A Reference to Capitalism


Recently, I was thinking about all the different themes, references, and general interesting facts about Sorry to Bother You. But one of the things I was thinking about throughout the entire film were references to the title.
The first time we encounter the phrase “sorry to bother you” is when Cassius calls his first client at Regal View. The last time is when Cassius is an Equisapien and bursts into Steve Lift’s house (his last customer). When he says it the first time, he is very timid and shy. He is genuinely sorry that he is bothering them and has to continue with his message. The second time, he says it sarcastically and mockingly.
How Cassius says this phrase shows his progression as a character throughout the movie. He goes from just trying to get through life one day at a time to having opinions on issues and wanting to make an impact. I also did a little research on why Boots Riley chose this title. According to Riley, it has a double meaning. The first is referencing how it is used by telemarketers who tell people things they know their customers might not want to here such as the socialist themes. The second meaning is “when you’re telling someone something that is different from how they view things, different from how they view the world, it feels like an annoyance or a bother” (taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorry_to_Bother_You#Themes).  
The second reason for the title could be referencing many things we discussed today in class. I personally believe it is referencing our capitalist society. People don’t like to believe that we have organizations such as WorryFree. Through this movie, they realize how these organizations are painted as slavery. There is also the portrayal of Steve Lift and the message of success coming from being white or white-like. The reason why Cassius becomes a power caller is because he speaks in his white voice. After reaching the very top, he is able to drop the white voice however is treated separately (when asked to rap and be the next MLK). Some people (especially in America) don’t like to here that the capitalist society isn’t the perfect way of doing things.

Feel free to comment thoughts/various interpretations!

Comments

  1. Annemily HogansonDecember 19, 2018 at 5:10 PM

    Nice post! I hadn't thought about how the title could (sarcastically) apply to bothering viewers with socialist themes but it's really cool. I think the blend of realism and wildness forces viewers to consider how the film applies to the world as they know it so it's cool that the title also implicates viewers.

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  2. Tue DoDecember 20, 2018 at 3:25 PM

    Great Post! I think that you are right in the title showing his character development. I also noticed how there was a great disparity between his first and last "customer". I also think there's a lot of references, both implicit and explicit, to capitalism. We have to remember that Boots Riley is an unapologetic communist, and as a whole Sorry To Bother You seems like an attack on capitalism, with the whole Worry-Free scheme.

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  3. Ethan AshbrookDecember 20, 2018 at 8:10 PM

    Nice post! I didn't think about the Capitalist undertone of the title. I feel like as the movie goes on, the title starts to lose its genuine meaning. As you said, at the start Cassius is actually sorry to be bothering people, but it quickly turns into a simple phrase that he uses mechanically. After all, it's just a part of the script that he has to stick to. The line starts to become cold and meaningless, just as Cash rises through the business ranks and gets absorbed into the world of high Capitalism.

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  4. Aidan GarrettDecember 20, 2018 at 9:14 PM

    Cool post! I saw the capitalist undertones throughout the film but never thought about the title that way. I also think it is cool how we see Cassius transform from the person he is at the start to the leader he becomes in the end.

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  5. SJDecember 26, 2018 at 12:51 PM

    I agree with the capitalist references, as all throughout the movie there are economic undertones. From the name Cassius having a pronunciation like "Cash is," along with Regal View's powercaller promise resembling some sort of American dream in which one can make it if they work hard and rise up through the ranks is a very capitalist ideal. This contrasted by the socialist worry-free organization had my interests aroused in the beginning, and was made even more significant to me when we found out that worry-free is basically a capitalist institution also. I dont know, lots to think about.

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