The Black Lives Matter movement has spawned all kinds of activism. — Justin Simien Activism Copy Share Image
Self-doubt is a constant companion for a chubby, gay, black boy born in the South. — Justin Simien Black boy Copy Share Image
There are a plethora of ways of being black, just like there's many ways to being white. — Justin Simien Being Copy Share Image
America is a different country, and it will forever be a different country after the election of Donald Trump. — Justin Simien America Copy Share Image
It's not new to attempt to vilify the minority that speaks about their oppression. That's not a new thing. — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
For me it's just, I have too many ideas, man. It's a problem, actually. — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
I find myself listening to Blood Orange and Janelle Monae and artists like that. — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
I think great movies do promote conversation, great movies are honest, and great movies are sometimes polarizing. — Justin Simien Cinema Copy Share Image
It is a fine line between making fun of the right thing and making fun of the wrong thing. And the language… — Justin Simien Comedy Copy Share Image
I tend to be collaborative, and I want to hear other people's ideas. Especially with actors, I want them to feel like… — Justin Simien Actors Copy Share Image
I'm a lover of film and storytelling. I believe that I was put on earth to tell stories, and I'm not interested… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
One of the most powerful lessons I learned is when you make an argument in a film, you have to make sure… — Justin Simien Argument Copy Share Image
I think we are aware that post-racialism isn't real, right? I mean, I hope so. I kind of joke that we're post-post-racial. — Justin Simien Hope Copy Share Image
Films with predominantly white casts can come in any form, tell any story, big or small. For black films, you have the… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
Satire and comedy are really the only film mediums where you can get into ideas and have people leave the theater without… — Justin Simien Cinema Copy Share Image
There is no monolithic black culture. It's completely different for someone born in Harlem to someone born in Houston or London with… — Justin Simien Being Copy Share Image
I know it's 'Dear White People,' and you can imprint all kinds of concessions about what the show might be about on… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
There is an obsession with black tragedy. If you see a black movie, it's typically historical, and it tends to deal with… — Justin Simien Black history Copy Share Image
I am more than a black guy. I am a person, I'm storyteller, I'm a son, I'm a friend, so I am… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
I see racism as institutional: the rules are different for me because I'm black. It's not necessarily someone's specific attitude against me;… — Justin Simien Attitude Copy Share Image
'2001: A Space Odyssey' - I'd watched and hated it seven times before it provided the first 'religious experience' I'd ever had… — Justin Simien Cinema Copy Share Image
As much as I'd love to believe that we are 'post-racial' - an idea that really gained traction after the election of… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
I never quite lived up to the image of the black man as I saw it growing up. I was never listening… — Justin Simien Gangster Copy Share Image
One of the facets of growing up the way I did, I never had the experience of being solely in the black… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
I remember distinctly not seeing myself. I didn't see myself in black culture, white culture, mass culture. — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
Shonda Rhimes has figured it out, of getting multiracial casts on television and appealing to everybody. — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
Balance, I think, and self-care is something I want people to really take to heart. — Justin Simien Balance Copy Share Image
I want the Latino 'Do the Right Thing' to happen. I want filmmakers whose voices are not represented to get a shot. — Justin Simien Asian Copy Share Image
I was blessed enough to know that I wanted to be a filmmaker when I was a kid, the first time I… — Justin Simien Blessed Copy Share Image
I saw 'Beauty and the Beast' at eight years old in theatres and spent hours trying to recreate the majestic imagery of… — Justin Simien Beauty Copy Share Image
It is frustrating having to walk through America having to bob and weave people's impressions of me because they see a tall… — Justin Simien America Copy Share Image
Everybody else was quoting 2Pac, and I was running around with Green Day in my Walkman. Racially speaking, I wasn't cool or… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
In the press, there's this desire for the black audience to be this monolithic thing that always responds to the same stars.… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
It's called 'Dear White People,' but really, it's about these black characters and how they are involved or not involved in a… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
Any time a black person has the audacity to tell everybody else that they're also human beings, they are confronted with all… — Justin Simien Black people Copy Share Image
My thing is to try to tell the truth as honestly as possible. For me, the weight is, how can I tell… — Justin Simien Copy Share Image
One of the things that I love about Robert Altman's movies is that, really, a Robert Altman movie is just a bunch… — Justin Simien Film Copy Share Image
I love great prestige television, but because I make television, sometimes I don't want to, like, you know, fall into a very… — Justin Simien Drama Copy Share Image
For whatever reason, gay characters, or characters that deal with sexuality issues, who are black, in 'black films'... are typically not dealt… — Justin Simien Complexity Copy Share Image
What you want to do is talk about ideas, you write a novel, you have a lecture about those ideas. Satire and… — Justin Simien Books Copy Share Image
