Let's talk about "Bamboozled"

I first came across this Spike Lee film in my Film as Communications class. With the recent views on black representation in the media this movie came to mind. Spike Lee really packs decades of black stereotypes into just 2hrs 15mins and it is indeed an eyeopener into what we have for years been fed through mainstream media. 

Are we being Bamboozled?

American film director Spike Lee's Bamboozled (2000), takes on the issue of race relations and the portrayal of African Americans in the media. Delivered as a satire within a satire, Lee addresses head- on any misconceptions which may arise due to the film's heavy content. During the opening sequence the main character Pierre Delacroix, played by Damon Wayans, explains satire as: 

"A literary work in which human vice or folly is ridiculed or attacked scornfully.... The branch of literature that composes such work.... Irony, derision or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice or stupidity."

In this way Lee intends to direct the public’s interpretation of his piece. Through his revival of the 19th century Minstrel show, Spike Lee unmasks racial subtexts within current media. In Bamboozled’s live audience production, “Mantan: The New Millennium Minstrel Show”, Spike Lee emphasizes the treatment by the American media of black America. He reuses racial images which have circulated American programming over the years. Lee packs a full assortment of historically prejudicial figures on the Minstrel stage.  The staging of the Minstrel show on a watermelon plantation is significant to racial stereotypes predating the abolition of slavery. 

The cultural association of the watermelon patch and the African American has long had a derogatory interpretation but there is a little known historical report which thoroughly opposes this offensive ideal. The real story of the watermelon in black history became perverted with damaging assignments of  uncleanliness, laziness, childishness, and unwanted public presence, by Southern whites who were not in favour of the abolition of slavery. 

 Lee also mimics those subtle racial interjections in the current media where, like the watermelon fixture; other foods are used as an indicator to black culture. This is displayed in the scene where Womack (Tommy Davidson) and Manray (Savion Glover) feast on among other fast food offerings, the fried chicken, while Delacroix discusses his concept for the Minstrel show.

 Other stereotypical re-creations are demonstrated by the performers of the Minstrel show. The painted blackfaces of the main actors Mantan and Sleep ‘n Eat are displayed  alongside a supporting cast of almost every racial caricature which has stained the African community, such as the “Tom”, “Coon”, “Pickaninny”, “Rastus”, “Aunt Jemima” and the “Alabama Porch Monkeys”. With these and other statements, such as the antique figures which progressively line Delacroix’s office, the audience never forgets the misrepresentation of black people in US mainstream media and which seem to now be perpetuated by the black community. 

Accordingly, the film also suggests that there are modern day representations of these typecasts. Singling out gangster rap as the contemporary form of transmission of racial imagery to the masses, Spike Lee’s film makes the implicit comparison between the current genre and the preceding performance tradition. In the same fashion blackface entertainment was backed by white America over 100 years ago, Lee imitates the appeal of gangsta rap, a brand of music known for its sexually explicit content and which boasts its evolution within the black community. 

The main objective of the movie was to communicate how Black Americans are perceived by their counterparts. The director shows that throughout history blacks have been appropriated subjugated roles which are meant to demean and propagate black inferiority. Lee's film also acknowledges that the American public is uncomfortable with the projection of "the middle class black family"; as reasoned by Dunwitty who explains to Delacroix why his previous pilots were failures; he says "wake up, brother man. The reason why they didn't get picked up was because nobody- and I mean NOBODY- niggers and crackers alike wants to see that junk."

In addition to examining how the black community is regarded by white America, Bamboozled observes how African Americans see themselves. The director probes the idea that most blacks operate with a double consciousness where in order to be accepted they assimilate an identity closer to that of those who assume superiority, only to reclaim a sense of culture when among others of their group. He satirizes this with the Mau Maus and Delacroix as both groups excessively exalt their side of the dichotomy. The Mau Maus’ Afrocentric philosophy is in direct contrast to Delacroix’s Harvard educated disposition and which least fits the image of a person of his race.

