"When we did this film we were approaching the 100th anniversary of cinema and the 50th of television. So I want to look at Bamboozled, which a lot of people didn't get. You can make the same film about women, the same film about gay people, the same film about Native Americans, about Hispanics, about how people have been dehumanized in cinema and television."
—Spike Lee
Music: Terence Blanchard
Cinematography: Ellen Kuras
Released 6 October 2000
Budget: $10 million
Box Office: $2.5 million
Pierre Delacroix/Peerless Dothan...Damon Wayans
Sloan Hopkins...Jada Pinkett Smith
Manray/"Mantan"...Savion Glover
Womack/"Sleep 'n Eat"...Tommy Davidson
Thomas Dunwitty...Michael Rapaport
Julius Hopkins/"Big Blak Afrika"...Mos Def
"Honeycutt"...Thomas Jefferson Byrd
Junebug (Peerless's father)...Paul Mooney
Spike Lee, never adverse to self-promotion, uses this clip from his own Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington in Bamboozled. He also has Dunwitty mention that "Spike Lee" can't tell him what to do.
Here's a surprise: Bamboozled was a flop both commercially and critically. It's rarely mentioned when people discuss Lee's hugely varied canon of works—the certified classic Do The Right Thing, the sprawling and powerful Malcolm X, the devastating documentary on the bombing of a Birmingham AL church by the Klan, Four Little Girls, his one huge commercial success, Inside Man, and most recently his Oscar winning BlackkKlansman. Yet it has its supporters. Read this 2015 reassessment of it. It's not a date film: I doubt Barrack would have taken Michelle to see this on their first date (their first date movie was Do The Right Thing). It's not Thank You For Not Smoking, a crowd pleaser. If anything, it is closest to the Negro Town sketch by Key and Peele that we watched (the writer for the Guardian essay saw this as well). Here is the trailer for it: it barely hints at what's to come in the film.
1. After today's break, I asked what you all thought of the movie, and those of you who spoke said you liked it; generally there were smiles of assent to this position by those who didn't speak. What we watched after the break...well, the room felt different to Clark and me. More somber, less comfortable, less humored. Few were smiling when the class ended. So did your reaction to the movie change after the break? Was there something different about the film as we went from the auditions (which were, let's admit it, pretty humorous) to our seeing "Mantan: The New Millennial Minstrel Show" to seeing Junebug's routine at the small club to the way the public embraces the show? Did the way you felt about the movie change as you watched it? In fact, in addressing this question, what do you feel as you watch the movie?
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| Fans of "Mantan: The New Millennial Minstrel Show" |
3. The tough one: what is the object (or objects) of satire in the movie? And do you think the satire is effective?
4. What scene or moment has stayed with you from today's viewing? And why?
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| Jada Pinkett Smith and Damon Wayans |
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| Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover |
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| Spike Lee directing Savion Glover and Jada Pinkett Smith |
I feel surprised about the movie. I really like the movie at the beginning, but as the plot thickened my opinions about it changed first to shock and then to horror. The reason for this was actually seeing the show that was produced and hyped in the offices. Everyone probably got a good laugh seeing Pierre’s boss drool over Pierre’s idea for the show, but once the show was put into production, we see that everyone doesn’t really care about how incredibly racist the show in the movie is. We see that most of the people who like the TV show are white folks, and the show is giving them the impression that because a black person is writing the show, that blackface is ok even though it isn’t.
ReplyDeleteI don’t have any respect at all for Pierre and Sloan. They are giving everyone in the movie an impression that just because a black person is using blackface in his show that it is perfectly fine to do in public. However, I do understand the two characters. Pierre is obviously using the satire of the show to explain that is how black people are portrayed in the media of the movie, and he wants to explain that. I believe that like Nick Naylor, Pierre does have to pay the mortgage, and that is why he wrote the show.
