Dope: referring to any narcotic, usually marijuana or a slang term meaning something that is cool or used to describe a person one finds attractive. When researching or hearing the word, “dope”, those are the most common things that one can find. Unless you’re like me, and you recently watched the movie titled, "Dope," then you now have another thing that pops into mind when hearing the word. And if you’re also like me, then you are wondering exactly what I am thinking: WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THE MOVIE "DOPE"?!

"Dope" came out over a year ago, January 24, 2015, to be exact.There was so much press and trailers leading up to the release of the movie, then the movie was released in theaters and BOOM! What happened to "Dope?!" Why is no one talking about how “dope” it actually is? The movie takes place in Inglewood, a rough section of California and follows a young teen Malcom, the main character, and two of his friends who are known as the “outcasts” of the school because they're not into what is the "norm" for being "cool" today. Malcolm and his friends are fascinated by any and everything from the 90’s era. Music, clothes, hairstyles, you name it. They love the 90’s so much that Malcolm’s college admissions essay is about the 90’s hip-hop song, ‘Good Day’ by Ice Cube. Malcolm, who is an extremely smart kid with dreams of attending Harvard, has a college interview the next day and attends a party that night in honor of a local drug dealer. The wild night that transpires after that is when the plot really begins.

Now here's what makes this movie so dope. Despite the series of events, Malcolm still makes his college interview the next day. And coincidentally it is those same series of events that make Malcolm rethink the college admissions essay. And instead of going with Ice Cube’s reasoning behind ‘Good Day’, chooses to go with this instead:

"Let me tell you about two students. Student A is a straight-A student, lives in a suburb of Los Angeles. Plays in a punk band with his friends. Loves to skateboard and ride BMX bikes. His favorite show is “Game of Thrones.” His favorite band is The Thermals, he is a ’90s hip hop geek. Student B goes to an underfunded school where teachers, who would rather not be there, teach kids who don’t care. He lives with a single mother, doesn’t know his father, and has sold dope. Now close your eyes. Picture each of these kids and tell me what you see. Be honest. No one’s going to judge you. Now open your eyes. Am I Student A or B? Am I a geek or am I menace? For most of my life I have lived somewhere between who I really am and how I am perceived. Between categories and definition. I don’t fit in. I used to think that was a curse, but I’m slowly starting to see, that maybe, it is a blessing. When you don’t fit, you’re forced to see the world from many different angles and points of view. You find knowledge, life lessons from disparate people and places. And their lessons, for better or worse, have shaped me. So who am I? Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Malcolm Adekanbi. I’m a straight-A student with near perfect SAT scores. I taught myself to play guitar and read music. I have stellar recommendations and diverse extracurricular activities. I’m a Google Science Fair participant. In three weeks I helped make over one hundred thousand dollars for an online business. Why do I want to attend Harvard? If I was white would you even have to ask me that question?" - DOPE

Would you? This one scene in the movie immediately puts everything into perspective and makes sense of everything that has taken place. In a time where the #BlackLivesMatters movement is very much alive, this movie poses as a perfect example of so many things that the movement represents. The scene that is Malcom's college admission essay is a little controversial, yes, because it provokes thoughts that can sometimes make us feel uncomfortable without reason, yet are so real today. For a movie that quickly had so much buzz surrounding and leading up to its release, it was sure forgotten about just as quickly after. So, why isn't anyone talking about "Dope?"