Issues of representation of race in "Bamboozled"

We remember our history through story-telling and repeated representations of social phenomena. The past contributes greatly to our understanding and inherent construction of ourselves and our identities. The history of the United States is one of racial hierarchy – during and after slavery, white supremacists have kept control and “maintenance of any system of racial domination” (hooks, 2). The wealthy, heterosexual white male has traditionally been in the position of power, dictating the lives and identities of all others. We have built upon those initial positions which were laid out for us in American society, thus forming our cultural theory which consists of “symbolic actions – words and/or deeds – that have sequence and meaning for those who live, create, or interpret them” (Fisher 266). If a specific identity or characterization is repeated enough, it has great potential for manifesting itself in day-to-day life, by which we would be apt to understand ourselves and our society. Those social roles and norms are easily internalized due to the continual inundation of capitalist white patriarchal standards and stereotypes in the media and other social or political institutions. Of particular interest is the influence and power of the media (TV, film, and the like) – a socially constructed representation of the American people and their respective roles in society – because of how popular culture can be accessible and easily grasped, and because it consists of pleasing, exciting and fascinating stories of norms and stereotypes.
This has emerged as a dominant archetype that recreates inferred social phenomena and documents the people and events within (American) life in the mass media. Peter Hamilton describes this process as the “representational paradigm,” which offers the unique vision of the photographer, filmmaker or author by which they see the world and what is worth viewing within it (Hamilton 76). Documentation of human life, in this way, appeals to the public because they can easily relate and connect with the narratives they hear of seemingly “lived experience” (Hamilton 87). Yet, representational paradigms can be dangerous because of their tendency to infiltrate individual identities – the viewer is more likely to internalize the repeated depictions that are represented in media productions. In this way, Hamilton claims that humanist photography (and thus, media), as discursive texts hold inherent power and persuasiveness in the development of knowledge in public spaces (Hall 51). Individuals are especially vulnerable to this power in times of instability – as evidenced by Hamilton’s exploration of humanist photography in post-World War II France (Hall 76-144). It is those time periods when the people are hungry for a new outlook on the world, and a way to develop a new identity within a changing society.
Surely, this concept has played a large role within the African-American population and their search for identity, especially through their experiences in a racially hierarchical society through the past centuries. By initially entering American society as servants or slaves to the Colonists, African-Americans were forced to deal with the trauma of racial oppression and forced social roles or identities. Upon the abolishment of slavery, those individuals had to search for a new way to form their community and self identities; and again during and after the Civil Rights and Black Liberation movements – they had to decide how to “create standards for community and family life” after centuries of mistreatment and upheaval (hooks 92). Ultimately, they formed identities which were acceptable to the dominant (white) culture, and which would hopefully protect them from future exploitation or abuse. They could not model their identities by historical characterizations because “there are no such thing as models… Colonialism means that we must always rethink everything” (hooks 2). This pattern of molding to fit accepted roles is the product of these traumatic time periods; they all contributed to the development of specific roles for African-Americans (both male and female), constructed according to the “representational paradigm” presented by white supremacist society.
It is clear through this discussion that African-Americans have developed and learned their identities according to what has been forced upon them – an oppressive white supremacist culture. Their history has been stripped away and de-legitimized as a source upon which community and self identities can be built. Through a consistent pattern of characterization as the marginalized “other,” a “crisis in identity” has emerged, making it difficult for African-Americans to “maintain a secure sense of self…in a contemporary era in which the very qualities necessary for a strong racial identity -stabilizing social narratives, a sense of history, an unassailable subjectivity - are actively and persistently deconstructed by society at large” (Chidester et al. 288). American mass media has represented the difficult search for African-American identity in countless films and TV shows. Spike Lee has confronted the problematic characterizations of African-Americans in Bamboozled, for example. The film offers a critique and exploration of the search for an adequate and satisfying formation of identity in the wake of centuries of oppression within white supremacist American society.
Because of this difficult search, it has become complicated to define the “authentic” African-American self. Postmodern thought tends to reinvent the “truth,” consistently reconstituting aspects of human life, interrupting the progression of history and thought (Turim 188). Through this process, previous thoughts about self identities within American society are challenged – making current racial identities unstable (Chidester et al. 288). Upon viewing the film, it is apparent that all of the characters in Bamboozled are searching for that “authentic” self, developing an arena of competition and insecurity. They all must confront white American society’s tradition of placing negative stereotypes upon the African-American community, which have ultimately been transformed into spectacles to entertain, celebrate, and serve white society (Chidester et al. 290). Early oppressive conceptions of black (males) were seen as entertainment to serve the white man: for instance, as “cartoon-like creatures” that only wanted to have a good time; and later, the overwhelming presence of black face in minstrel shows as a way for African-Americans to gain entrance to the white entertainment industry (hooks 90).
This stereotype materializes in Bamboozled in the main character’s development of “Mantan’s New Millennium Minstrel Show”. Pierre Delacroix aims to produce a TV show so offensive and harsh that the CNS network executives would fire him for such an inadequate job. In a twist of irony, the show is a hit with the executives and the public; Spike Lee utilizes the “… Minstrel Show” as a commentary on the undying presence of stereotypes of African-Americans as unintelligent and mindless puppets for white society. Delacroix recruits two street performers to be the main characters in his new show, promising them new clothes and money. The actors must wear blackface and embody specific African-American stereotypes that developed through the past – particularly those that emerged during slavery and post-Reconstruction eras: blacks as “buffoons” and “coons”. The popularity of the show affects the Minstrel show’s actors and several other characters in Bamboozled in specific and competing ways.
