| Kyle Buchanan Pop Culture Reporter | | Hey, movie fans! It's your faithful Carpetbagger. | | What are you planning to watch this weekend? You've got two high-profile options at the multiplex with the comic-book movie "Venom," starring Tom Hardy, and the romantic drama "A Star is Born," featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Netflix is also debuting the well-observed "Private Life," from gone-too-long director Tamara Jenkins; this dramedy about a couple's fertility issues, starring Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti, might actually be my favorite of the streaming service's year-end award contenders. | | Opening in semi-limited release is "The Hate U Give," starring Amandla Stenberg as a teenage girl who is galvanized to become an activist after the police shooting of her friend. It's a well-acted, if earnest film about weighty issues, yet one of the moments I keep thinking about is something that might be written off as inconsequential in any other film. | | It happens during a fight between Stenberg's character, Starr, and her friend Hailey. Starr has become more willing to speak up and call out injustice where she sees it, and though she used to hold her tongue when Hailey would say something problematic, she's finally had enough. As the two girls throw down and work through all their unaired grievances, Starr adds one more offense to the lengthy list: Hailey, she says, unfollowed her on Tumblr. | | Most movies would treat this as a punchline: Oh, look at these girls and their petty concerns about social media! Don't they have more important things to worry about? But "The Hate U Give" doesn't do that. Instead, Hailey's act is realistically regarded as a betrayal: Starr has been using Tumblr to express herself as a budding activist, and when Hailey stopped following her, it was the girl's way of saying that she didn't like who Starr was becoming. That sentiment from a close friend can wound. | | I'm glad "The Hate U Give" cared enough to portray a social-media slight as a teenage girl might actually experience it, instead of using it to make her the butt of a joke. In some ways, it's the most modern moment at the movies right now. | | |
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