A frustrated africanamerican tv writer proposes a blackface. Spike lee s most sadly overlooked film gets a bluray release for its 20th anniversary. Spike lee s jackie robinson is a complex biopic that needs to be made. In 1999 spike lee set out to make the film bamboozled, dealing with perceived racism towards black faces on television. It follows the story of pierre delacroix, a frustrated ivy league educated african american tv writer who proposes. In bamboozled, viewers turn mantan, a variety show in which black actors played by savion glover and tommy davidson wear blackface while shamelessly shucking and jiving and telling pointedly racist jokes, into a ratings smash. It features an ensemble cast including damon wayans, jada pinkett smith, savion glover, tommy davidson, michael rapaport and mos def. The experimental box office bomb didnt have many defenders when it. Bamboozled is a 2000 satirical film written and directed by spike lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the violent fallout from the shows success. Rent bamboozled 2000 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Bamboozled is the forgotten gem in spike lees career. Despite several attempts, delacroix has yet to see any. Bamboozled 2000 is a satirical film written and directed by spike lee pierre delacroix damon wayans is a harvardeducated african american man, working for a television network known as cns continental network system, whos feeling a bit pissed.
His satire follows pierre delacroix damon waynes, a selfrefined patronizing black television programmer intent on making his mark. Mos def, canibus, charli baltimore, mc serch, dj scratch, mums, and gano grills make up the mau maus, the films angry, militant rap group. To listen to the commentary while viewing the movie, press the audio key on your remote at any time. Rent bamboozled 2000 starring spike lee and damon wayans on dvd and bluray.
Revisiting spike lee s bamboozled and its endlessly relevant themes. In short, lee made bamboozled as a commentary with these trends and this history in mind. Bamboozled is the forgotten gem in spike lee s career a new criterion collection edition of the 2000 filmabout a primetime tv minstrel show that. Bamboozled, his 2000 satire lee has his lead character read the definition of the word satire to the audience in the opening sequence, just to. Bamboozled film spike lee is probably one of the most understood and underappreciated individuals in the movie industry. Eventbrite birkbeck institute for the moving image presents cancelled. Bamboozled is clever and one of spike s most explosive films next to do the right thing and malcolm x. His boss, thomas dunwitty michael rapaport, is a wigger who insists he is more black than delacroix is, and who. The 2000 film is littered with mammy dolls, lawn jockeys, coin banks, and other toys and figurines that feature grotesque caricatures of africanamericans. Like the film itself, the original soundtrack to bamboozled spike lee s film about an africanamerican writer who joins an urban sitcom written mostly by whites is a clever and carefullyconcieved piece of work. Theres just about nothing else like it and spike lee, at a point in his career where he was slightly slipping from mainstream acclaim, managed to execute this exceptional film about an unexceptional moment in history. Spike lee s bamboozled is still sharp, stinging, and utterly vital.
Spike lees bamboozled and blackface in american culture. This documentary looks back on the making of this film with contributes from cast, crew and critics on a film that received a very mixed critical and commercial reception and caused controversy on its release. Shelton jackson spike lee is an american film director, producer, writer, and actor. Bamboozled is too heavyhanded in its satire and comes across as more messy and overwrought than biting. So said malcolm x, as quoted by spike lee in the production notes to bamboozled, his perplexing new film. Its a classic full stop though not as infallible a film as i once thought it was. Though cataloguing the movie as the apex of a rather stellar filmography is debatable, clark is correct in wondering if bamboozled is possibly the most spike lee movie ever made. Director spike lee has never shied away from controversy, and with bamboozled he tackles a thorny mix of racism and how images are bought and sold. A frustrated tv writer named delacroix damon wayans, unable to break his contract, tries to get fired by proposing a new minstrel show, complete with dancers in blackface. Unfortunately condensed into a 10 minute presentation.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, spike lees bamboozled is among the directors most polarizing worksa furious, uncompromising satire that finds the racist traditions of blackface and minstrelsy in contemporary media. In a perfect world, hed use the platform to promote bamboozled. This book compares the original version of the screenplay of the film bamboozled 2000 with the italian dubbed text, offering an analysis of fortyfour compliments and fortyfour insults. I feel that spike lee can still make relevant films about race, and this film certainly is one of them. Spike lees bamboozled is still sharp, stinging, and. Bamboozled 2000 spike lee description bamboozled is a 2000 satirical film written and directed by spike lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup.
Spike lees sharp, riotous satire, from 2000, zeroes in on the grotesque misrepresentation of blacks in american mediaand their underrepresentation in the. A blistering satire of network televisions pitfalls and prejudices, a humorous look at how race, ratings and the pursuit of power lead to a television writers stunning rise and tragic downfall. Bamboozled is a film by which controversial us director. His production company, 40 acres and a mule filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983. Bamboozled is a 2000 satirical comedydrama film written and directed by spike lee about a. Spike lee makes it blatantly clear that bamboozled 2000 sets out to illustrate white american ideology and discourse within contemporary public sphere. Spike lee shot most of the film on handheld cameras, which makes it feel as if youre watching a reality show. Bamboozled is a 2000 satirical comedydrama film written and directed by spike lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the resulting violent fallout from the shows success. This book analyzes the work of five men, minstrel performer bert williams, director oscar micheaux, writer ralph ellison, painter michael ray charles, and director spike lee. Careful analysis, however, gives way to a complex and nuanced study of the history of black performance. Pierre delacroix damon wayans, the protagonist of the film, is a network executive working in a company which is specialized in black matters.
