African American Psych.
Paper 1
18 September 2008
Spike Lee's movie, “Bamboozled”, is a very important movie that opens the door to positive racial dialog. Even though Lee's film did not get great reviews at the box office, as many of his other films have, viewers founds that “Bamboozled” brought up many important questions pertaining to the media and the way African Americans are portrayed in films and on television. The film reveals the idea that to be an African American on television or in movies, one must play a certain type of role or be type-cast. Lee points out that as African American's are expected to fall into these roles willingly, just as Mantan and Sleep'n'Eat did, that it is through the massive influence of the media that these negative roles can be unknowingly perpetuated. The film also presents the idea that to live in America, African American's must behave a certain way and play out the role that white society would have them portray. According to the film, to be successful in America, one must behave as White society would have one act. By adhering to these societal “norms”, Mantan and Sleep'n'Eat quickly loose themselves in the black face, buffoonish role that was given to them. According to the film, if you want to be successful you must adhere to the “White” guidelines for success. Just as Mantan and Sleep'n'Eat did, even against their best judgment.
Some viewers found Lee's portrayal of Caucasian American's to be disrespectful and stereotypical, as not all white American's would blindly follow such racists media trends. Although viewers understand that the film is satire, would it not be more appropriate to portray the “bad guys” not as white people but as aristocracy. Viewers found that this gross racist-reversal discredited Lee's film as simply an angry shot at white people. Seemingly the freedom and equality he is so earnestly fighting for must come at the expense of others. However, in Lee's defense, he did not spare his main...