The Shipment

The Shipment is a hip hop African-American identity politics piece written and directed by Young Jean Lee, a Korean-American. Continuing her artistic mission of working with subject matter that makes her uncomfortable, The Shipment tells the story of a nerdy, black, inner-city youth who dreams of going to Harvard, employing hip-hop dance, African dance, and rapping to create an extremely awkward celebration of black identity. This is an uneasy exploration of ethnic appropriation that combines hip-hop virtuosity (luring the audience into cultural tourism) with cultural cluelessness (confronting audiences with their own cluelessness).