events that were real

and so we had to commit ourselves as fully as we could to it in order to honor the lives those who have been affected by things things things th things things things things things things th th th thi thi thi thi thi. the the the the the the the thi. the the the the th. I. I. I, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the thi, thi. I'm, thi. I'm, their, their, their, their, their. the their. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I, thi, thi, thi, thi, thr-s, te. I's, tean, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, their in order to honor the lives of those who've been affected by things like this. Right, and we we watch the story unfold and a lot of the time it feels like you know you're watching the news and they'll go a black boy was shot by and the names become secondary and that's why so many people say their names but what we also forget is all the other people who were emotionally shot all the families that were tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha thoe. thoe. thoe. th. th. th. th. thoe. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho-I. thi. thi. thi. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. thi. thi. their their their their. their. And their. And their. And thi. And thi. And thi. And thi. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And thi. And thi. And thi. And to be to. And to. And to. And to. And to. And to. And to. And, to. And, to. And, to. And, to. And, to. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And all the other people who were emotionally shot, all the families that were affected. And that's really what the story is about. Yeah, I mean, it's supposed to be, so it's based on this book by Angie Thomas, which is incredible, and I highly suggest that you read it if you haven't. But it's supposed to be a tool of empathy.

So oftentimes we see these events portrayed on the news and in media, but usually they're misconstrued or they're at least postulated so they don't fully humanize the people of color who are killed and affected by these events. And so that's what this is supposed to be a tool to do, is supposed to ground it in a personal narrative and hopefully people will have a sense of empathy because of that. And so far it's been really successful. We have a lot of white people crying after, which is great. I've never seen so many white people crying before. Like, it's amazing. That's why I was like, that should be the new rotten tomatoes. There's like a little thing, white people crying score.

Exactly. But you know what, I understand why so many people cry. And I think it's partly because of the empathy that you speak of. Your character plays an interesting role where she grows up in what many people, we call the hood, you know, you see you grow up in the hood, but she gets to go to a privileged school that is predominantly white. And she lives in this world where she codes switches all the time, she's got her white friends, she's got her black friends, she lives between two worlds. And what happens is her friend who's black gets shot. And now she's stuck choosing between these two worlds.

It's a really interesting dilemma, and I wondered like as a person, was there anything in your life that you drew from that you connected with when it came to that? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'm pretty sure that if you are black and living a contemporary black experience, you probably have code switched at some point in time, or are actively co- in your everyday life. I know that you relate to that experience. Right. I read that in your book.

By the way, my dad says that he loves your book so much. Oh, thank you very much. Yeah, it's a normal thing to code switch your allegiances. Yeah, it's a normal thing to code switch your allegiances. Because your character is a that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that the is a thee that's thi. It's that's a that's a that's a that's a thi. It's a higher that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a to to to that's a to to to to to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the, to good morning, sir. But it's another thing to code switch your allegiances. Because your character is at a white school and she's going, if I testify against these cops or if I speak out, I will be seen as an anti-coped by my white friends. And on the other side, if I testify, people will see me as a snitch. That's a difficult game to play. Yeah, she's walking a really difficult line, but she comes to conclusion at the end of the day that she can no longer compromise who she is

and that she needs to stand up for her community. She needs to be her most authentic self, and she'll no longer, you know, put on her white voice in the spaces. When you were filming the talk. Yeah. It's a really interesting scene in the movie where, you know, you have your character's dad talking to the family repeatedly through their lives saying, this is how you conduct yourself around police.

This is always going to be a life-altering experience if you handle it the wrong way. You look at that story and you look at that scenario, there is a pain that comes with what happened and there are often people who say, well if you if you conduct yourself the right way it won't happen, but unfortunately that's not the truth. Right. Yeah, I mean it it's tragic because we rob black children of their ability to be children, you know, they have to be so careful about the way in which they act and present themselves from such an early age because they even understand that they are not afforded childhood in the way that their white counterparts are.

Right. Looking at the film, looking at the response that it's gotten, what would you say your greatest hope and success would have been? Beyond the white people watch the hate the the the the the the the the the the the the their they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they the success would have been beyond the white people crying? When people watch the hate you give, what do you want them to walk away with? Because I know everyone has a slightly different feeling. Well, I mean, white people crying actually was the goal. We wanted to make sure that, you know, those who, you know, have been affected by the way in which the media Ms. Construzzi's events actually have a real sense of empathy and are able to place themselves into the shoes of our communities and understand that these are not just news events, these are happening to real people.

They affect us in really deep and pervasive ways. And then in terms of how it affects people of color, we wanted this to be a space within which we could be ourselves and see ourselves represented and feel validated by that. And maybe process some feelings that we don't ever have the opportunity to move through. It's a powerful story. I think you've done all of those things and more. Thank you so much for being on the show. Thank you. The Hate You Give. We'll be in theaters nationwide on October 19th. Amazza Stenberg, everybody.

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And you're listening to Two Bears One Cave, or you should be listening to Two Bears One Cave. We are on Spotify. On Spotify. And we are not smart? That's an understatement. But you'll have a lot of fun, hopefully. I think you might enjoy it if you give us a listen. If you got your perfect blood work back from your doctor and you have full permission to tie one on, make sure you check out Two Bears One Cave. It's with me, Tom Segura and my co-host.