Dope follows many the many ‘slippery slopes’ that surround Malcolm’s life during his time applying to college, specifically Harvard. His geeky life transforms after a sticky interaction with a drug dealer.

In one scene of the movie, Malcolm and his friends go to this sketchy thug for a Bit Coin-cash transaction. The sketchy thug places two alligator bags in front of Malcolm and tells him to guess which one is real and which is fake.

Malcolm responds confusedly, “They both look the same.” The thug corrects him and says, “It doesn’t matter.” Why?

Because if someone saw a black teenager from the hood carrying around an alligator bag, they are most likely going to assume it’s fake. If a white person was carrying around the same bag, they are going to assume it’s real.

Behind all of the comedy, drugs, and 90’s cultural references, Dope depicts realities that minorities in the United States face, and in light of everything happening at Mizzou, Yale, and Ithaca College, I think this film is both important and relevant.

If you haven’t seen this movie, please do.