I think that the object of satire in the movie is the satire that the show is presenting, how minorities are portrayed in the media, and how accepted this is. I think that is why the movie is titled Bamboozled. While this is referring to how accepting the audience is of the incredibly racist show that is shown in the movie, this is also pointing fingers at the audience of the movie saying this is what the media really is. The satire portrayed by the movie is effective, as the movie is comparing the shows and movies where minorities are dehumanized and putting them alongside fictional shows that are incredibly racist, and stating that our acceptance of those shows is like accepting this obviously not ok show.
The scene that really stuck with me was the scene with Junebug, Pierre’s father. It showed the comparison between the show that Pierre was producing, and the comedy that his father was producing. I also think that this scene looks like foreshadowing–that Pierre is going to be a dehumanizing to his own race, his own people, as his father is.
1. The movie definitely shifted tones halfway through the movie. I think this is because of the shows success. It was not the original plan to have the show go through and on air. It was much lighter in the first half because as we heard the ideas for the show, we knew they were racist and horrible, but actually seeing the show, the posters, the white fans in blackface, and all the old "black collectables" makes it very unsettling and intense.
ReplyDelete2. I don't really like or dislike Pierre and Sloan. I think his idea to get fired for pitching a racist tv show was a dumb idea. But I can't blame him for going along with it when the boss liked it and wanted to actually make it. Based on the amount of money we see the guy who is Mantan get, we can assume the show is doing well. I think Pierre took a decent concept for a raunchy tv series and crossed the line. I like Sloan more, she is trying to make a name for herself in the industry and I can't blame her for going along with a successful show.
3. I think the satire of this movie is about minorities on and behind screen in the media. It also comments on how black culture is taken and somewhat misrepresented by tv and movies. Like when Pierre goes into the writes room and it's all white writers who ignorantly join in on the mocking of black culture for the writing of the show. I think the satire is effective based solely on how extreme it is, but even behind that it makes a good point.
4. The scene that stuck with me the most was every scene where the actors were putting on their blackface. By making them do blackface the old way, with burning corks, makes it even more striking. In these scenes, you really see the emotion behind smiling faces on tv. Also, the fact that they kept playing the scene says a lot about how important it is.
During the auditions, I thought I did like the movie. There was humor in Michael Rappaport making an idiot of himself, and a comedic aspect in the way the characters interacted with each other. However as the movie continued, I found myself disgusted by the details of the show. Spike Lee intentionally made the process of preparing the black face so highlighted, because we essentially see Mantan and Eat and Sleep dehumanizing themselves. They were both clearly affected by this requirement, and had to push through a mental barrier to go out and perform. I also think that the use of the n word is tough for us to hear, because we are so used to a community that for the most part does not use it. The combination of shock and horror from seeing the minstrel show and the reaction of the show, led to the uncomfortable feeling I had at the end of the movie.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty clearly portrayed that Pierre is frustrated when the show has some initial success. However pretty quickly, Pierre is caught by a sense of accomplishment that we see with all of the figurines on his desk. He has blocked out his original message, and is allowing himself to reap the benefits of having a television show on air. I believe Sloan recognizes this, and gives Pierre the bank as a reminder of what they were originally fighting for. Although her message is not conveyed clearly, we saw the look in her eyes once Pierre accepted the gift without much hesitation. I think Sloan feels a sense of responsibility to answer to Pierre, so she has not protested out loud to him. She does go to Mantan’s house and tries to get him to come up with the idea that maybe the show is immoral, but he is too heavily influenced by the money to see. I think the characters in similar to Nick in that they both enjoy the success they are experiencing, even if it comes at the expense of others. The difference, is that Nick didn’t pretend to not know what he was doing, whereas, the characters in this film are using their ignorance as an evasion of guilt.
