Sorry to Bother You (2018)

[Empress1]

Anyone see this? This was a very strange movie, and I mean that in a good way. Really thought-provoking. The far-fetched stuff wasn't even THAT far-fetched - I mean, there's already a game show where you compete to get your student loans paid and reality TV involves a lot of fighting, so why not have a reality show that's just kicking a dude's ass? And every POC code-switches at work, so the concept of a "white voice" wasn't novel to me at all. (I did wonder why Danny Glover hadn't risen to power caller status if he knew about the white voice.)

[Steph J]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

Anyone see this? This was a very strange movie, and I mean that in a good way. Really thought-provoking. The far-fetched stuff wasn't even THAT far-fetched - I mean, there's already a game show where you compete to get your student loans paid and reality TV involves a lot of fighting, so why not have a reality show that's just kicking a dude's ass? And every POC code-switches at work, so the concept of a "white voice" wasn't novel to me at all. (I did wonder why Danny Glover hadn't risen to power caller status if he knew about the white voice.)

I wondered about that, too, but I think that maybe the "power caller" rank is about skill and image. From what I can recall, all of the people in the power caller office are young/beautiful/cool so maybe Glover's character was too old and uncool to get the promotion.

I agree that it was really thought provoking. With the way the income gap keep widening, I'm not even sure that we're all that far away from corporations being able to talk people into signing themselves up for lifelong servitude. The privatized prison system is basically already slavery by another name.

I was impressed that the movie managed to be so political without sacrificing the actual story. I never felt like I was being preached at and I was always engaged with what was going on in the movie.

[BoogieBurns]

1 hour ago, Steph J said:

I wondered about that, too, but I think that maybe the "power caller" rank is about skill and image. From what I can recall, all of the people in the power caller office are young/beautiful/cool so maybe Glover's character was too old and uncool to get the promotion.

I agree that it was really thought provoking. With the way the income gap keep widening, I'm not even sure that we're all that far away from corporations being able to talk people into signing themselves up for lifelong servitude. The privatized prison system is basically already slavery by another name.

I was impressed that the movie managed to be so political without sacrificing the actual story. I never felt like I was being preached at and I was always engaged with what was going on in the movie.

Love how the sexy dude with the eye patch had his name bleeped out throughout the movie. IMDB lists him as "Mr. ________" lol

Not entirely sure why they had Lily James do the voiceover for Tessa Thompson's white voice, as she was more than capable of doing a British accent. Apparently the director wanted the dubbed voices to not match perfectly. 

Still so lost on the horse thing. I mean, I kind of get the "work horse" thing. But it was weird enough before it got there. 

I work at a call center (I do not do any calls, I am in a different department) and I told my coworkers they should all see this movie. Lol, it's going to freak them out so much. I liked seeing Oakland be just a place people live, and not someplace scary and dangerous like it's always portrayed. 

I give the people behind this movie props for showing equal amounts of male and female nudity. It's always just naked chicks. At least we finally saw male (horse) nudity [cry-laughing-emoji]

[Empress1]

13 hours ago, BoogieBurns said:

Love how the sexy dude with the eye patch had his name bleeped out throughout the movie. IMDB lists him as "Mr. ________" lol

Omari Hardwick. He was a fun surprise - wasn't expecting to see him here. (If you think he's sexy, try watching Power. Lots of sex scenes. He has a fantastic body.)

[Slovenly Muse]

I loved this movie so much! So glad I saw it!

18 hours ago, BoogieBurns said:

Still so lost on the horse thing. I mean, I kind of get the "work horse" thing. But it was weird enough before it got there. 

