The film “The Hate U Give,” based on the novel by Angie Thomas, is a reflection of our society addressing the issue of police brutality. The film hit theaters and so far it has received a score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film stars Amandla Stenberg as Starr Carter, an African-American teenage girl navigating through the emotional roller coaster that is the death of her friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer.

Police brutality has been happening in our society for a very long time and this film provides commentary on the rising topic. In the film, Starr lives in Garden Heights, a predominantly African-American neighborhood.

The local high school is “the place where you go to get drunk, high, pregnant or killed,” and so she attends Williamson, a predominantly white private school. We see how Starr changes her personality and the way she carries herself when she enters her new school.

Starr represents a lot of young people that live in the “hood” but also experience or witness white privilege. Gangs and rivalries are present in the film as well, which take on a prominent role later in the movie.

This film paints a picture of the reality that we live in. Police brutality and wrongful shootings by cops are today’s issues. Police brutality cases and shootings, especially of young black men, are common.

In the past decade, there have been protests and marches to bring justice to all of these victims. Just like Khalil’s character in “The Hate U Give,” these real-life victims were killed due to racial profiling and a stereotype.

I was brought to tears at many points in the movie because of the scenes. The execution of the scenes with protesters and police seemed taken out of the news. I was definitely impressed with the way the director of the film tried to portray the reality that the novel/film is about.

Police brutality is, unfortunately, something that keeps repeating over time. But while the movie shows the reality that we live in today, it also shows the importance of family and learning from our parents’ experiences. Overall this film felt real; it made me feel as if somebody had finally got it right.

Although this film took upon a very serious issue, there were also moments of comedy and everyday life experiences. To me, this film was kind of a coming of age story of a young activist. Throughout the movie, Starr grows up and faces all of the aspects of high school at the same time that she faces society and her place in it as a black woman.

This movie is a reflection of today’s society and everyone should give “The Hate U Give” a watch.