Writerdirector spike lees latest is a dark satire on the television industry, in which a frustrated ivy leagueeducated black writer revives the racially insensitive. Spike lee joined bamcinematek audiences to commemorate the 15th anniversary of bamboozled, his uncompromising satire of race and media. Bamboozled, grasshopper film, james whale, pedro costa, showboat, spike lee, vitalina varela although it borrows liberally from earlier films like a face in the crowd, the producers, and network, theres nothing else quite like spike lee s 2000 satire bamboozled, the most ferociously funny movie of the writerdirectors career as well. Newfields movies include natural born killers and spike. Spike lee s masterpiece on race in america is as relevant as ever on the 15th anniversary of the films release, critic ashley clark argues in an excerpt from his forthcoming book. Bamboozled study guide contains a biography of director spike lee, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Pierre delacroix, played by damon wayans, is a harvardeducated black man working for a television network, and proposes the minstrel. The aesthetic of bamboozled spike lee and his cinematographer ellen kuras a regular lee collaborator and one of the very few women to succeed in hollywood as a cinematographer devised an approach to the look of the film using digital video and super 16.
Twenty years later, bamboozled stands as one of spike lee s most brilliant, gripping productions and one of the most prescient works of cinema we may ever see. Onoff the following audio commentary featuring director spike lee was recorded in 2001. Bamboozled by spike lee damon wayans, savion glover, jada. Spike lee s challenging film bamboozled 2000 is often read as a surface level satire of blackface minstrelsy. Spike lee s take on the son of sam murders in new york city during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an italianamerican northeast bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another. Revisiting spike lees bamboozled and its endlessly. Bamboozled is a 2000 satirical film written and directed by spike lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the violent fall out from the shows success written and directed by spike lee. Bamboozled 2000 fullhd movie online free no download bamboozled 2000 fullhd movie online free bamboozled 2000 fullhd movie online gorillavid. Bamboozled focuses on peerless dotham expertly played by damon wayans, fauxeuropean accent in tow, a tv. Despite several attempts, delacroix has yet to see any of his. Spike lees forceful, scathing satire of black representation in media, newly restored.
To celebrate the films 15th anniversary this year, clark, 30, has written a short book in which he lays out, in excellently informative and concise detail and skillful prose, exactly why thats the case. When it becomes a hit, a radical rap group called the mau maus mobilizes to bring down the show. The movie was produced and directed by spike lee which stars damon wayans who played pierre delacroix, an educated black writer at a large media firm. Director spike lee talks about his latest movie bamboozled, a social satire in which a modern minstrel show becomes a smash tv hit. When it comes to the topic of addressing underrated films, it seems fitting i should address this one first because for a majority of my life its been an obsession. With this blisteringly funny, unapologetically confrontational satire, writerdirector spike lee examined the past, present, and future of racism in. In order to provide a comparative study of the expressive. When an africanamerican tv writers good ideas are rejected, he proposes a blackface minstrel show in jest. With damon wayans, savion glover, jada pinkett smith, michael rapaport. Spike lee s satirical masterpiece bamboozled made in 2000, is a critical overview of the ridiculous way in which black people have been portrayed in cinema and television since its conception. From politically committed filmmaker spike lee, a powerful satire that seems. Spike lee is mad as hell, and hes not gonna take it anymore aside from being a perfect way for him to riff on sidney lumets already timeless network, the sort of punch that spike lee manages to pack into bamboozled can still be felt even today as we look back upon a culturally ignored perspective within the entertainment industry. Bamboozled is spike lees regrettably timeless masterpiece. To malcolm, the bamboozlers were white people in general, but in lee s films theyre the television executives, black and white, who bamboozle themselves in the mindless quest for ratings.
It can be said that bamboozled is a film of flawed and troubling satire and humour, but it cant be said that it isnt a unique film. Spike lees bamboozled jamie barlowe youve been hoodwinked. Terms of activation by activating, you agree that you want to enable cloud technology to access your xfinity stream subscription on additional supported devices like computers and tablets, as well as the tv connected to your settop dvr via comcasts network. Having been regularly slighted by the academy awards, spike lee will receive a welldeserved honorary statue during tomorrow nights governors awards. Spike lee s sharp, riotous satire, from 2000, zeroes in. Bamboozled was an excellent title, because just about everyone in this movie is fooled into thinking this show is one thing, when in reality, its something else. Context analysis movie summary bamboozled 2000 is a satire that addresses the media and its portrayal of blacks in the industry. Spike lees bamboozled by sara corrizzato overdrive. Delacroix and his assistant jada pinkett smith, also. In bamboozled, spike lee pushes racist images from the past into the forefront of our consciousness, rendering them inescapable, undeniable. The film asserts that race relations in north america, especially between whites and africanamericans, are. Under pressure to help revive his networks low ratings, television writer pierre delacroix damon wayans hits on an explosively offensive idea. According to film curator and critic ashley clark, bamboozled is the quintessential spike lee joint. The film was given a limited release by new line cinema during the fall of 2000, and was released on dvd the following.
As in nearly all spike lee films, race relations are a central theme or as in the case of bamboozled, flawed and ultimately, doomed race relations. With this blisteringly funny, unapologetically confrontational satire, writerdirector spike lee examined the past, present, and future of racism in american popular culture, issuing a daring provocation to creators and consumers alike. Pierre delacroix, a young, harvardeducated man, who is the sole person of color, writing for an upstart network with floundering ratings. Women in spike lees bamboozled essay example graduateway. With damon wayans, jada pinkett smith, savion glover, tommy. Newfields winter movies include natural born killers and spike lee s bamboozled newfields winter movies at the indianapolis museum of art in 2020 include bamboozled, natural born killers.