I think there is an obvious satire based on the appropriation of culture that is commonly seen in white people. Rappaport is obnoxiously racist throughout the film, and is ignorant to any issue that Pierre might have with his actions and words. I think Spike Lee intentionally exaggerates this to show how foolish it is to act and think like Rapaport does. I also think there is another message about our society, and how we conform to one ideal. We see the audience during the first show, and they are horrified. However, once a couple of people start to clap and show amusement, the entire theater allows themselves to erupt in a frenzy of support. I’m not sure whether Spike Lee is saying that the audience was hiding their true feelings, or simply going along with the common opinion. Either way, he is saying that our society is not able to have their own ideals, and have the confidence to back them up.
The scene that was important to me, was the last time we see Mantan putting on blackface. Previously, it was clear that Eat and Sleep was disgusted with himself, but, Mantan seemed fine with this procedure. However, this time he clearly struggled to put it on, and seeing the pain in the two men’s faces was truly horrific. As I said earlier, we watched them dehumanize themselves, and I think that has to evoke a reaction. (I also enjoyed the George Bush clip because it wouldn't be a Spike Lee film if there wasn’t a little political message embedded in the plot.)
1 The movie turned from a comedic lighthearted revenge tail to seeming like we were watching some sort of social experiment. The movie felt like some twisted game to see how far someone would go for money and fame. The character, Eat and Sleep can be seen crying while putting on his black face. No person enjoys humiliation, but he has to for his living, and that can't be easy.
ReplyDelete2 I think that neither Pierre or sloane are walking away from the show, because they are getting extreme compensation for it. They both must be making extreme amounts of money from his show, and I do not think either can believe it. They, like nick nailor, probably do not believe that this show, or product, is good, but it is paying the bills. I like sloane as a character. I see her as a sane character of reason in this bizarre and unsettling movie. I am not a fan of pierre, because he is such a strange and off setting character. His mind is hard to get into and see from his perspective partly because of his strange isms, and ways of speech.
3 One object of satire that is obvious to see is the white boss that believes that he is black. There are so many people that think that because they have black friends or loved ones they can do or say certain things, and that is a problem in society today.
4 The moment that stayed with me is when eat and sleep is putting his blackface on and crying. This scene showed an insight to the thoughts of the character, and how absolutely desperate for the money he is. He is not okay with putting on such a racist show, but he has no real choice.
1. To me, this movie is something that you laugh at because you're not sure what else to say. There are some moments that are genuinely funny- when Manray tries to seduce Sloan and she distracts herself with the view, when it is revealed that Pierre's strange accent came from... nowhere?, Dunwitty's ridiculously offensive attempts to assimilate with black culture- but the rest of the movie is difficult to really enjoy for me. Pierre has created a monster with "Mantam: The New Millenial Minstrel Show', and nobody seems to mind. Pierre, Sloan, Manray and Womack are perfectly happy to continue earning money off of this blatantly racist production, even though they do seem to have some reservations. It's uncomfortable to watch and I found myself feeling like there was something that I had missed- some sort of explanation for this madness.
ReplyDelete2. I'll begin with my opinions of Sloan and Pierre (Peerless): I really don't love either of them. Pierre has an almost holier-than-thou attitude, believing that he alone can save the future of black television. He somehow thinks that writing a satirical minstrel television show will encourage America to move further away from the very values those shows used to represent, plus get him fired so he can move on to bigger, better things. However, it is difficult to believe that he doesn't see the harm that this could cause, and when the show becomes a hit, he doesn't really seem to mind enough to take back this so-called "joke". Plus, he has a ridiculous accent for no reason (which his father even calls him out on). Sloan, on the other hand, is at least vocal about her complaints regarding the show, but she never really does anything about them. She just gives Pierre offensive antique gifts and tells Manray stories to persuade or remind them that what they're doing is helping to perpetuate the same stereotypes which Pierre is supposedly trying to eliminate. She never seems to take matters into her own hands, and instead prefers to wait for one of the men to have an epiphany. However, money doesn't totally seem to be the motivator for their complacency- it's something else; something I can't identify.
