Week 11: Spike Lee Films

In class we watched Spike Lee's "Bamboozled." Even though at times when the jokes seemed real and it was uncomfortable, I really liked it. It took people's stereotypes and forced us to really look at them. At first, they're funny, but to me, they eventually stop being funny and I start thinking if I stereotype people like that as well.

The main stereotypes of characters in this movie I find myself thinking at times are the white guy thinking he's black and the black guy who tries way to hard to make him sound intelligent. For the white producer, he pretends to connect with his black employees and co-workers. His office is full of all products and poster of black. He talks "ghetto." I'm sorry, but that's the most annoying thing ever. I just want to go up to people like that and say, "Sir. You did NOT grow up in the ghetto, but probably in a nice middle-class white community. Please stop trying to be black."

The other stereotype I struggled with is the black person who tries waaay too hard to sound intelligent. I definitely have a friend like that and I just want to say, " I know that you are intelligent. Now stop explaining things to me like I'm not understanding you. You are belittling me." It's like they're trying so hard to prove everyone wrong about the stereotype, but I know that people go to school then college and can hold an intelligent conversation with anyone. Even though it's not explored in this movie, Hispanics are also known to do this to try to convince everyone around them that they do not fit that stereotype.

The movie also discusses how audiences don't really have a mind of their own, but follow what is popular. At first, they protested the show, but then they were told that it was OK to watch the show. Afterwards, the show took off and every one was watching it and really getting into the show such as the live audience who even went black face themselves. On the subject of black face, I'm still shocked that it was OK and the norm to do black face until the 1950s and that huge stars such as Fred Astaire did it. In one of his movies (I think it was "Swing Time") he does a huge black face dance with back up dancers in the same. If that movie was created today, it would be protested, but back then, no one thought twice about it.