What Society Feeds Us : Immersion, racism and police violence in the novel and film version of The Hate U Give in the EFL classroom

Abstract: Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give is a young adult novel that covers controversial topics such as racism and police violence. In this essay, the concept of immersion is used to examine how the novel and its 2018 film counterpart adaptation differ in examining these topics. I claim that the film and novel versions operate through different methods of immersion. The novel mainly operates by immersion through characterization, while the film often prioritizes immersion through setting. In both cases, references are used to create immersion by grounding the novel within real historical eventhappenings and relevant contemporary discourse. Furthermore, this essay shows that highlighting factors of immersion, history, and contemporary discourse, while working with adaptation in practice, can lead to a more productive way of working with racially aware literature in the EFL classroom.