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Invisible Horseman Shuffle

Sorry To Bother You is... a movie. Ending aside, the movie gave me very distinct vibes to two different books we read this semester. The more obvious one was the one Mr. Mitchell alluded to, White Boy Shuffle, which was the same kind of dreamlike experience. Both the works have the comedy elements interspersed with the grim and bleak aspects. However, the book Sorry To Bother You most reminded me of was Invisible Man, mostly because Cassius Green is basically trying to find his place in things by finding work and looking for success by trying to assimilate himself into white society and "undermine them with yeses". Unfortunately because of the plot, yeses aren't enough to stop the inhuman experiments being preformed on people. Therefore Cassius switches from a meek individual who goes along with what his corporate says to a more violent outlook against WorryFree. The corporate guy (I forgot his name since names in this movie are kinda all over the place) said Cassius could become the "Martin L. King" for the Equisapiens, but at the very end of the movie in the post credits scene, he's more of a Malcolm X character if anything. This is more of protest fiction instead of the assimilation narratives in some African American literature. There are also some themes from other novels, but I felt that the two books I mentioned were the most important to shaping the themes in Sorry To Bother You.

In the end, Sorry To Bother You  is an excellent movie that uses a lot of the themes that we've accumulated over the semester. Do I want to watch it again? Preferably no. I think you know the reasons.

Comments

  1. OliviaDecember 18, 2018 at 10:02 AM

    Oh I hadn't thought about how similar Cassius's journey is to the narrator's. At first they just want to assimilate and get rich or whatever, but by the end they realize how messed up society is. I don't know that Cassius ever tried to undermine them with yeses though, because when he found out about the Equisapiens he just cut ties with Worryfree, whereas the narrator stayed with the Brotherhood but in a sneaky way.

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  2. Nina GalvezDecember 18, 2018 at 6:04 PM

    I also immediately thought of Invisible Man while watching the movie. Another thing to add to your point: I'm not sure who the individual in the photograph was but he kinda reminded me of the grandfather figure. Just in terms of counseling Cassius. The photograph followed him everywhere and tried to guide Cassius based on his poses. Good post!

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  3. SolomiaDecember 19, 2018 at 1:59 PM

    Another similarity to Invisible Man I noticed was how the main characters were both pushed by white people to be the leaders of a resistance organization, and both were branded a little like the “chosen one” who is somehow supernaturally talented at organizing large groups of people. Of course, in Cassius’ case, he doesn’t agree to it, but it is still an interestingly similar dynamic.

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  4. Aidan GarrettDecember 20, 2018 at 9:16 PM

    I remember discussing this in class and I think you do a great job of carrying that out here. One thing I find interesting though is that in the case of Cassius he isn't really trying to undermine anyone with yeses and is more just trying to find a way to get by.

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