Every Black Stereotype Into His Movie Bamboozled example essay topic

The movie Bamboozled by Spike Lee is a very interesting movie which brings up a lot of different points. Although Bamboozled did not receive great reviews like some of Lee's other movies, I think it brought up a lot of important questions regarding the media and the way film portrays African Americans on T.V. Lee's movie brings to light the notion that to be black and on television you have to play a certain role or type of character. He makes the point that African Americans are expected to be a particular type of character and that their lives reflect that role. Lee also makes a statement that to be African American and live in the U.S. you have to act a certain way.

If you want to be successful you have to entertain or act in a manner reflecting white society's beliefs about what blacks are. Spike Lee's movies force people to think about important racial issues and Bamboozled is no exception. To understand a Spike Lee Joint you have to understand where Spike Lee comes from. Shelton Jackson Lee was born on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Lee's mother Jacquelyn was a schoolteacher and Lee's father was an accomplished jazz singer. Lee's mother instilled a great love for African American art and literature in Lee at a young age, and Lee's father taught him the history of black culture and jazz culture.

Lee had the foundation to be a very intelligent and influential black figure with a strong sense of who he is and where he came from. Lee got his nickname Spike from his mother because the word suggested toughness. Lee wanted to learn more about his black roots and followed the path of his father and grandfather by attending Morehouse College, an all black college. While attending Morehouse College, Lee's mother died. Lee's friends would try to cheer him up by taking him to the movies.

After seeing a lot of movies with his friends, Lee became a huge fan of directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Martin Scorsese, and Akira Kurosawa. Lee saw the movie The Deer Hunter by Michael Ci minos and he knew he wanted to make movies. Lee said, 'I want to make films. ' Lee's friend John said, "But not just any films: Lee wanted to make films that would capture the black experience, and he was willing to do so by whatever means necessary". From then on Lee did what he could to show his Black upbringing and experience through his films, even if they portrayed negative issues. Bamboozled was published in 2000.

The movie takes place in New York. Bamboozled is a movie about an African American TV producer, Pierre Delacroix, who is trying to get fired because he thinks he is going to get fired anyway. Delacroix and his secretary, Sloan, come up with the idea of casting two street bums, Sleep 'n Eat and Mantan, in their new millennium minstrel show. The idea is to create such a controversial show that Delacroix would be fired, but instead the show is a hit.

Delacroix's plan backfires and he creates a new racial show that just adds to the stereotypical racial shows in America's history. Lee's movie brings up some very interesting questions. Lee illustrates the question of value through the role of Delacroix. Delacroix is faced with question of what is more important, to be successful or to be morally and ethically correct? Throughout the movie Lee uses very controversial words to describe situations and characters.

He uses words like Alabama porch monkey, coon, Tommy Hill Niger, and Negro. He uses these words to show Americans the stereotypes America has about African Americans. Stereotypes play a big role in Bamboozled. The main actor Delacroix doesn't even know his true identity. He acts white during the whole movie even though he is a black man. This depicts the stereotype of a successful black businessman.

Lee manages to incorporate almost every black stereotype into his movie Bamboozled. The different characters portray the different African American stereotypes seen in movies. Pierre Delacroix played by Damon Wayans represents the stereotypical black businessman trying to do everything he can to fit into a predominantly white business world. In the process he is abandoning his true African American background. Mantan and Sleep 'n Eat played by Tommy Davidson and Savi on Glover depict the typical poor black entertainers who will do anything to make money. Next Sloan is played by Jada Pinkett who is the well-educated female secretary.

Finally the rap group "the Mau Maus" is introduced. They are a stereotypical black rap group who portray ignorant alcoholic gangster types. Last is Delacroix's boss, Dunwitty, who is the stereotypical "winger" or white guy trying to be African American. He tries so hard to be black that he marries a black woman.

Dunwitty even tells Delacroix that he is blacker than him even though Delacroix is a black man and Dunwitty is a white man. Damon Wayan's character Delacroix is the main character and is portrayed in a very negative light. Before Delacroix makes the hit show "The New Millennium Minstrel Show" he is not well liked at the office. He has to go out of his way to be nice to people he doesn't even like. He is the corporate black man who does everything he can to hide the fact that he is black. He changes his name and the way he speaks just to hide the fact that he is black.

Lee turns Delacroix into an "anti-black" black man. This is a commonly held idea that a lot of black people have about successful black businessmen. While Mantan and Sleep 'n Eat are working on the street, they act as if Delacroix traded sides from black to white. Lee presents this idea to say that in order for a black man to be successful, he must act white. There is another commonly held view that in order to be rich you must be white. Lee also brings up the issue that successful black people are always entertainers.

If a black person wants to be successful, they either have to be sellouts and try to act white or entertain the white population. In the movie when Delacroix visits his dad who is a performer, his dad tells him something over and over again to make a point. He tells Delacroix to keep them smiling. His father also says that we, referring to African Americans, will always be entertainers.

This is a common misconception about the African American race. In the history of the United States, African Americans have historically been poor. In a study done by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) in 2002 the typical net worth of African Americans household was $15,000 while the typical net worth of an American household, all races included, was $71,700. The income gap according to the fed in 1999 was $27,900 for African American house holds versus $40,800 for American families. Black people who have made a lot of money might have done it by entertaining.

If you think of successful and wealthy African Americans you will probably think of famous entertainers such as actors or musicians. You would be hard pressed to think of successful African Americans who made their money by starting a company or by owning real estate though there are some. The problem lies in the fact that most of the wealth is held in families and is inherited by relatives. This means white families have had years to build up the wealth in their families. Until recently, African Americans were not allowed to accumulate wealth. It is harder to build wealth then it is to keep wealth.

In addition, in order to become wealthy there are certain costs such as education. The economic system is set up in such a way that it is hard to change the economic status into which you were born. People who went to see Bamboozled probably left with a lot of different ideas involving the portrayal of African American stereotypes and black culture. Lee said he wanted to make movies that captured the black experience. I think Bamboozled captured the black experience of wealth and stereotypes in America. It is impossible to know what it feels like to be black, but Lee does a good job of allowing everyone to see the hardships of African American life and racial issues they are faced with daily.