The "Equi-Sapiens" really worked for me. I think Riley (the director) was trying to make a comment about the wage gap and slavery. All the language used to describe the Equi-Sapiens (they're "stronger," they can "work harder" and have better "endurance" as they're basically just beasts of burden) was the same language used to describe African-Americans during the time of slavery. I think Riley was deliberately trying to make a link between wage-slavery and racially-based slavery. I thought he was saying that CEO's and major corporations are still doing everything they can today to right the wrongs of slavery - the "wrongs" of course being that the slaves rebelled and the practice was subsequently abolished. Every tiny little toe-hold they get, they will take, in order to crawl back to a place where they are able to force their employees to be nothing but cogs in their machine, streamlined for productivity rather than quality of human life. You can't escape that by trying to join the system, or getting promoted out up from the bottom, or hoping that you'll be the one to win the metaphorical lottery and not experience the worst of it, or trying to put others under your boots and using them to climb up the ladder. There will always be someone above you who only sees you as a tool for their own prosperity, and if there isn't, you've likely become the problem. The only way to resist is by standing together, taking care of each other, and making the bottom BETTER for everyone. Just like the way to combat slavery wasn't working hard and doing your time to try to earn your individual freedom... it was total abolition and the promise of safety and security for everyone (a promise that has yet to come through).

And yes, the mutated horse-people were a highly exaggerated twist, but WorryFree facilities already exist overseas (more or less), only they're called sweatshops. And we are perfectly happy to have them make our clothes, phones, etc, just as long as we can buy the products for cheap and never have to see where they came from. It's not crazy, as the wage gap widens, to imagine similar conditions developing here. We're already basically there with the private prison system, as was mentioned upthread. After all, once you've decided the abuse of human beings is permissible as long as it improves productivity, where does that actually end?

This movie had so much to say, and while I've seen some reviewers commenting that it seemed to have TOO much to say about too wide a range of topics, I think the opposite is true. I think it did an excellent job of taking a lot of disparate problems and ideas and showing how they are all tied together at the root, and only presented to us by those in power as separate things in order divide our attention and keep us demoralized and feeling like there is too much going wrong to make change possible.

22 hours ago, Empress1 said:

(I did wonder why Danny Glover hadn't risen to power caller status if he knew about the white voice.)

I think the scene at the party, where Cassius is made to "rap" for the guests, illustrated just how well he uses not only his "white voice" to get ahead at work, but also the innate skill of being able to quickly figure out exactly what others want, and offering it to them with (completely artificial) enthusiasm. That is a killer combination. Many people know how to use, say, watercolour paints. That doesn't mean they're all able to put those skills to use to the same effect.

There was so much to love in this movie, and even though some was a bit rough, it was very powerful and well-constructed. I'm really looking forward to whatever Boots Riley does next!

[BoogieBurns]

8 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Omari Hardwick. He was a fun surprise - wasn't expecting to see him here. (If you think he's sexy, try watching Power. Lots of sex scenes. He has a fantastic body.)

I'm on it! 

2 hours ago, Slovenly Muse said:

All the language used to describe the Equi-Sapiens (they're "stronger," they can "work harder" and have better "endurance" as they're basically just beasts of burden) was the same language used to describe African-Americans during the time of slavery. I think Riley was deliberately trying to make a link between wage-slavery and racially-based slavery.

That is what I thought, but I wasn't sure if I was trying too hard to see the meaning behind it. Glad to know my instincts matched the intended purpose. Thanks for helping me grasp it. I'll tell you what, I haven't had a movie stick with me a week after I saw it for a long time. So, it's definitely special.

[Browncoat]

Finally got to see this last night, and I loved it!  It really kept me guessing, wondering where exactly they were going with this story, and I did think at first that the Equi sapiens were a hallucination.  When I realized they were real, I figured Cassius would become one -- just that the drug was not fast-acting.  Anyway, so much subtext and social commentary/satire -- it was great, and I think it'll take some thinking about to unpack it all.

 

On 7/21/2018 at 7:44 PM, Steph J said:

maybe Glover's character was too old

He did, at one point, say he was too old for this shit.

[choclatechip45]

I just finished this movie and as someone who used to work at a call center it is definitely my worst nightmare. I really enjoyed it. I also felt bad for Cassius.