Along with highlighting that white America has for years gained power and controlled the perception of the black community, Bamboozled explores the view that the powerful seem to believe that they have the authority to determine what is offensive. The flagrant use of the word “nigger” in television for instance is their way of trying to placate its offensive origin and is being justified by the idea “Nigger is just a word.” Spike Lee in turn gives reasons for the roles given to African Americans in television as the movie demonstrates that even 100 years later, white America power structure, as represented by Dunwitty and CNS executives, still have controlling power over the entertainment industry and therefore, determine its content.

The movie ends with a montage of the racial stereotypes used in film to represent African American. Take a look and tell us what you think by leaving a comment below.

About the Oscars

​Is it really "so white"?  

 

​In his opening monologue at the 88th Academy Awards show held on Sunday 28th February, host Christ Rock names it the “wildest, craziest Oscars.” Weighted by the sentiment that nominations favoured one race over the others, the 88th show was undoubtedly unlike its predecessors. In the months leading up to the Oscars actress Jada Pinkett Smith and filmmaker Spike Lee both announced their decision to boycott the Oscars citing a lack of ethnic diversity in the nominations, as they noted, had happened for the second consecutive year. Their stand further sparked the #OSCARSSOWHITE online campaign which questioned the fairness of the nominations which as host Chris Rock reminded, seemed to have excluded non-whites for an average of 71 years. Throughout the night the controversy was addressed and the Oscars 2016 became more than just the typical presentation of awards, it became part of the discussion of diversity.

Backed by glitz and glam, the Academy Awards ceremony celebrates achievements of the film industry. Winners are chosen by industry peers and rewarded for excellence in their field. At the 2016 Oscars it was hardly about the best and worst dressed and more about issues of racism which some believe led to certain films being overlooked. Referring to it as the “White People's Choice Awards,” Rock’s time on stage was well spent as he took every opportunity to point out race and gender biases within society and which are accordingly adopted into film.

Although his opening piece and skit which both defined the typical roles afforded to black actors in Hollywood gained much laughter and applause, those moments allowed the black community the chance to speak to a room packed with Hollywood executives, producers, directors, writers, filmmakers and actors.

Perhaps one of the most telling piece came from the interview of the Compton moviegoers who were generally unaware of the nominated films but had all seen “Straight Outta Compton” which was only nominated in the best original screenplay category.

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With the low representation of non-white actors at this year’s Oscars critics have challenged this to be a case of racism. While there are those who claim that movies such as Straight Outta Compton, Concussion and Creed were overlooked because of race, that claim may be less than easy to prove. One has to wonder if the exclusion of these films is enough to prove a racial bias in the nominations. In an interview with The Hollywood Report actress and Academy member Penelope Ann Miller objects to this claim saying “I voted for a number of black performers, and I was sorry they weren't nominated. But to imply that this is because all of us are racists is extremely offensive. I don't want to be lumped into a category of being a racist because I'm certainly not and because I support and benefit from the talent of black people in this business. It was just an incredibly competitive year." It is then possible that the problem stands with the governing rules which require that prospective members to either be sponsored by two serving members or for an actor to have an Oscar nomination in order to be considered. The cycle then goes; if non- white actors are not nominated then there is a lack of diversity in the Academy membership and if there is a lack of diversity in the member committee, then it effectually limits the number of minorities nominated for an award.
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The problem of diversity in film does not start at the Oscars but is a rather a whole industry problem. It is just hard to believe a writer would create a script with solely white actors in mind and directors, producers and all those involved in the casting selection would in turn interpret that script to include primarily white actors. Minorities need to be given more opportunities or the same opportunities as whites in order for there to be meaningful change and these opportunities should not be in misrepresented to mean a form of affirmative action. Former senior vice president of production at Sony's Columbia Pictures DeVon Franklin offers a good solution when he notes “They should be recruiting people when they are in middle school and high school, through to the college level. A lot of African-Americans who have professional aspirations don't even know there is a whole career possibility for them behind the camera in Hollywood. So it's a publicity thing and putting the resources there.”