The main character of the show, Manray, actively participates in the satirical representation of African-American stereotypes because he is motivated by his compensation and because he is able to display some of his dancing and acting talent professionally. He finally sees himself on the same plane with White America as far as wages and economics go. During and for decades after slavery, black men could not attain high-paying jobs and had to deal with white racist employers, making it difficult to fulfill their expected patriarchal role as caretakers of their families (hooks 90, 93). The traditional definition of masculinity is that of the successful wage-earner – a role that black men (especially those absorbed in white society) strive to fulfill, for fear of “emasculation” or “castration” (hooks 93). Perhaps Manray and his cohort see themselves as rebelling against white society in their attainment of a successful high-paying job. In this way, Manray attempts to define himself through the lens of white society, and ultimately discovers what “he has lost through his active participation” in the “celebration of offensive perceptions” of the Black community (Chidester et al. 290).
If Manray is an active participant in the American stereotyping, Pierre Delacroix acts as a conductor and an undeniable enforcer. He has “mastered” the image of black identity, representing his “powerful claim to authenticity”. Delacroix presented a TV show as a text that becomes whatever the viewers and CNS executives say it is; conclusions about the Minstrel show are drawn through the “activity of seeing” rather than experience (Chidester et al. 299). It seems to exist on its own, completely detached from historical grounding in white supremacist society’s oppression of African-Americans; if viewers related its subject matter to its true roots and sources of representation (slavery, Reconstruction, and after), they would not be as likely to accept its continued presence in society. Delacroix ensures that this does not happen, and embraces the “promise of the show and its promises of fame and fortune” (Chidester et al. 290). He gets caught up in the glamour and appeal of his high-profile job within the CNS corporation; he embodies a clear “domination” of the company as well as the racially-charged subject matter included in his new television show.
In addition to this dominating characterization, Delacroix appears to exploit and rule over his female assistant, Sloan. It is repeatedly discussed that Delacroix and Sloan shared a sexual relationship prior to her employment at CNS, suggesting the betterment of Sloan only with the help of a powerful male. He refers to her as “the help” at the end of the film – reiterating her subordinate role to Delacroix. This relates to the black masculine identities as the “right of men to dominate women, however benevolently,” and the elevation of the black male’s status by the female’s work and support (hooks 97, 101). The only mention of Delacroix’s family is about his mother and father; it appears he does not have nuclear family of his own, making it nearly impossible for him to embody the traditionally-praised masculine role as the family patriarch. He does not provide funds or goods for anyone but himself; leaving him with phallocentric and misogynistic masculinity as the remaining male identity available. Through history the black male has been led by white supremacist society into either the patriarchal or the phallocentric masculine roles (hooks 94). Thus, Delacroix is living through the lens of white society (like Manray) in his search for “authentic” black identity.
In contrast to Delacroix’s individual black identity, Sloan’s brother, Julius, and his group of friends (the “Mau Maus”), embody yet another white supremacist stereotypical characterization of African-Americans as violent, radical, and dangerous (hooks 89). This developed after the abolition of slavery, and during the Black Liberation movement. Once whites lost control over their assumed “docile” slaves, they feared that their wild and animalistic personalities would backlash against them. They had to regain control through different avenues (i.e. lynching, restriction of other rights), and thus reconstitute black identity yet again according to what was acceptable to the dominant society. Resistance to this white rule sometimes manifested itself in physically aggressive ways, sure, but not enough to legitimize white supremacist culture’s normalizing stereotype. Perhaps it seemed too difficult to challenge the narrow visions of the United States, making bold, physical statements more conceivable as a means to spark change.
This certainly seems the case in Bamboozled, with Julius and the Mau Maus’ depiction as angry radical activists who deny white society. The black community has endured centuries of physical and mental oppression by white society, and Julius’ group of friends makes us consider the possible results of a reversal in positions. Their dialogue continually includes the word “nigger” – a traditionally demeaning term, and a sign of racial hierarchy (Chidester et al. 295). Julius and his friends claim the right to their own language and actions as defiance, and a way to redefine the black identity. But they always act according to what white society is not: reshaping the word “black” into “Blak” – the “opposite of the white community”. It is clear that Julius and the Mau Maus define themselves precisely according to what white society is not, though they still retain some of the characteristics and terminology that were initially enforced upon them by white supremacy itself. This definition comes out of hatred for dominant culture, not out of loving blackness, which bell hooks suggests to be a path out of marginalization and self-negation, and a way to political resistance and reconstitution of racial identities (19, 20).
From an examination of a few of the characters in Bamboozled, it is clear that the search for African-American identity in the modern U.S. is nearly impossible. The power of white supremacist society and their overtaking of black history and heritage veils the foundations upon which blacks living in modern America could recognize and develop their self identities. It is difficult to define black identity, even by the power of texts in the media; they are all inevitably judged and affected by the legacy of white supremacy. Bamboozled is limited in its ability to locate a black identity that accounts for the centuries of tumultuous history; rather, it serves to explore the very dilemma that has risen out of an un-remembered past and a continuous enforcement of regulations and roles by white patriarchal supremacist society. Indeed, Bamboozled and other works that interrogate race and identity must be analyzed according to a different paradigm than the one that has, for centuries, “shape[d] one’s ability to consider and evaluate” – that of white supremacist society. Upon a change in perspective, perhaps a revolution of American identities is possible.

Bibliography

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