3. I think that the objective of the satire in this film is to call out the members of the black community who either comply with or perpetuate racism in the media, specifically. Though Pierre states that the idea behind the show is to get him fired and send a message to television viewers, you get the feeling that that just isn't the case. Spike Lee gives us specific images and examples of this- an all-white boardroom, a boss who desperately tries to be "hip"- to aid our understanding of this. Pierre walks in to see a team of writers with not a black person in sight and is slightly miffed, but nothing more. He makes a comment that he didn't choose these people, and if he had had his way, there would've been an all-black team, but this seems to be more of a justification to himself for working with them and encouraging their racism. He even goes so far as to ask them to tap into their feelings about the OJ verdict, prompting many shocking remarks... but are they really shocking? That's the question Lee asks- we should all be irate, so why don't Pierre and Sloan react?
4. The moment that has stayed with me from viewing this movie was the minstrel show itself. In the audience at the pilot, there are some smiles, while the majority look as uncomfortable as I felt. But through the next few episodes, there are more laughs than frowns- by the last one, almost every viewer was wearing blackface and giggling with glee. The show is identical in every way to the minstrel shows it supposedly mocks, and nobody seems to mind.
1. My reaction of to the film definitely changed after the break. Aside from the feel of the film changing, I noticed that for me personally, it was hard to come back to such an intense film after getting up and seeing the hallways of Paideia. These minstrel shows are apart of my ancestral history, and it was hard to snap back into the real world during my break. The auditions were funny to an extent. I mean knowing what these people were going to be doing later on was pretty difficult. While it’s entertaining to watch people sing and dance (whether it’s good or bad is beside the point), it’s not fun to watch people prepare to be on a minstrel show, especially as a black person. However, it was significantly easier to stomach than the show itself. Watching those two naturally gifted black men dress up and put on a show for the sole purpose of entertaining other (mostly white) people was painful and degrading. It was not humorous, it was devastating. Junebug’s routine was the funniest out of the three in my opinion. However, I think it’s funnier when you’re black because these jokes are being made about your people and your culture. Finally, seeing all of those white people clapping and cheering for a racist, stereotypical show that diminished black people was astonishing. I personally felt as though my very livelihood was nothing more than a joke or a show set for the entertainment of others. The more of the movie we watched, the more intense things got and the more uncomfortable I became. Though I was also able to see Spike Lee’s purpose and vision. It’s a very good movie with a very good message about race. Specifically, how White America seems to view black people.
ReplyDelete2. I think that Pierre and Sloan’s main goal with creating this show was to highlight the issues with how white people view black people in hopes that they’d find it outrageous and see the error in their ways. This show was created to debunk stereotypes by pointing out their stupid origin. However, those things clearly did not happen as we can see. They don’t walk away because they know that things would only get worse without them there. They cannot leave an office filled with white people to carry on a minstrel show. That’d be even more racist and frankly insane. They need to have a voice on the inside. They must be that voice. I really like Sloan. She’s real, authentic, and very similar to a lot of black females that I see in my life. She’s very down-to-earth, and she can recognize stupidity. She makes her own decisions, and she’s intelligent. Plus, she’s played by Jada Pinkett Smith. I don’t like Pierre. He’s fake, and he’s hiding behind this white company. He claims to want better for black people and an advancement for black representation (which I do think is true), but he comes in with a changed (white) name and a fake (white) accent. He’s not staying true to himself or his people. Sloan is different from Nick and so is Pierre in that they’re fighting for something whereas Nick Naylor is simply fighting. However, they are in a similar situation in that they’re working for companies that they don’t necessarily agree with just to make money.
3. The object of the satire in this film is to call attention to how complacent (white) people are in reverting to the old ways of demeaning black people for their own entertainment. It shows that doing nothing is just as bad as being blatantly racist. Spike Lee uses these extreme minstrel shows to prove that complacency is easy when it doesn’t affect you directly. In my opinion, the satire is effective.
