From Cold Calls to Power Calls: Dehumanization and Class Struggle in Sorry to Bother You
Start Date
16-3-2024 5:15 PM
End Date
16-3-2024 6:00 PM
Description
In Boots Riley’s film Sorry to Bother You, the telemarketing world serves as a microcosm of capitalist society. Cassius Green’s journey from struggling caller to “power caller” exposes the dehumanizing effects of conformity, symbolized by adopting a “white voice.” The film navigates class disparity, and labor exploitation, challenging viewers to question the relentless demands of capitalism. Drawing from concepts like 24/7 capitalism and Capitalist Realism, I argue that the film builds the tension between conformity and rebellion to consider our understanding of the power, identity and privilege within a capitalist society.
From Cold Calls to Power Calls: Dehumanization and Class Struggle in Sorry to Bother You
In Boots Riley’s film Sorry to Bother You, the telemarketing world serves as a microcosm of capitalist society. Cassius Green’s journey from struggling caller to “power caller” exposes the dehumanizing effects of conformity, symbolized by adopting a “white voice.” The film navigates class disparity, and labor exploitation, challenging viewers to question the relentless demands of capitalism. Drawing from concepts like 24/7 capitalism and Capitalist Realism, I argue that the film builds the tension between conformity and rebellion to consider our understanding of the power, identity and privilege within a capitalist society.