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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2000)
gs ;,V Lee film scathing satire BY SAMUEL MCKEWON “You’ve been took, you’ve been • had, you’ve been bamboozled, led astray, run amuck.” -MalcomX So much has already been written about Spike Lee’s deeply controversial (and deeply felt) new movie "Bamboozled” that a retread of those facts seems redundant And yet it is the kind of film experience that will elicit a dif ferent “two cents” from anybody who sees it - this story of a prep pish black television writer’s cre ation of a horrifically racist new age minstrel show, which in turn becomes a ratings hit. It stares right into the soul of racism, at Lee’s perception of white oppression and the black abso lution of that behavior in the name of getting ahead. And I’m not sure what to think about all of that. As this happens to the movie’s main character, writer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans), the viewer gets so stewed in the very worst of racist images - black face - that he or she can feel the big billy club battering down. Imagine being surrounded by 100 Swastikas and being expect ed to laugh. It’s fairly the same effect "Bamboozled” is, after all, pitched as a satire. wayans cnaracter anects an odd Harvard accent at the cable network CNB, where the white boss (Michael Rappaport) teases Delacroix for being too white. “I’ve got a black wife. IWo bira cial kids,” he says. “I'm blacker than you are.” Pierre's recourse is to wiggle his way out of employment all together with an idea so ridicu lously racist, it would be protest ed off the air a modem day min strel show, the kind of show that makes buffoons and fools out of blacks in entirety. He hires two street perform ers (Savion Glover arid Tommy Davidson) and renames them Mantan (after former minstrel star Mantan Moreland) and Sleep 'n' Eat (after the Step 'n' Fetchit character in so many early movies). The show’s name: “Mantan and The New Millennial Minstrel Show.” A satirical tone is obvious in the opening act, and “Bamboozled,” in ridiculing the white-wanting-black movement and Dunwitty’s delight at shameless idea, accurately gets its point made about the lack of quality, dramatic programming on television for blacks. It would seem that what America wants is a black sitcom to poke judicious fun at over and over, or at very best, the token black as a whole. But never seri ous-minded, dramatic enter tainment camooozied shuts into its next gear, about as far as a gear can go, and then a little beyond that, by portraying the show itself and consigning the entire cast to blackface - a burnt cork makeup often used in minstrel shows, accompanied with red lipstick to indicate larger-than life lips. The very idea of blackface is deeply offensive. Ted Danson tried it a fewyears ago as Whoopi Goldberg’s boyfriend, and it did not go over well at a banquet It was a disaster, in fact Every scene that shows the minstrel show, with Glover and Davidson cavorting in a water melon patch with blackface on, flirts with disaster. Has the movie moved past satire - some of this stuff could be laughable, under other circumstances - into some sort of audience tor ture? The small crowd I viewed it with in Omaha dropped dead silent, which might be the point, might not be. Then, when the studio audience starts wearing blackface, action figures are made and kiddies start wearing blackface masks for Halloween, the experience becomes squirm worthy. There's a plethora of sub plots in “Bamboozled,” includ ing Pierre’s secretary (Jada Pinkett) and her brother (Mos Def), leader of a rap group set out to destroy the show, partially Please see BAMBOOZLED on 9 E , ■ r . 5 • Zr Famous folk/pop singer to bring 70s hits to contemporary stage ■Lightfoot,who has earned five Grammy nominations, will be performing atthe Lied. BY CASEYJOHNSON In 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared in Lake Superior with 29 passengers and a load of steel. The disappear ance was shrouded in mystery. The ship and its fate were detailed in a 1975 song by singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, appropriately entitled “The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Today Lightfoot, the Canadian folk/pop balladeer, will be at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the famed ship’s disappearance. Since he began his career in the Toronto Folk club scene in the early ’60s, Lightfoot has become a staple in the American folk community, earning five Grammy nomina tions and winning 17 Canadian Juno awards. Lightfoot has also received the Governor General’s Award, Canada’s highest official honor, for his efforts in spread ing Canadian culture. Lightfoot has been profi cient during his career, produc ing several top-10 hits and 19 albums, including his recent tribute to his career titled “Songbook.” The 88-song box set contains songs from his 36 year career, including such hits as “Sundown,” ■ “Carefree Highway” and “Don Quixote.” Lightfoot’s songs have been covered by legendary artists like Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte and Barbra Streisand. Most recently, on the sound track for the movie “Studio 54,” a version of Lightfoot’s song “If you could read my mind” was redone by the dance group Ultra Nate. Tim Cawley, Timo, one of the hosts of the morning show on 92.9 the Eagle said they had been getting a lot of calls at the station about the concert. “He is not a guy that’s been on ‘VHl Story Teller’, but people seem to know who he is, and he represents that time period pretty well,” Cawley said. Cawley said Lightfoot’s music has a distinct style com pared to other artists of the time. “He is the perfect example of the 1970s singer/songwriter,” he said. “More so than those other big ’70s guitar players (Neil Young and James Taylor), he has very genuine folk roots.” Charles Bethea, executive director of the Lied Center, said the show would probably sell out. Most of Lightfoot’s big acclaim came in the early ’70s when he released four consecu tive successful albums from 1970-73. Although has not been in the spotlight recently, Bethea said Lightfoot still has a big fan base. “There is a whole audience out there that have great affec tion for music from the '70s, and Gordon was very popular in the ’70s," he said. Gordon 1 Bethea also said pie may also enjoy his music. “I think the people who are hearing him for the first time will be surprised,” he said. ' ..hi i i i Steven Bender/DN Bank account holders storm through the doors of George Baity's failing business, Building and Loan, in "It's a Wonderful Ufe.'The musical, adapted from the movie, opens tonight at the Star City Dinner Theatre and runs through Dec 17. i Troupe to entertain with good, dean fun ■ The Fourth Wall Theatre Company will perform "The Diviners"at Woods Auditorium. BY BILLY SMUCK Playgoers looking for some good, deem fun can get their fill tonight. The Fourth Wall Theatre Company, a student troupe from Union College, a Seventh Day Adventist school, will be present ing its latest production, “The Diviners” tonight at 7 p.m. at Woods Auditorium. This presentation marks the fifth production the student organized company has put on since it opened in March 1999. “The Diviners” is a two act play that was written by Jim Leonard Jr. and directed by the company’s co-founder Anthony The Diviners from the Fourth Wall Theater Co. Gilmofe who, along with Brandon Kennison, formed the company. Set in the 1930s in the small Please see DIVINERS on 9