4. The scene that most stayed with me was when ManTan and Sleep and Eat put on their blackface. The repetitive imagery of them making the paste and putting it on show after show reinforces the narrative that they’re being dressed up to entertain others. They have lost themselves and are now closer to puppets than actual human beings. It’s also interesting that they must make the blackface paste like they did back then as opposed to buying something similar that’s already made.
1. I feel as if my reaction, along with the audience's, moved to emotions of discomfort as the emotions of the characters in the movie also moved to discomfort. When Pierre/ Peerless’ begins the discussion about the job with Manray and Womack, the two men seem pretty comfortable with the idea of acting in the show. But as they learn more about the details of the minstrel show, and eventually, when they begin to perform, they seem to become immensely pained by the roles that they are acting. Similarly, I think the audience responded to the storyline in the same way- though the development of Pierre/ Peerless’ plan to film a minstrel show is upsetting and uncomfortable from the start, actually seeing the full performance causes a much more intense reaction than just seeing the humourous auditions for the show. The minstrel show was racist from its conception to its portrayal, but actually seeing the action of the show is much more upsetting and emotional. I do think it is interesting that as the audience of Bamboozled and the characters of Manray and Womack become more upset and uncomfortable as the storyline progress, the audience of the actual minstrel show becomes more accepting of the show’s actions. There is an uneasiness in the first taping- not everyone in the audience claps, and most of the reactions are split by race. However, the minstrel show soon evokes intense clapping and acceptance by many races as more episodes are released, to the point that children are dressing up in blackface for Halloween. Which, in turn, furthers the discomfort of the audience of Bamboozled. So when I watched the movie, I felt this discomfort that I am sure Spike Lee wants his audience to feel. The sorrow and horror created by the minstrel show is apparent to the person watching the movie, and made more satirical by the fact that the people in the movie watching the minstrel show don’t feel this discomfort. It is so upsetting to me that the people in the movie so quickly accepted, ever emulated, the minstrel show. It is upsetting that the little children are allowed by an immoral society to run around on Halloween in such racist attire, but that the actual actors who portray the characters in the minstrel show have to bear the immense pain that is forced upon them by the show. So their discomfort and pain is not only not recognized by their audience, but the audience adopts their characters and enjoys playing that part.
ReplyDelete2. This movie is in and of itself satirical, of course, but I believe that Pierre/ Peerless’ minstrel show is a satire as well. The film opens up on Pierre/ Peerless in his apartment, and as he prepares for the day, the definition of satire is explained in a voiceover. This makes the satire apparent in Pierre/ Peerless’ idea- the minstrel show examines stereotypes to an extreme. I believe that he is not only trying to be fired by the company so that he can film what he actually wants to- it seems that he is also trying to expose how racist the people around him really are. If I remember correctly, Pierre/ Peerless explains this- he wants the minstrel show to appeal to the public and give them exactly what they want. The show is literally called “Mantan: The New Millennial Minstrel Show.” Though race and the tobacco industry are not at all similar and should not be compared on the same level, I do see a similarity between Nick’s idea to bring cigarettes back into the public eye and Pierre/ Peerless using the desires of the public- a “new, millennial” population- to create a show that is widely popular. And though Pierre/ Peerless doesn’t seem hindered by Sloan’s increased discomfort about the severity of the show’s stereotyping and racism, I wouldn’t ever believe it is because he doesn’t see it. Of course he recognizes the racism- I think he is trying to portray the minstrel show in as racist a way as possible. There is a reason that Pierre/ Peerless has Black actors dress up in blackface, not white actors. This seems to make the already present racism of a minstrel show that much more racist.
