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BamboozledTo give Bamboozled, directed by Spike Lee, a proper review is nearly impossible. There's no way to capture the entire film in a short, blog-style post. This is because the format goes beyond film--Bamboozled also encompasses many other forms of art: song, dance, rap, poetry, visual art and more. While the movie tackles some of the most difficult issues regarding race and the media, it also acts as a showcase, displaying African American art, as well as art which has been used detrimentally against African American people.
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Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMZ6zp-3oGY
To briefly summarize, Bamboozled follows the trials of a young television writer, Pierre Delacroix, creating a very sensational show. When told he needs to create "blacker" programming, he reacts to the criticism by creating the most openly offensive thing he can: a minstrel hour show, reminiscent of racist variety hour shows of the early 20th century. While the public is initially uncomfortable, they quickly indulge in the humor which, for many years, has been off limits. The show quickly becomes a success. The writer, Delacroix, rationalizes the racism and audacity of his show, which features African American actors in pitch-dark black face frolicking through a watermelon patch, by stating that it is a social commentary. If people are willing to allow such an offensive show on television, then our society truly still has overt racism to address
The truly magical, yet haunting moments of the film come in it's brief, anecdotal shots of individual characters. Lee briefly focuses the film on the struggle or success of one person to tell his or her story. For example, on the first night of filming Mantan: The New Millennium Minstrel Show, the camera centers on the lead actor creating his black-face (the process of which is detailed in the film), and putting it on for the first time. There is a clear struggle, both physical and emotional. His hand wavers. His brow creases. Everything in him tells him not to continue with this act, which, for years, was a highly offensive norm. He wears the makeup and performs, and in the spotlight, his fears and apprehensions seem to disappear. He sings, dances, and acts with his equally offensive partner Sleep'n'Eat. And while the studio audience becomes more comfortable and laughs at the absurdity of the show, so too does the viewer. It felt strange at first to see something so offensive and to chuckle, yet it was hard not to. The pure ridiculousness of the variety show was infectious. Spike Lee acknowledges this: even the characters in the show who were skeptical of it, and worried about the overt racism, began to smile and admit "o.k, perhaps it's a bit funny..."
However, the magic can not last long. The hypocrisy of what the show represents begins to crash around Delacroix and the actors. They realize that it is nearly impossible to make the point they wish to make, while the audience laughs at their racially insensitive skits and music. Delacroix begins having anxious delusions, taunted by mocking faces of "Sambo" figures and "Mammy" dolls. As the movie turns darker and darker, the true effects of consciously allowing racism to persist come forth, manifested through both the emotional toll it takes on the characters and more.
The truly magical, yet haunting moments of the film come in it's brief, anecdotal shots of individual characters. Lee briefly focuses the film on the struggle or success of one person to tell his or her story. For example, on the first night of filming Mantan: The New Millennium Minstrel Show, the camera centers on the lead actor creating his black-face (the process of which is detailed in the film), and putting it on for the first time. There is a clear struggle, both physical and emotional. His hand wavers. His brow creases. Everything in him tells him not to continue with this act, which, for years, was a highly offensive norm. He wears the makeup and performs, and in the spotlight, his fears and apprehensions seem to disappear. He sings, dances, and acts with his equally offensive partner Sleep'n'Eat. And while the studio audience becomes more comfortable and laughs at the absurdity of the show, so too does the viewer. It felt strange at first to see something so offensive and to chuckle, yet it was hard not to. The pure ridiculousness of the variety show was infectious. Spike Lee acknowledges this: even the characters in the show who were skeptical of it, and worried about the overt racism, began to smile and admit "o.k, perhaps it's a bit funny..."
However, the magic can not last long. The hypocrisy of what the show represents begins to crash around Delacroix and the actors. They realize that it is nearly impossible to make the point they wish to make, while the audience laughs at their racially insensitive skits and music. Delacroix begins having anxious delusions, taunted by mocking faces of "Sambo" figures and "Mammy" dolls. As the movie turns darker and darker, the true effects of consciously allowing racism to persist come forth, manifested through both the emotional toll it takes on the characters and more.
Bamboozled shows many of the racist tropes highlighted in the documentary Ethnic Notions. Ethnic Notions asserts that the African American figures in media where extreme stereotypes: the Mammy, the Sambo, and so on. In Bamboozled the characters of The New Millennium Minstrel Show represent similar characters. Scholars in Ethnic Notions remind us that the stereotypes which created such characters were rarely based in fact. African Americans were not pitch black with bright red lips. Yet when enough of the media portrays them as such, people begin to believe the stereotype ("Ethnic Notions"). The same phenomenon can be seen in Bamboozled. While initially, people are appropriately uncomfortable because of the open racism, with enough people laughing, the audience forgets their inhibitions. This is perhaps the greatest social commentary that Spike Lee makes with this film. The majority may choose to ignore suffering because it is the majority. The voices of the minority are drowned out and ignored when the majority is not cognizant of the issue. It is a harrowing concept, but it also reminds us that it is important to be that single voice that speaks out to sway the masses.
Works Cited
Ethnic Notions. Dir. Marlon Riggs. California Newsreel, 1987. Online.
Bamboozled. By Spike. Lee. Dir. Spike. Lee. New Line Cinema, 2000. DVD.
Ethnic Notions. Dir. Marlon Riggs. California Newsreel, 1987. Online.
Bamboozled. By Spike. Lee. Dir. Spike. Lee. New Line Cinema, 2000. DVD.