The title of this paper came to mind all throughout watching Spike Lee's Bamboozled (2000). From reading various reviews I have noticed that Spike Lee, "is not a filmmaker renowned for his subtlety, but when he's good - with movies like "Malcolm X" and "Do The Right Thing" - he manages to entertain while also making salient political statements and comments about life in the US for African Americans." Mr N, BAMBOOZLED Usage of satire seems to be a standard in his movies. In Bamboozled, Lee starts off the movie with a dictionary definition of the word satire, so as to make sure the audience knows exactly how he is delivering this message. Tommy Davidson's (Womack) statement during an interview about the movie is that black actors are still entertaining by, "putting themselves down, putting down who they were, and making whites feel superior." I will give pertinent examples and quotes from the movie, from interviews, and from articles to show how Lee develops his satirical approach to the painful history of racial stereotyping in America. .
Lee starts the movie with Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) reciting from the dictionary the definition of the word satire. Not only is he reciting the definition, but also he is doing so in a voice that parodies a stereotypical white person. This immediately alludes to a conflict of identity within the character Pierre Delacroix. Basically Wayans" character is a television writer that has to come up with a hit show. Pierre Delacroix's character boss Thomas Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport) is tired of Delacroix's previous work. So, because of lack of appreciation, Delacroix's alternative motive is to some up with something so offensive that the end result will be his termination from the company. Delacroix comes up with a modern interpretation of a minstrel show, "Mantan the New Millennium Minstrel Show". Minstrel shows of yesteryear-portrayed black actors as what Lee says, "coons and buffoons" In today's light Davidson recalls, "feelings of how low we had to stoop to survive.