(continued) Though some people are just blatantly racist, and might accept the minstrel show without a second thought, I think that many more people who are racist would want to cover up their actions a bit more. They wouldn’t want to admit their approval of the show. But Pierre/ Peerless puts on this personna that encourages the show’s audience to support the show, by creating a show that is as racist as possible. Pierre/ Peerless is not trying to hide the racism, so this allows the audience to forget to hide theirs. He normalizes the racism, so they do too. And by doing so, I think that Pierre/ Peerless is able to expose the racist audience in such an apparent way; people are not just watching the minstrel show, they have found ways to become characters in the show as well. Pierre/ Peerless is obviously very smart and he does not seem to act on impulse, so there is more to the show than it just being a show. He is able to get racists to accept their racism- and herein lies the satire. And though Sloan more expressively shows her discomfort with the severity of the show’s racism than Pierre/ Peerless does, she continues to support him, as John said above. I enjoy both Pierre/ Peerless and Sloan, and they are very much different people, as obvious by their different reactions to the show. Though Pierre/ Peerless’ show is uncomfortable to watch, his purpose in exposing his viewer’s racism is really interesting to me. He institutes a show that is so very racist, but the point of the show is never really on the racist stereotypes, as it is instead on the racist viewers. Pierre/ Peerless is also just very interesting to watch- his apartment in the clock tower and his introduction of himself to the camera, how measured and methodical his actions are (him shaving, his suit, his interactions with his coworkers, his conversations with his boss) all interest the viewer. And Sloan is also really intriguing to watch. I cannot say for sure what her emotions are on the minstrel show; at times, you can see that she does not completely support Pierre/ Peerless’ view of the show, but she doesn't ever seem to really contradict Pierre/ Peerless. So I am curious about what we will see of her in the rest of the movie tomorrow. I’m not completely sure how close she is to Nick. Similar to Nick, she doesn’t seem to completely accept the idea of her job. But I wouldn’t say that money is her motivator. She obviously recognizes the importance of finances (she mentions to Manray that she hopes he has saved money from his acting for expenses outside of his apartment), but she doesn’t seem motivated by earning that paycheck. To me, Pierre/ Peerless’ goal of the minstrel show is more evident, as I believe he wants to show the racism of his boss and the viewers by presenting a show that he knows the public will accept- a horribly racist show. So I don’t believe that he wants the money from the show. If he wants to get fired, which is one of the reasons he creates the show, then he must not want money bad enough to continue working at a job that forces him to create shows that are not what he supports. Nick, however, continues in his job to pay the mortgage for much of the movie, even if he doesn’t support the beliefs of the tobacco industry.
ReplyDelete3. I believe that the satire is on the people who would respond as the audience of the minstrel show does. I believe that the minstrel show made by Pierre/ Peerless is a piece of satire itself. Though minstrel shows are obviously horribly racist, I think that Pierre/ Peerless develops a minstrel show that uses this racism to prompt racism from his audience. His satire is by no means a comedic satire; instead, the horror of the stereotypes is evident and makes us very uncomfortable. But he develops the show in a way that echoes previous minstrel shows- for example, Pierre/ Peerless explained that he wanted the actors to use the same way of making the paint as was previously used in minstrel shows. And he wants Black actors to be the actors portraying the characters in the minstrel show. All of these decisions are uncomfortable and seem to heighten the racism of an already racist show, which then enables Pierre/ Peerless to display the racism of the people watching the show who seem to accept what he as created. For example, Pierre/ Peerless’ boss claims that he is not racist- as he says horribly racist anecdotes- but then he completely supports the minstrel show. He is bamboozled into showing how racist he really is, because he does not recognize the racism of the show he endorses. What furthers the complexity of this satire is that the audience of the minstrel show does not seem to understand the satire, but the audience of the movie can. When the audience of the minstrel show views the episodes, they accept what they see and dress up in blackface themselves. But the audience of the movie sees the audience of the minstrel show react this way, which prompts the movie’s audience to understand the satire. Basically, I see the satire as at the expense of the minstrel show’s audience, but made for the audience of the movie. And I believe that this satire is very successful; as John said above, the discomfort was obvious in the room. People expressed after discomfort after watching the movie, which is the reaction to a well-done satire.
