Caron explains in a 2016 article for Studies in American Humor, “Skepticism toward metanarratives as well as the impact of technology and science on all domains of human society… provide the first necessary ingredients for understanding the production and consumption of contemporary satire in the United States.” This New Social Satire reacts to existing pessimism toward the state of society, and it must do so in memorable ways to encourage viewers to take action to solve a currently existing problem. Modern satire differentiates itself by reaffirming a known problem. For example, the 1976 poster for “Network” warns its audience to prepare itself for a “perfectly outrageous motion picture.” Today, journalists often praise “Network” and its prescience for predicting the corporate takeover of news media. Widespread dissatisfaction for the aspects of society they satirized grew mostly after the films’ releases. In fact, the film’s defiant bluntness revitalizes the genre of the social satire for the modern era.Īlthough the great social satires of the 20th century (e.g., “Network”, “ Heathers ”, etc.) were direct in their allegories and, like any good film, creative in their use of visuals to amplify their themes, these movies were prescient, not responsive. Though Riley’s style revels in irony and surrealism, “Sorry to Bother You” is straightforward when it comes to the socio-technological themes it satirizes. I can almost guarantee that a dystopian finale has never been so colorful or untamed.
He injects his script and aesthetics with fantasy, tension, and humor while sharply condemning the connections between social mobility and race. However, first-time writer-director Boots Riley takes a targeted approach to argumentation via film. “ Sorry to Bother You ” is also thematically complex, weaving together commentary on the economy, social hierarchies, and identity. It’s absurdist commentary, magical realism, body horror, science fiction, and comedy stitched together. The film’s genre is difficult to pin down. The film’s cheeky title comes from the classically saccharine, fake-apologetic term telemarketers use to plague our inboxes, even though our protagonist’s increasingly dangerous situation forces him to grow as bold as possible. As Cassius becomes more successful, he must reconcile his morals with the seeming inescapability of greed, slavery, and consumer culture under late-stage Western capitalism. “Sorry to Bother You” follows Cassius Green, a Black telemarketer living in an alternate version of present-day Oakland, who must use his “white voice” to have a shot at climbing the corporate ladder. Lakeith Stanfield in ‘Sorry to Bother You’įor a film with such a mild-mannered title, “ Sorry to Bother You ” is anything but.
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