Review of Sorry to Bother You (2018) by Trevorsview — 18 Jul 2018

Nothing seems to help people understand humanity’s one problem of the need to give up possessions. Even I admit to being more of a material person than a people person, as I almost always get too concentrated on my own thoughts, often about movies, Pokémon, or my ideal future marriage. Consequently, it means I can get irritable whenever common people say to me day to day the same monotonous, “hi, how are you?” That is why I find the different perspectives offered by Sorry to Bother You so valuable—it’s one of those movies I guarantee will hit your inimitable perspective due to its uncomfortably acute social relevance.

Its counter-cultural artistry kicks off by showing violent protests by underpaid workers, the future of labor specified including as we follow the protagonist, Cassius “Cash” Green, through that very riot against the company he works for… Regalview. In his tread through the sea of angry civilians, a thrown cola can strikes his forehead, starting a public trend of people in afro wigs with a cola can taped on. This almost reminds me of the nude Trump statue which exploded over social media, an ugly subject matter that burns your retinas, but frankly, that defines art—controversy. If your art is inoffensive, you’re doing it wrong!

Part of this film’s offensive nature lies in Cash’s girlfriend, Detroit, who keeps changing her earrings to complement her feminist shirts that clarify her messages to whomever stares at her chest. Hard to believe that this is Boots Riley’s directorial/screenwriting debut, for he succeeds at delivering a strong moral that starts at Cash’s fear of the universe’s eventual end. He combats this fear beside Detroit as they try enjoying sex in their garage home… that is, until the door pops open to the whole neighborhood.

I’ll help you better understand. Let’s say you find a street artist whose work features splatter paint of various colors. He tells you he aimlessly threw colors on with the intention of you saying what the image looks like to you, like a therapist holding out splotch patterns for you to name. Thus, the art piece reflects you more so than the artist, a similar approach that this film utilizes in a nontraditional sense. In one sequence, a gaggle of Caucasians force Cash to rap, which he sucks at until he spurts out the same profane words repeatedly, to the crowd’s approval. Does that mean he has become too European-American for his own good? Has he met failure to master his own kind based on how other people defined them as? You must decide, this movie isn’t going to say it for you. There’s true art right there. It’s no simple direct interpretation, rather than you read art, art reads you; then discussion arises alongside a disagreeing opinion.

Unfortunately, the artistry is not perfect, as little of it comes from cinematographer Doug Emmett‘s troublesome camera movements. While the camera continually goes out of focus, bland lighting setups lack the same level of spray-painted contrast as the chaotic colors of the night scenes. Photography allows you a glance through an individual’s eyes, yet the cinematic atmosphere here appears too ordinary without a proper amount of context to be open to interpretation.

Though it’s not anywhere near bad enough to hurt the whole production, as set designer Jason Kisvarday establishes the blue office space of Regalview to give it a feel of a monotonous prison. Several stories above the low-level work area, the high office looks machine-constructed, only accessible by a fancy decorated elevator big to signify relative insignificance. Funny enough, more so than the artistic visuals, you‘ll most remember the words spoken, which always stay consistent even when the film masterfully shifts genres. Such memorable phrases include “Stick to the Script,” the unapologetic slogan of Regalview that motivates workers to do things such as turn a client’s cancer story into a selling point. Do you think that this is acceptable?

Everyone calls art subjective, however, I think I need to clarify that statement a bit. While whatever a film personally says to you based on your unique past experiences is subjective, the quality of practical elements, including writing, acting, and cinematography require objectionable analysis. If a film has a personal touch, then the product that comes from the heart can speak to someone spiritually and initiate individual growth.

Now here comes what Sorry to Bother You meant to me: It provides a solution that says giving up things causes intimacy. A popular quote states, “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos, is because things are being loved and people are being used.” The priority of industries should help people; thus, we must kindly give our two cents to those running the puppet strings of their employees who right now are just beating dead horses.