Are Caucasian millennials ready to reassess what it means to be white in America? According to Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning filmmaker and journalist, it’s past time to have a conversation about white history, white privilege and white frustration.

And he doesn’t intend to make it an easy or comfortable process.

Vargas has created the documentary “White People” — airing July 22 on MTV — where nothing is off-limits. The trailer, released July 8, has elicited a huge reaction and has gotten more than 2 million views on YouTube.

“We are doing a film for MTV on what it means to be young and white,” Vargas tells a group of young white people in the opening moments of the one-minute, 15-second trailer.

“If you say the wrong thing, suddenly you are a racist,” one young white man tells Vargas.

“It feels like I’m being discriminated against,” a young white woman says.

“You kind of get this feeling that things belong to you,” another white woman explains.

With the trailer touching on sensitive topics ranging from white accountability to the controversial idea of discrimination against whites, responses have poured in from various communities.

From the conservative views of Rush Limbaugh, who describes the film as “a documentary produced by an illegal immigrant … MTV on the problems white people have caused in America” to the doubtful outlook of Ebony writer Raqiyah Mays, who states “Let’s just hope they get it right,” it is apparent that the upcoming documentary has attracted attention.

Whether you choose to purchase earplugs or a megaphone, this conversation has already started. Get ready to talk.

–Posted by Clara Romeo

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