ReplyDelete4. The scenes that stayed with me after class where the scenes where Manray and Womack were putting on the blackface. There were a couple scenes of them doing this before the show’s taping started, and each time, there was minimal dialogue and only a brief clip of their preparations. Pierre/ Peerless explained that he wanted Manray and Womack to use the burnt cork “recipe” to make the blackface paint, but other than these few lines of dialogue, not much else was said in these scenes. However, I believe that Manray and Womack expressed just an vast amount of pain through their body language in these scenes; the audience is able to understand some of their emotions without dialogue, which I feel would distract from the scene and would not be able to express emotion in the same manner. Though Manray and Womack agree to play the parts in the minstrel show, they don’t seem to be completely accepting of the characters or show that they are hired for. And I see this lack of comfort in the brief clips before the taping, more so than the scenes in which they learn about the show and the characters that they would be playing. The men, especially Womack, voice their concerns about the show- but their general discomfort seems to move from uncertainty about the show to an intense sorrow as they actually perform in the minstrel show. And Manray’s acceptance of the new clothes and the famous tap shoes, along with his new apartment, seems less important when you see how upset he looks as he applies the paint for the blackface. So I believe that these short clips expose the men’s true emotions about their character roles; it is hard to move past the truth that the roles you play aren’t horrifically racist when you are applying the costume that immediately signifies that type of show. And the two men are forced to look at themselves in the mirror and watch that racism put a mask over their face. The sorrow that Manray and Womack have as they do so is just so upsetting to the viewer, and their actions made a scene that I could not move past. Another scene that also stood out to me is the young boy who also plays in the minstrel show. Some of the people who acted the characters in the minstrel show experience trauma, so the fact that a child also puts on the blackface and is part of such a racist show causes me concern. As the young boy acts in a show that I’m sure could cause him intense stress, children on Halloween are excited to dress up as the show’s characters.
ReplyDeleteI expected the show to have positive reviews, so I wasn’t too surprised when it was a success, but I was astounded by how this show seemed almost to have become an immediate cult classic. All sorts of paraphernalia like masks and bobble heads were sold that contained blackface, and white folks were wearing them. During the first show, whites seemed almost scared to laugh at the obviously racist portrayal, but once they anxiously scanned the room and found black faces smiling they seemed to think that they had been given permission to enjoy the show. Unfortunately, they seem to like it for all the wrong reasons, watching it like an old and real minstrel show rather than the obvious satire that it is. I don’t think the movie changed drastically as I watched, it just underwent the same plot progression as any other movie, which of course does change it, but there were know major moments when this change was rapid.
ReplyDeleteI do like Pierre and Sloan. They created this show so it was doomed to fail, at least in the real world, but for some backwards reason people enjoyed the show and it became a hit. They also intended it to be a satire, but were held back by their boss and other writers who intended to make it funnier, but instead made the film more like a realistic minstrel show and less like a satire that was meant to make fun of these stereotypes. One qualm I do have with Pierre and Sloan, however, is that their exploitation of “Mantan” and “Sleep and Eat” is completely wrong as they intend to use them to get Pierre out of his contract, giving them false hope that they could become TV stars before having their show intentionally closed down and sent back to poverty. Pierre can’t walk away from the show because of his contract, and I suspect Sloan has a similar dilemma, but money probably is also a factor in their decisions to stick by the show. In regards to their similarities to Nick Naylor, I think that they are very different because Nick Naylor knew exactly who he was hurting with his job, whilst Sloan and Pierre are doing it accidentally.
I think that one of the most prominent targets of satire in this movie is satire itself, or at least those who don’t understand it’s intricacies. As stated by Pierre, this minstrel show is supposed to be a satire, but this satire is proven too unrecognizable for most of its audience to understand. The snooty stereotype that Pierre carries is another way to mock satire, as it makes the character obsessed with satire out to be a snob, who is self centered and full of himself. This is, in a way, the nature of satire as it demeans someone or something that the writer considers to be less than. The most obvious satire, though, is found in the film’s treatment of the film industry, who seem like they would do anything for a hit tv show.
