“You People” and a conversation about love and culture clashes

In late January, Netflix released an original movie called “You People,” which stars Jonah Hill and Lauren London, who play Ezra and Amira, people from two very different backgrounds who eventually fall in love and are on the road to marriage. Upon traveling on that road, the couple hits a bump, and that bump takes the form of their parents. Like them, their parents are very different. Ezra’s mother is a white woman, who is Jewish (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Amira’s father is a black man very in touch with his African roots (played by Eddie Murphy).

The movie showcases the various differences between the parents and how that affects the couple’s relationship. This is not a movie review, and I will leave any and all reviewing up to our A&E section. With it being Valentine’s Day and love being in the air, I more so want to have a discussion on what happens when “You People” plays out in real life, and how dating someone who is like you may or may not be beneficial.

When watching “You People,” I could not help but get to thinking that culture clashing is a real issue. Whether that be in friendships or relationships, sometimes we may never understand one another, which is what we are seeing being played out in this rom-com. But what happens when you do not get one another, but you love this person?

I cannot help but think of my former employers, who were also an interracial couple. One a white person and the other a black person from Africa. Not only did they differ in race, they differed in culture and in the general sense of how things work where they are both from. Despite all of that, you can’t help but notice how their love radiated, and though they were different, they were similar in wanting to love each other as best as they could.

The world is a large place, and as the saying goes “there are

The Slate Speaks:

Thoughts on Valentine’s Day

Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day brings couples closer together than any other time of year. However, for most, Feb. 14 might just be another day on the calendar.

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate those you love and hold dear. The holiday extends from just honoring relationships. Some have coined “Galentine’s Day” as a term meant to encompass the love girls have for their girl friends. Valentine’s Day can be about loving anyone, and should be.

Valentine’s Day is way more about materialism, unfortunately, than actually celebrating with people you love. There is a high level of pressure for couples to perform for each other, and while it is nice to encourage people to be extra for those they love, a lot of gifts and products made for Valentine’s Day get wasted because they are single use or just not valued.

Valentine’s Day definitely has some issues. Like some other holidays (Mother’s, Father’s, Veterans) they can be a source of a lot of stress in peoples’ lives. They emphasize a specific group or relationship, and there’s a societal expectation for you to perform some kind of obligation or gift giving. If you do not get your partner, (or mother, father, or whoever a certain holiday is celebrating) an appropriate token of your appreciation, you are labeled as a bad partner/child/person. than I can count.

Valentine’s Day puts a lot of stress on people in relationships to make sure they are being a good partner, as well as on those not in relationships. For them, the holiday is a reminder that they are not in a relationship. Instead of concentrating all the lovey-dovey-ness into one day, maybe it would be better to spread it out throughout the year, and be better partners full time.

Growing up as a child and celebrating Valentine’s Day in elementary school was particularly harmful. If you did not get a lot of valentines, you would feel like none of your classmates liked you, or like the odd one out.

Valentine’s Day should be broadened as a holiday to showing love to things that bring you love, which may not be specific to a relationship. Nobody can really control if they are in a relationship this time of year, so the idea that the holiday is reserved exclusively for those in relationships will understandably cause some “Scroogeness” on Feb. 14.

Throughout my years at Shippensburg University, I have served on a variety of university committees and positions that have given me the opportunity to understand “university politics” to a degree few students have. Over the years, I have served on the planning and budget council, new student orientation committee, commencement committee and SUSSI board of directors, among others. During my time, I have heard the phrase “what is best for students” more times

Faculty, staff, administrators and student leaders alike have used this phrase to defend their funding, autonomy, hierarchal reporting structures, job retention, policies and more. In all situations, human nature and our inherent desire to protect “our interests” comes into play and often is used under the guise of “what is best for students.”

Ask almost any student and they will likely attest that we have an advising issue at Shippensburg. The academic advising of students is strictly (per the Association of Pennsylva-

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Disclaimer plenty of fish in the sea.” The fish will indeed be different, but what can you do to acknowledge that difference? I think a key takeaway from this film is acknowledging the differences and the struggles one another has to go through, but it is also coming together and checking your biases and privilege in order to be open with one another.

• The views and opinions expressed in this section are those of the writer and not of The Slate or University.

• The unsigned staff editorial, “The Slate Speaks,” represents the views and opinions of The Slate as an organization. Participating editors help shape the staff editorial.

As for culture clashes, instead of throwing ourselves into the ring of Oppression Olympics, why not create an understanding?

The world is a cruel and tough place, and it is shown in both history and the present. The last thing we need to have a debate about is which was worse: slavery or the holocaust. Instead, we should be acknowledging two entirely different groups of people going through an event so traumatic it left scars for many generations and how we can heal those scars and create a better world.

It is Valentine’s Day and love — not hate — is in the air, so go love each other.