Bamboozling Questions

Spike Lee’s Bamboozled is a satire that raises a ton of questions about how we view race, and how race is portrayed in the media. It tells the story of Pierre Delacroix, a highly educated black man who works for a large media network tasked with attracting a higher number of minority viewers. Delacroix hates his job, but the only way that he can get out of his contract is by being fired, so he decides to pitch a concept so racist and ridiculous that the network will have no choice but to release him. He comes up with a pitch for a modern day minstrel show called Mantan: The New Millenium Minstrel Show. Although the plot of the created show was undeniably racist, with offensive jokes and puns, ridiculous stereotypes, and a cast in blackface, it was still embraced by Delacroix’s crazy white boss Dunwitty. The show becomes a huge success on television, but it isn’t long before everything gets out of hand.

While the plot of the film, especially the characteristics of the modern minstrel show, may seem a bit unrealistic from a 21st century perspective, the movie harkens back to a much different period in the history of our country’s entertainment industry. Not only do Delacroix and co. create show that adheres to trademark features of old minstrel shows, but Bamboozled is filled with references to specific shows, minstrel performers, and even historic black television shows such as Amos and Andy. In this way the movie helps establish a strong link to the past, but the main power of this film draws from its ability to raise a number of questions about how we think of race in the present.

One question that frequently surfaces is that of what it means to be black (or any race for that matter). This can be seen with Delacroix’s struggle to identify himself, especially when dealing with his boss. Dunwitty claims to be “blacker” than Delacroix even though he is white, all because he talks in slang, pretends to love black culture, and has memorabilia of famous African-Americans all over his office. He goes so far as to tell Delacroix that it is alright for him to say the word “nigga” because his wife is black. How do we as a culture define race? What are the consequences of labeling a person who is ethnically white as black, or vice versa?

Other questions about race are raised throughout the film, even by more auxiliary characters. For example, Julius, the older brother of Delacroix’s aassistant Sloan, changes his name to “Big Blak Afrika” as a response to a feeling of oppression and the lack of freedom that he feels in the current social and political system that he is a part of. Also, Mantay and Womack, the two main performers in the minstrel show, have to decide whether or not to continue acting in the show, weighing money and fame versus the integrity of their racial identity. In the end, Julius’ rap group the Mau Maus takes matters into their own hands to end The New Millenium Minstrel Show. That bears the question; whose responsibility is it to police racial prejudice? And what steps must we all take to combat racism and harmful stereotypes?

Bamboozled is a powerful film that forces the viewers to reassess a number of issues regarding race and segregation. In harkening to a dark past, the movie raises a number of questions about the power of racial representation in the media. But beyond that, it targets issues of race that are inherent in nearly all aspects of life, and leaves us wondering; when is something racist? What causes and helps perpetuate racial discrimination? At one point in the film Dunwitty praises the stereotypes on Mantan, and defends them to Delacroix “the show can’t be racist,” he says, “because you’re black.” How did our society get to the point where this would be considered a perfectly legitimate statement?