The Spike Lee film Bamboozled was released in 2000 and it is a satire about the history of the film and television industries. The characters involved in the movie are Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans), Manray/Mantan (Savion Glover), Sloan Hopkins (Jada Pinkett-Smith), Womack/Sleep "N" Eat (Tommy Davidson), and Mr. Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport). One online film review reported Bamboozled as a "preachy and pretentious social satire that's quite embarrassing and never funny." This review also added that the film was "extra long so Lee can beat us over the head with his message." Another review was quite nicer in its critique but it did agree with the first review by stating "Lee never makes one forget that Bamboozled is, foremost, an attack on racial misrepresentation in entertainment." These reviews also gave the movie one out of four stars and after watching Bamboozled myself, I disagree with the reviews and ratings.
The movie was full of politics pertaining to race, gender, and class. Beginning with race, the movie first portrayed African Americans in the business world. There was only one African American working for Mr. Dunwitty and that was Pierre Delacroix. He was nothing like the stereotypical black male. He did not have a black name (Delacroix), he spoke perfect english, and he graduated from one of the highest ranked universities in the nation. He was actually more "white" than anything. It is almost as if the more "white" you are, the more success you will have and the more you will be accepted. .
Another example of race is the stereotype made of African Americans by showing the Mau Maus. The Mau Maus were a group of African Americans who were unemployed, spoke terrible english, and smoked and drank all day. They came across as being tough, ignorant, and lazy. This group depicted the stereotyped African American.
Also, in the entertainment business, mocking the black race was entertaining.