The moment that has stuck with me the scene sequence that revealed how many of the white viewers of the minstrel show became obsessed with it. They were wearing black face masks and treating this new minstrel show like many if not most of their ancestors treated old minstrel shows when they first saw them. Genuinely laughing at the humor they saw in negative black stereotypes. It was a chilling moment as the humor of how strangely well the show was doing was swiftly cutout by the astounding racism of the viewers.
At first I didn't take the movie too serious. I think it did have a message behind it, but for the most part it was a rushed and mediocre film. However, as the film progressed, I started to take it more serious. I think this turn happened when “sleep and eat” was putting blackface on and was crying while saying showtime. The movie had a very sad tone from that point on. Also, when Pierre went to visit his dad, I didn't understand why Pierre cut him off after that. Other than the fact he got a little drunk, I don’t see what his dad did to make Pierre suddenly stop talking to him. So far I do not like Pierre’s character.
ReplyDeleteI think Pierre and Sloan don’t walk away from the show because they are already too deep in. The show has been cleared to air, it has a lot of publicity, and there is a lot of money to be made off of it. So far I don’t like Pierre’s character. He tries to act like he is so high and mighty, when in reality, he is a sellout and aims to please the higher ups, even if those weren’t his original intentions. If he was truly a good person, he would walk away from the show, especially considering he can find another job elsewhere.
The satire is of the industry. A lot of times, they have these blatantly racist or sexist scenes in movies/tv-shows, and when confronted about it, they say something along the lines of “take a joke”, or “It had nothing to do with race”. The people at CBN are convincing themselves that they are using this show to combat stereotypes, but in reality, they are reinforcing them. I do not think the satire is effective because a lot people might recognize it, and if they can’t recognize it, they cant fix it.
The scene that stayed with me was when “sleep and eats” was crying in the mirror while putting on blackface. That scene was incredible impactful and sad and completely switched the tone of the movie.
1. In the first half of the film, I expected there to be some comical and surreal elements to this film due to the tone of other Spike Lee films that I have viewed. This film has been unlike anything I have ever seen. Before I thought I was able to watch any film without getting too emotional, but I left today’s viewing feeling a little sick to my stomach. The first half of the film isn’t too bad. The worst thing that we had to watch was DeLa’s boss’ disgusting racism towards black people. What made me the most uncomfortable about that character is how completely ignorant he is. He thinks black people are all the same and are all idiots, when it’s really him who is the idiot. The second half was even more sickening as the menstrual show pushes the social boundaries of anything I’ve eve seen come out in the 21st century.
ReplyDelete2. It seems like they have also let their greed get the best of them. It’s clear that they are both conflicted about whether or not they should keep the show going but their of them is strong enough to stand up for what is truly right. I believe Pierre did have the intention of getting himself fired from CBN when he began the project, but after his vibrant success he has changed his morals to better suit him. I think this is a very undignified thing to do. I despise Pierre for his willingness to spew so much racism into the world for the good of his own pocket book.
3. I think the object of today’s satire is cultural appropriation. Spike Lee is a genius in that he his taking someone else’s distorted view of his own race, and then distorting that even more. I believe he does this to poke fun at white television writers and producers that steal black culture to make money, while also exaggerating the bigotry to the point of where it makes anyone’s skin crawl. I believe the satire is almost TOO effective. It’s funny, but it is also horrifying.
4. The scene that really stuck with me was the “Timmy Timmy Hilln*****”” commercial during the debut of the ManTan show on television. These kind of commercials are the most recognizable pieces of media in this film for me due to the time period in which I was born. This film has caused me to have a lot of realizations about the media I view and how it might make people feel. As a white male, I don’t always realize what’s wrong with certain media and I’m a bit disappointed in myself for not seeing this sooner.