Sorry to Bother You(2018)
dir. Boots Riley
A satire sharp enough to double as a labor argument.
Where to watch: Streaming on KanopyLetterboxd ↗
A Black telemarketer in an alternate-present Oakland discovers his 'white voice' can sell anything, and rides it straight into a company that's selling something much worse.
Why it’s here
Boots Riley is a labor organizer's kid making an organizer's film wearing surrealist-comedy clothes — the 'white voice' gag is funny right up until it isn't, and the film never lets you forget which one it actually is.
Where This Film Lives
- Setting
- North America
Read Alongside
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Atlas Shrugged
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The capitalist fever dream that won’t die.
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Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition
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Capitalism was racial from day one.
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Capital in the Twenty-First Century
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The numbers don't lie. The rich make the rules.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Capitalism and Slavery
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Slavery didn't fund empire. Slavery WAS empire.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST