As part of MTV's Emmy Award-winning "Look Different" anti-bias campaign, the network joined forces with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas to present White People, a first-of-its-kind documentary exploring race, whiteness, and how young white people perceive their racial identity in an increasingly multiracial America.
The film, which was produced in collaboration with Vargas's non-profit, Define American, aimed to use the power of storytelling to transcend politics and shift the conversation around immigration, identity, and citizenship in America. MTV wanted the documentary to spark conversation and encourage young viewers to address racial bias through honest, judgment-free dialogue.
White People followed filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas across the country as he uncovered the stories of five young white people – Samantha, Katy, Lucas, John and Dakota – from varying social, economic and educational backgrounds who shared their thoughts on white privilege, affirmative action and racial identity in modern America.
The film documents Dakota, a 22-year-old who grew up in a small town in Virginia and was rarely exposed to people of color. Although he was raised in a community that was taught to be apprehensive of black people, Dakota chose to attend a Historically Black College where he experienced being the "minority" for the first time. In one scene, Jose films Dakota introducing his black friends from college to his white friends from childhood – a sequence that highlights the importance of dialogue and mutual understanding.
Jose also travels to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a historically Italian area that has gone through a dramatic demographic shift, to profile John's experience as a white person living in a predominantly Asian neighborhood. Jose and John uncover how the change is affecting both the Italian and Asian residents in the neighborhood and explore whether the 22-year-old's family can adapt to the "new normal."
When Jose meets Katy, he learns that the 18-year-old was forced to sacrifice her dream of attending Grand Canyon University for financial reasons. In the film, Katy admits that she believes being white prevented her from receiving scholarships – a notion echoed by other young white people across the country – and Jose sets out to investigate.
Jose also profiles Lucas, a 21-year-old who was rarely exposed to people of color, but became passionate about racial equality and started teaching white privilege workshops. The film documents his work as well as an emotional and thought-provoking conversation between Lucas and his conservative parents, prompting them to attend one of his workshops for the first time.
Finally, Jose follows Samantha's journey as a teacher at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Jose examines the 23-year-old's experience as a white person in an environment where there's a long history of tension between Native Americans and whites.
MTV made the documentary available on MTV.com, the MTV App, MTV's Facebook page and its YouTube channel, as well as on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and MTV's Video On Demand services. In support of the documentary, Look Different launched lookdifferent.org/whitepeople, a robust resource hub empowering viewers to learn more and take action.
The documentary premiered during a critical time in the national conversation on race and helped generate a meaningful dialogue on the topic, with passionate audience reactions resulting in #WhitePeople trending nationally and globally on Facebook and Twitter.
Tweets from MTV's @LookDifferent handle ultimately garnered a total of 1.2 million impressions and 50,000 engagements during the premiere of the film. In the week following the airing of the documentary, Look Different's Twitter following grew by nearly 15 percent while Look Different's Tumblr following increased by roughly 80 percent.
The film also sparked debates on live television and radio, producing heated dialogues everywhere from Fox News to NPR. Positive coverage of the film appeared in major publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker, among other outlets.
The Daily Beast raved about White People, writing that "behind the hype and controversy is a documentary with radical DNA and a well-meaning, well-timed mission. Trust me; you've never seen anything quite like it." NBA legend and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabber noted that the film's "compassionate and intelligent approach will encourage those young people who are at a crossroads, wondering whether to follow their parents' status quo or strike out on their own, to have the courage to move on down their own road."
To date, there have been over 5 million views of White People-related content across platforms.
