Singing, dancing satire: Spike Lee takes on TV

Spike Lee is pushing our buttons again— so much so that The New York Times refuses to print ads for his new movie. And no wonder—Bamboozled treads on some pretty explosive territory. In previous films like Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and He Got Game, Lee deftly dealt with issues of race in the United States. Bamboozled is no exception. A searing satire of the entertainment industry (TV in particular), Bamboozled explores the tangled web of racism in the representation and presentation of black people in popular culture.

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Bamboozled follows the conception and production of a TV show—Mantan the New Millennium Minstrel Show—based on the minstrel shows of the mid-1800s, in which white (and later, some African-American) entertainers in blackface acted out buffoonish and degrading stereotypes. The premise is that Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans), the only black writer for a television network called CNS, is under pressure from his boss, Dunwitty (Michael Rappaport), to produce the next best thing in television that will boost CNS' plummeting ratings. Dunwitty believes that black culture is where the money is. He chastises Delacroix for not being black enough to produce the shows that will get the ratings, for not knowing the name of the African-American athletes on his office wall. Delacroix has a Harvard education, a phony academic accent, and uses the word "Negro."

Since none of his previous ideas have been produced, Delacroix decides to go with the absolute worst idea he can come up with: the revival of blackface minstrels, complete with Aunt Jemima, a watermelon patch, and singing and dancing to a band called the Alabama Porch Monkeys. Delacroix and his assistant, Sloan (Jada Pinkett Smith), are dumbfounded as the show goes into production and becomes a cultural sensation. Homeless street performers Man Ray (Savion Glover) and Womack (Tommy Davidson) star in the show as Mantan and Sleep `n' Eat. As the show's popularity grows, Delacroix, Sloan, Womack and others grow increasingly uneasy with the its crude racism, and things begin to unravel.

Lee shot Bamboozled in the gritty unclarity of digital video, except for the scenes of Mantan, which are shot in dazzlingly sharp film. While the digital medium makes it nearly impossible to approach the devastating beauty of He Got Game, Bamboozled is still a visually pleasing movie. Lee moves the camera around expertly, sometimes allowing the audience incredible intimacy with the characters, sometimes hovering above the action, as detached as a surveillance camera.

Unfortunately, the actors' performances are not managed with the same dexterity. As a satire, Bamboozled needs not have realistic and well-rounded characters. Still, the inconsistency in the naturalism of the actors' performances only confuses the intent of the film. Should the characters be taken seriously? Does Spike Lee intend them to be reflections or exaggerations of reality? Damon Wayans's over-the-top, caricature-like performance of Delacroix is great in and of itself, but when Delacroix interacts with Jada Pinkett Smith's understated Sloan, the contrast is distracting. Michael Rappaport, on the other hand, manages to conflate naturalism and satire by making the despicable television executive Dunwitty both obviously exaggerated and frighteningly recognizable.

Bamboozled inspires strong emotions. There's an incredible weight, an incredible sadness in watching Man Ray and Womack's weekly ritual of blackening up. The scenes of the minstrel show itself will make you squirm in your seat. On one hand, there's the simple shock of seeing and hearing the horrible and repulsive stereotypes.

And then on the other hand, there's the pure pleasure of watching Savion Glover's choreography and his performance. For those who didn't get to see Glover's award-winning Broadway show, Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, the chance to see him huff is reason enough to see Bamboozled. Lee goes to new heights of biting social commentary with the hilarious mock commercial for "Timmi Hilnigger" jeans in which "Timmi" thanks the TV audience for buying his clothes, contributing to his multimillion dollar company while they stay broke.

Film

Bamboozled Directed by Spike Lee Starring Damon Wayans, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Savion Glover, Tommy Davidson Showcase Cinemas

Bamboozled does not criticize mainstream culture exclusively. The foil to Mantan—the Mau Maus, a rap group with aspirations to political revolution—gets its share of the critical gaze as well. The Mau Maus' leader, Big Blak Afrika, is Sloan's brother Julius (Mos Def). Lee clearly denounces their violent tendencies, but also venerates hip-hop as a truly black art form. After hearing the Mau Maus perform, Delacroix says, "I don't want to see anything black for at least a week."

Lee's greatest accomplishment in Bamboozled, however, is the ability to allude to subtle and present threads of racism in our daily life through the obvious and vulgar racism in the movie. And that, folks, is some good satire.

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