Thoughts : Bamboozled (2000)
Some directors are visionaries, but it also seems like some have a direct line of sight into the future. What is presented as a satirical, extraordinary farce of modern events can quickly turn into reality right before our eyes, making those particular satirical musings much heavier in retrospect. Spike Lee has never been shy about sharing his views and opinions on our society, but with Bamboozled, he seemed to tap into something deeper, as if the film was a warning for the change to come.
Pierre Delacroix, born Peerless Dothan (Damon Wayans), is an uptight, educated high-level creative executive for television network CNS. As one of the few black writers at his level, he finds himself continuously frustrated with the lack of diversity shown to minorities on TV, as well as the lack of opportunities for diversity on the creative side. Under the pressure of his boss Thomas Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport) to deliver a groundbreaking hit show, Pierre teams up with his personal assistant Sloan Hopkins (Jada Pinkett Smith) to hatch up a show so blatantly offensive that it will hopefully get him fired from the network. The two, inspired by street performers Manray (Savion Glover) and Womack (Tommy Davidson), develop Mantan’s New Millennium Minstrel Show, a repackaging of the blatantly offensive imagery America used in the past to portray African-Americans in media. To the surprise of everyone, the show becomes a commercial and critical success, only further tying Pierre down into the life he’s come to despise. Slaon’s brother Big Black Afrika (Mos Def) and his rap group The Mau Maus, however, are not fans, and immediately start cooking up a scheme to put the show to an end. As the show takes on a life of its own, friendships and relationships are tested, and Pierre is forced to come to grips with himself via deep soul searching.
It cannot be stressed how on the nose Spike Lee was with this extremely biting satire of what the world of entertainment was becoming. At the time, sitcom television was still a thing, but it was rapidly fading out of existence thanks to things like reality television, the internet and home video technology raising in quality while becoming affordable to the average person. The gap between entertainment and reality began to blur, and while Bamboozled seemed to be a stretch at the time, many of its premonitions have gone on to become reality. Some are harmless, such as The Roots becoming a TV band. Other aspects, such as blackface becoming more commonplace, have sadly seen their time in the spotlight recently. The entire look of the film was jarring at the time thanks to the consumer-level cameras used for the non-television portions, but these days you see similar quality work in theaters, on television and on YouTube quite often.
Lee masterfully tells his story in an extremely dark satirical manner, even going so far as to define satire at the start of the film. This definition serves as a clear marker for where Pierre’s head is at, only for this state of mind to be rocked numerous times, shown via a set of wonderful repeating cuts and the ever growing presence of minstrel-based memorabilia that literally begins to overtake his office. His use of well-defined characters who are either clearly set in their ways or victims of their circumstances is rewarded as many of these characters are either debased or driven to action due to a feeling of moral superiority. Add in callbacks to classic routines taken from source material like Amos & Andy, mixed brilliantly with lifts from films like Network, and the result is deeply insightful. You may even find yourself looking at things you held in a high regard in a much different light.
Damon Wayans and Tommy Davidson, both known for their comedic chops, are simply brilliant in this film with both their comedic timing and dramatic depth. Savion Glover brings a personality to the screen that matches his dance skill, as well as an innocence that makes his story that much more painful as you watch it unfold. Jada Pinkett Smith is on fire as usual... as Lee puts it in the supplemental material, she is feminine enough to demand attention while strong enough to hold her own with anyone she shares the screen with. Mos Def plays against type for his role, managing to be humorous while still voicing the pain that many people birthed with awareness feel. Michael Rapaport is equal parts brilliantly funny and deeply scummy, making his performance stand out. Thomas Jefferson Byrd also comes through with a strong performance as Honeycutt, drawing comparisons to iconic characters like Lonesome Rhodes (but given a blackface treatment).
I am often surprised that this film has not received more acclaim as the years went by. Upon its release, many went to their favorite Spike Lee adjective set, calling it things like ‘controversial’. At the time, and even more so now, I find it more of an insightful warning and less of a shock piece.
