I chose to look into the movie “Dope” that’s portrays an eighteen year old black kid trying to prepare for college going to a public school in Englewood, California. This movie reinforces many stereotypes of a black teenager such as where they live and how they live in America today.

The first stereotype that was brought up is that black men don’t go to college unless they’re playing basketball. This is reinforced when Malcolm goes into his counsellors office so that he can be set up with a representative to get him into a good college. Instead of his counselor being supportive of Malcolm’s wish to go to Harvard, he tells him he is arrogant to think he can get into such a school as Harvard. Even with his straight A’s, it would be very unlikely that he would get into Harvard since it is easier to get straight A’s in a public school in Englewood ghetto. Come end of movie he only got accepted into Harvard because he pretty much blackmailed his way to success by blackmailing the man who has connections with Harvard. Another time this was brought up was when Malcolm was talking about why people don’t like him at his school. They call him and his friends out for doing “white shit” like doing good in school and actually going to college. Not many people in Englewood actually make it out and into college and it even portrays the independent girl in the film as very smart for trying to obtain her G.E.D. but selling herself short by the colleges she is thinking of going to, which are all community colleges.

Another stereotype brought up in the movie dope is that the dad is never there for his black family and the mother is left as the strong woman to take care of her family by the time they are teens. This is shown first with Malcolm saying that his mom has raised him since 5 years old. Turns out his dad left back to Nigeria for some reason but has had no connection since he has left. This is while his mom, although not very prevalent in the film, took care of him, nurtured him, and helped him to pursue his dreams to get into a great school no matter what their social status is right now. Another representation of this is how Diddy, Malcolm’s lesbian friend, also only has a mother as a parental figure. The mother is very nurturing of her too but is not accepting of the fact that she is lesbian which is a trend of black families in other shows too. Her mom tries to pray the gay out of her at church every day until she gets better and God “saves her”.

Overall this movie isn’t just to make stereotypes on a black teen living in one of the most ghetto places in America but instead to show how no matter how many bad situations he was put in, he still was able to get what he dreamed of which was getting into Harvard along with making a story for himself. This movie really shows how a black teen can make it in today’s society and some of these things that other people see as bad is something that when put in that environment, one cannot escape. This is pure survival I