Monday, November 11, 2013
The other and...Bamboozled?
After discussing Bell Hook's piece on "eating the other" I got to thinking about what examples of this we see in television and movies. Before I go on, I must first explain what exactly Bell Hook is talking about. I her book, she mentions that the process of taking bits and pieces of another, more exotic culture, and using it for their own personal gratification would be considered "eating the other". This is obviously a pretty slimmed down definition of what she is trying to say but it will suffice for this post. After learning about this phenomenon that Hooks describes, I couldn't help but think back to Spike Lee's Bamboozled. In the film, the main characters are part of an extremely popular and controversial modern day minstrel show. I remember while watching the movie I was thinking to myself "how could a show like this possibly become popular?". And while I know that this was the intent of Lee all along to send a message (one which I've discussed in previous posts) it still got me thinking. Although I may not have this completely correct, I would like to state that maybe the show was so popular because of this idea of "eating the other". The people who went to see the show were consuming part of a culture that was exotic and many senses taboo for them. Although the content was extremely racist, it was still a culture that was new to the people watching the show. Out of this consumption, the people were rewarded with entertainment and laughs. I know it may be a bit of a stretch but it is just something that I thought about while learning about Bell Hook's work. What do you all think? Does Bamboozled have some aspect of "eating the other" in it? What other movies/shows have examples of it?
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I think part of the appeal to the audience in Bamboozled was mostly that like you said they were experiencing something that is considered taboo. I think people inherently like doing things that they are not supposed to do because it satisfies our natural curiosity and their is a certain rush that one gets when they do something bad that can also be seen as fulfilling to a certain degree. It's like saying the word nigga. White people are not allowed to say it, it's a no no. But if they had to the chance to say it like with their friends or at a rap concert I bet you they would not hesitate to say it. I think that people in general do not like to be told what they can and cannot do and that's how something like Bamboozled which is full of things you are not supposed to say or do is so entertaining. They are definitely eating the other, they are taking a bite out of the minstrel shows for 20 minutes before going back to their normal lives. It's like that movie Brokeback Mountain. Oh my God gay cowboys in a movie? Well that movie was extremely popular when it came out even though tons of people were badmouthing it. Why? Because it was being badmouthed it made more people want to see it and see what all the fuss is about.
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