Alternate Character Interpretation: Most of the characters are subject to this, having moments of antagonizing another protagonist who doesn't feel they deserve it. Lionel's the only protagonist who doesn't come off as a Jerkass at times, and even then it's because he's a bit of a doormat until the climax.
Simien erased the Blackface Party for being too absurd...only to put it back in when he found out racist parties like that were happening in universities all over the country.
Before Sam's radio show becomes more aggressive in its stance on race, it does bring up some pretty common complaints that plenty of real-life African Americans have had.
Audience-Alienating Premise: Based on the title of the film alone, you know it's going to be controversial. Racism is a pretty touchy topic and the heavily politicized feel turned off many viewers, especially white viewers. Word of God insists the film isn't meant to be taken seriously and is more about personal identity, but the title and trailer doesn't really give that impression to the casual white viewer. That said, when it was adapted as a Netflix series, it did pretty well and ran for four seasons.
Base-Breaking Character: Sam is a fairly divisive character. Some may see her interpretation of "prejudice + power = racism" that argues black people cannot be racist as very flawed and in itself racist. Others laud these traits and consider them fully justified (as while prejudice certainly exists, institutionalized racism is impossible to commit against a privileged majority). The fact that these topics are Flame Bait in every corner of Real Life doesn't help.
Moment of Awesome: Lionel delivering a long, hard "Take That!" Kiss to Kurt on the mouth, humiliating him in front of onlookers, after enduring homophobic slurs and mockery from him throughout the film.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: It's been marketed as (and partially is) a satire of millennial race relations, but at its core is a story of people trying to fit in with the world at large. A common interpretation which ties into this is that it's less about where racism ends up doing serious damage as much as it's about where racist ideals begin.
Series:
Anvilicious: This show has a lot of things to say about prejudices of all kind and doesn't even try to keep them subtle.
Really pretty much all of the cast is this, with some viewers finding them to be two-dimensional and (usually) sympathetic while others find them to be nothing more than mouthpieces on racism and color.
Critical Dissonance: Hoo boy...this is one of the most polarizing shows ever put on Netflix regarding its viewers' reception. Let's just say critics had a significantly more positive reaction to this show.
At first, Coco comes off as a spoiled Alpha Bitch, with her own white Girl Posse, who makes a point of toning down her blackness and even outright defending racism from her white peers. Then in Episode 4, her backstory and struggles are gradually revealed, and her snipe about Sam having "light-skinned privilege" becomes much Harsher in Hindsight. In the climax, she ends her friendship with Sam during a feud and epically claps back at her sorority sisters, but it ultimately leaves her alone with no black cliques to belong to, albeit until she meets her white friends. In Episode 5, she is horrified when Reggie is held at gunpoint by campus police at the party, as she admits in the following episode that she's watched friends and family get shot and killed,living on with the feeling that she could've done something to prevent it. Surprisingly in Episode 7, she is one of the two only black students other than Troy to defend Gabe for calling the police to the party in Episode 5, understanding well enough he genuinely wanted to defuse the situation, not have campus police abuse their authority and demean Reggie.
Reggie comes off as a bit obsessed with Sam, to the point where he's actively antagonistic toward her when it's revealed she's sleeping with a white man. After a campus police officer pulls a gun on him for talking back to said officer which is never a good enough reason, you'd have to be a sociopath to not want to give him a hug when he breaks down in his dorm.
Salvaged Story: While not necessarily a direct response to critics, the second season does touch on the prejudice and bigotry within the POC and LGBT communities, addressing criticisms of the first season's more myopic and somewhat simplistic approach.
Gremlins as an extended metaphor for white suburbanites' fear of black youth.