Justin Simien

I think I have a threshold for taking things too seriously.

— Justin Simien

To surrender your ego, you have to have one first.

— Justin Simien

Racism is wrong, racism is very dangerous.

— Justin Simien

You can't get along in society without an identity.

— Justin Simien

I want to make movies in every genre.

— Justin Simien

I think we all have identity crises throughout our lives.

— Justin Simien

I loved Lena Dunham's 'Girls.'

— Justin Simien

Hollywood is a world where the only thing that gets green-lit is something that made money the last year.

— Justin Simien

Stories teach us empathy. They reveal to us ourselves in the skins of others.

— Justin Simien

I wanted to be a filmmaker since I was a kid. I always did things that took me a little closer to…

— Justin Simien

Black people are experiencing a systemic disadvantage, and it goes back to slavery, which was not that long ago.

— Justin Simien

I think I'll always be making movies that intend to say something new.

— Justin Simien

I've always thought that 'Dear White People' should live on as a TV show, so I'll leave it at that.

— Justin Simien

Hip-hop isn't dead by any means, but it's not something I define my black identity with.

— Justin Simien

You know what, man, that's part and parcel of being a black person in this country: everything's harder. It just is.

— Justin Simien

I love when scenes are intentionally and meticulously planned so we feel like this is a handcrafted scene that only works in…

— Justin Simien

If I just wanted to put clean, perfect images of black people on the screen for an hour and a half, first…

— Justin Simien

I think unless we have an honest conversation about race and identity in this country, we're never going to get anywhere.

— Justin Simien

Usually, with 'Star Trek,' you always trust the captain. The captains are always going to pull us through; the captain's always going…

— Justin Simien

I love the art house, and when I say the art house, I don't just mean little, independent movies but movies that…

— Justin Simien

When you're part of a society where you're constantly having to define your identity and sort of negotiate with what the mainstream…

— Justin Simien

Everyone is very aware that, not only do we have a race problem, but it's so pervasive that it affects national and…

— Justin Simien

The mark of a really great satire is its ability to seem prophetic, and I think that the television culture that film…

— Justin Simien

I thought I was depressed because I wasn't a writer/director. I moved into a space where I'm a writer/director, my movie is…

— Justin Simien

If you walk out of a movie that's meant to be about race in our country, and you're feeling good and happy,…

— Justin Simien

That is just the reality of being a marginalized person in this country: you have to deal with the psychological impact of…

— Justin Simien

Shows like 'Empire'... one of the most profound powerful things is that there's a gay male character who is loved. That character…

— Justin Simien

'Color-blind' comes up - people say 'Oh, I'm color-blind and therefore can't be accused of racism,' but I think that if we…

— Justin Simien

We like to think of the '60s as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and a little bit of friction -…

— Justin Simien

I remember the first time that I realized that being black meant that I wasn't allowed certain things. It was in the…

— Justin Simien

I have this natural thing in my head that when I sit down to write something serious, I tend to make jokes.…

— Justin Simien

White people don't have that problem, they get to go through life never having to fit into a box, and it's really…

— Justin Simien

I like the movies that embrace the complexity of the human condition.

— Justin Simien

It's always kind of gratifying to go back to the place that launched you and show you did good.

— Justin Simien

I think art is much more valuable when it's honest. If it's not honest, it's just propaganda.

— Justin Simien

I never liked 'Donnie Darko' quite as much as my film school peers.

— Justin Simien

As a person of color, I was just really tired of the fact that I wasn't seeing my story in the culture.

— Justin Simien

There can't be reverse racism against a group that is not at a disadvantage.

— Justin Simien

I definitely have fun commenting on the real world and interpreting through the 'Dear White People' lens.

— Justin Simien

The thing about TV is you kind of have an endless canvas. You can always keep going.

— Justin Simien