Hello Privilege

Why is it so hard for white people to talk about white privilege? As comedian Chelsea Handler puts it, for many people, talking about white privilege “is like talking about porn at the dinner table.” 

Fortunately, Handler has never been one to shy away from discomfort. In the new Alex Stapleton Netflix documentary, Hello, Privilege. It's Me, Chelsea, Handler explores white privilege and interrogates her own responsibilities as a white person benefiting from a long history of racial inequality. The documentary follows Handler through a journey of conversations, learning and reflection. She consults with fellow comedians Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart, interviews white women in Orange County, and visits an open discussion forum on white privilege led by USC law professor Jody Armour. All of these conversations are part of Handler’s efforts “become a better white person to people of color,” without putting all the attention on herself (“making it a ‘thing,’” as she puts it).

The story Handler tells is inevitably a personal one, though, and Handler herself is at the center of most conversations. She cannot talk about white privilege without interrogating the very idea of whiteness, including her own. She admits many advantages she receives simply because she’s white, pretty, and has “a big mouth.” As the documentary unfolds, Handler reveals more of her personal story, only now able to fully see how much of it was shaped by her white privilege. 

When she was young, she skipped school, dated a drug dealer, and got a DUI. She was caught three times with dime bags while with her black boyfriend Tyshawn. Each time, he was arrested, and she was let go. She travels to New Jersey for a reunion with Tyshawn, and is surprised to hear that he had been in prison for 14 years. Fourteen years, she says with awe, now confronted with undeniable evidence of just how different mistakes made by white people versus those made by people of color are received and, in turn, how those differences can change the course of a life.

At some points, Handler oversimplifies her discussion of privilege. She often talks about privilege in terms of black and white without tackling how other racial and intersectional identities complicate the equation. She examines her privilege as a white person but does not as thoroughly consider her identity as a white woman, especially a wealthy white woman.

Not everyone has such epiphany moments. Many other white people that Hander talks to emphatically argue that white privilege is simply not real. She spends a good portion of the documentary interviewing other white people, because, as she says, “We need to talk to people who are white, and stop asking black people to solve our problems, because it’s a white person’s problem.” Melina Abdullah, one of the founders of Black Lives Matter, argues when speaking with Handler that it is not the job of black and brown people to assuage white guilt. Instead, it is time for white people to put in work to recognize their own privilege, challenge white supremacists and call out inequalities instead of pushing this burden onto people of color.

One of the documentary’s most compelling points is how hard it can be to recognize white privilege if you are yourself white. White people are like the metaphorical fish that don’t understand that they live in water—if you tried to ask them about it, or explain to them what “water” is, they would have absolutely no idea what you were talking about. As Handler puts it, equality may feel like a loss to some white people because they cannot see the centuries of structural inequality that has put them where they are today. 

It’s hard to talk about the effectiveness of the documentary in its political aims, since recognizing white privilege and challenging systems of oppression is not a one-time project that can be tackled over the course of a single film; Handler acknowledges that it is about a lifelong commitment to advocacy and learning. Handler doesn’t outline exactly what the next steps after recognizing privilege are—it’s up to the viewer to figure out some of that for themselves. 

I am a white woman, and I have immense privilege coming from a white, educated, economically secure family. I know that my privilege exists, but I also know that I will never be fully aware of just how far-reaching my privilege is and or see just how many advantages it has bestowed me over my lifetime. White people need to start recognizing the social and economic benefits institutional racism has reaped for them. They need to start showing up for racial injustice, and keep showing up. There is no silver bullet for dismantling the racist and classist foundations of our society. But, as the documentary tries to demonstrate, saying “hello” to your own privilege is a good place to start.

By Katie Duggan

Princeton student, feminist film enthusiast, and lover of all things spooky.