“Slavery has been over since 400 years ago”
-Peerless “Pierre Delacroix” Dothan
Today’s class session was more lax than any other that we have had so far but that does not mean that it was any less intense. We viewed Spike Lee’s controversial film Bamboozled in its entirety, after which, there were many blank stares and bewildered faces around the classroom. The film, a shocking satire on the current relationship between American and Hollywood as they pertain to Black imagery, had obviously left a “sour” taste on the respective palettes of several people in the room; no doubt, the film accomplished what it set out to, which in a nutshell, was to shed light on the present state of Black media in this nation by comparing and contrasting it to content created during our nation’s dark past. Having viewed the film several times previously, nothing featured within it bothered me personally; notwithstanding, I did find the parallels between what we know as modern reality television and the type of antics and chicanery that took place in Bamboozled to be alarming. As noted during the culmination of today’s learning session, there is hardly any difference between how Flavor Flav conducted himself in front of millions of people worldwide and how black-faced actors were often forced to perform because of the pervasive climate of intolerance that existed during their heyday. Whether in the 19th, 20th, or 21st century, the denigration that unfolds within America’s entertainment avenues is renders the same effects as they have done traditionally, that is to say, they actively encourage a group of people to be belittled to the point where they become nothing more than substandard mockeries of themselves; they become caricatures, sub-human.
By: Jordan Alston
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I think after watching Bamboozled some people in the class still cant recognize that we are in May 2010 are still being Bamboozled. Bamboozled in a nutshell showed us that we watch these television shows being tricked by the comedy and shiny content into not even understanding the true meaning. This shows black peoples ignorance. When I watch shows like "Flava of Love," "Kesha Coles Show," "Frankie and Neffie," and "SnoopDoggsFatherHood." I see that the characters in these shows are no different than the characters in Bamboozled's black face show. Looking closely at the Frankie and Neffie show you can easily see the simulations between the two. The two poor blacks willing to do anything even behave like fools in order to get paid. Frankie and Neffie no or atleast shoulw know by now that the over the top random and retarded shit that they do on that show is stupid. It has no real meaning, it to black women behaving like Coons. If anything it shows them as still maintaining there ignorance in spite the fact that the have a little money. It also shows you can give money to some but it doesn't change the behavior of a coon. This however being masked as a show about families being given a chance to mend broken ties while being given a opportunity to get out of the ghetto. #Shame and # Bamboozled.
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