Sorry but I'm Bothered

Sorry to Bother You has to be one of the most memorable movie experiences I've had. From its interesting humor to the simplicity of its production and shooting (in the sense that there are for the most part no elaborate effects, making it easy to visualize this in the context of our world), the movie was really interesting to me. I'm sure the odd personalities of the chars as well as the whirlwind that was the final ~30 minutes of the movie were interesting... But that's not my point, while I enjoyed the movie a great deal, I have some things to say.

There's no way the a comparison between Get Out and Sorry to Bother You can't be made. There are so many similarities it hurts. Both movies center around a young black man getting caught up in a scheme created by a white system to control him for their gain. Both movies intended to use the main character for monetary gain too, except in Get Out they were going to sell him as labor, whereas Sorry to Bother You saw Cassius being used as a leader to keep labor flowing consistently. There's something also eerie about this concept of whiteness and how its presented in the context of black people. (Spoilers ahead, if you don't want them then skip to the next paragraph) In Get Out, we saw black characters being put under hypnosis and being forced to speak and act in a unnaturally posh, stereotypical white way.

In Sorry to Bother You, Cassius had to use his white voice to sell products in his telemarketing business, and by choosing to abandon himself and take on this white persona was able to sell way more than he would otherwise be able to. Cassius success after adopting his "white voice" is not a coincidence, especially when his talent leads him to the tops of Regalview where he gets exposed to the immoral practices of Steve Lift & Co. In both cases the characters, after being faced with what this whiteness does to other characters, realizes their need to escape the system. I can think of so much more, but all I'm saying is that there is no possible way that the 2 movies aren't connected.

Cynical Minstrelism

We have discussed the minstrel-esque qualities of Beatty's portrayal of Gunnar's LA life. From the places to the people, there are ever-present comedic exaggerations. From the humorous descriptions of the people he encounters in his day-to-day adventures to the vulgar, comedic, and expressive dialogue Beatty presents us with, everything seems a caricature of what it should be, but slightly off. For example, the gangsters wearing all Blue are hard, but they aren't the crips. Dialogue between Gunnar and Co. almost always involves forms of sarcasm, irony, or general humor. The book itself keeps its comedic sense, even if the humor takes on a more cynical tone as the book progresses.

Unlike the Eatonville residents, almost every character fits some stereotype. Nick is a really good basketball player, which fits the stereotype about black men and basketball we all know of. That said, the thuggish boy we are first presented with is an avid jazz fan, something that might've caught a lot of people off guard. Gunnar, an avid fan of poetry and poet himself, falls under the same category. I think these ironic character twists do a really good job of subverting stereotypes we may or may not believe, however this doesn't seem to affect character to character interactions as much, giving a minstrel feel. However, I think because we as the perceived audience see what makes these characters unique beyond first impressions is what distinguishes the humor in White boy shuffle from another minstrel-like show.