I remember when I first saw the movie trailers for "Dope" on Tumblr, I was surprised and excited. A movie with the '90s aesthetic I craved and loved, with interesting and witty characters who seemed at least somewhat relatable. On top of that it had the online crowd going wild, and it seemed poised to become another socially conscious movie for young 20 somethings like "Dear White People." What was there not to love?

I want to say the film was perfect - like I had imagined it would be after viewing that trailer - but it fell flat in regards to how it portrayed Diggy, the sidekick and main black female of color within the film. This was disappointing and honestly not a surprise especially given the history of homophobia and religion within the black community.

Despite these drawbacks, the film was beautiful. As I watched it in a movie theater in Brooklyn, I couldn’t help but to be enthralled with the narrative. I absolutely loved that each main character was fleshed out and given life, and how each minor character had a place within the story being told. I've always hated how unnecessary secondary characters are in some movies, however within "Dope" they advanced the plot in highly significant ways and were part of the larger overarching narrative as a whole. What sealed the movie as a classic for me however was the plot itself.

In so many classic black films the main focus is on being stuck in poverty, ignorance, religion, suffering, or on the flip-side we are portrayed as ignorant, entertainers, drug dealers, basketball players, or a variety of other things that go on and on (I have complained for years about how Tyler Perry films are absolutely terrible, stereotypical, and horribly unimaginative). Despite my enjoying a lot of these black canon films, such as "Boyz N The Hood," I am aware of some of the negativity and damage they may have done for media representation of blackness in the U.S. It is difficult to find a film that shows a regular everyday person who also just happens to be black. We are not shown as being individuals, the focus is mainly on our misery or entertainment value for the masses. This process of dehumanization is common and seen as normal. What "Dope" did gave me hope. It has a character, Malcolm, who grew up in a lower income neighborhood, and yes he did have a hard time dodging all the dangers present in the American ghetto, but that was not the main focus. The movie was humanistic in its approach. It had dramatic and serious moments, but it also had hilarious moments where I thought I would die from laughing so hard. It was so ridiculous at times and over the top, while also seeming realistic and oddly familiar. The writing was brilliant and was an answer to my generations need for a film to represent us, while still being fun and not so serious (sorry "Dear White People").

This writing led to one of my favorite portrayals of a character hands down, Malcolm. He was more than just a one dimensional caricature. No, he was fleshed out and complicated and changed as the film progressed. He starts off the stereotypical nerd, but it's not because he is naturally good, but rather because he longs for something more. As he is presented with questionable situations, rather than taking the path we expect, such as calling the police, not sleeping with the girl, or falling into the trap set for him, he instead goes in the opposite direction. Malcolm is not the quintessential good kid who follows the rules, he is looking for a way out of a bad situation, and if that means breaking the law, well then so be it. At the end Nakia, the main love interest, states that he is just like the other guys in their town, Inglewood, she sees right.