At an elite New England university, built on the site of a Salem-era gallows hill, three black women strive to find their place. Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) steps into the position of ‘Master’, a dean of students, and discovers what lies behind the school’s immaculate façade. A first-year student, Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee) confronts a new home that is cold and unwelcoming, and literature professor Liv Beckman (Amber Grey) faces off against colleagues who question her right to belong. Navigating politics and privilege, they encounter increasingly terrifying manifestations of the school’s haunted past and present.
Punch after punch of innocent, casual, and overtly racist encounters attempt to trip up the three women as they strive to make their mark on waspy Ivy-league (fictional) Ancaster University. Examples include Jasmine being denied entry to a nightclub that is full of white people dancing to black music, or her new roommate and her friends guessing her name as Beyonce or Lizzo, and expecting her to clean up a drink one of them has spilled. Jasmine also has to deal with living in student digs that are said to be haunted and experiences a variety of ghostly happenings. The three black women do their best to ‘lean in’ to the establishment but their situations are made trickier by the slightly complex relationship they have with each other. Professor Liv is Gail’s friend and Jasmine’s literature tutor. Jasmine has filed an official complaint against Liv for giving her an ‘F’ grade for one of her essays and this is taken into 
account when the board of Masters, including Gail, review Liv’s position which has come up for renewal. Recruitment patterns for minorities at the school have changed, with Gail originally being much more qualified and published than her white counterparts to secure her position. Liv on the other hand is now being considered for a role despite not having had much work published – to help the school achieve its diversity targets. The diversity targets are more lip service than any genuine quest to improve diversity. Of course, the word ‘Master’ itself has links to slavery and racism. As Gail notes dryly at one point – ”I’m not a Master, but a maid brought in to clear up the mess.”
Director and writer Mariama Diallo takes us on a journey through the corridors of an established institution, educational or otherwise, that most people of color in the US will be familiar with. The horrors of the ghostly happenings in the film serve as a metaphor for America’s current and historic issues with racism. America is literally being haunted by its racist past. She effortlessly combines warm comfortable cinematography with tense, dark, supernatural scenes. Excellent casting and set design complement a strong script. Good entertainment with a strong message.
MASTER is streaming on Prime Video
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
Labels: 2022, Mariama Diallo, Master, Regina Hall, review, Ris Fatah
