Sorry to Bother You

Critical Film Review

by Julian Riedman

[This review contains spoilers for Sorry to Bother You]

Sorry to Bother You is a film that pictures a dreary dystopia draped in colorful

storytelling, but in the end is all too close to our own reality. As we explore the world that is

Sorry to Bother You, that being an alternate-universe Oakland, California, the greatly expressed

issues with capitalism, as well as race become very apparent.

Sorry to Bother You follows a young man Cassius “Cash” Green, played by Lakeith

Stanfield, who lives in his uncle Sergio’s garage with his girlfriend Detroit, played by Tessa

Thompson. In the film that at first appears to be a satire as we follow Cassius to his new job at

RegalView, a telemarketing company, where Cassius has to use his “white voice” in order to land

more sales, soon after Cassius begins meeting friends at work who decide to strike for better

wages and benefits. However after this, things begin to take a far more insidious turn as Cassius

rises through the ranks at RegalView, becoming a Power Caller, and begins business with

WorryFree, a new corporation shrouded in mystery and publicly condemned by many as a

company that works in modern-day slave labor.

Choices made in the movie represent the larger theme of capitalism through both overt

and subtle ways. Some films choose to be more subtle and careful with how they hint at the

larger theme they are trying to represent or criticize, but Sorry to Bother You is quite bold and on

the nose with their representation of capitalism; that being the dark secret behind WorryFree,

which is that they plan on turning their workers into horse-people, or “Equisapiens” as the film

refers to them, which would allow them to work harder than regular humans, and are as visually

repulsive as you could imagine. Representing the dehumanization under capitalism that many
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Critical Film Review
by Julian Riedman
face, with quite a literal representation of this by dehumanizing people and literally turning them

into workhorses.

As we move with our characters throughout this alternate-universe Oakland we can see

the changing of the WorryFree posters and signs through graffiti in the background, like one at

the beginning which is changed to say “Worry SLAVERY AT WORK” from “WorryFree IF

YOU LIVED HERE, YOU’D BE AT WORK ALREADY!” Hinting at the greater theme of

capitalism, and the dehumanization and wage slavery many face under it, and this graffiti is done

by a left-wing activist group dressed in black. No, it is not Antifa, but the Left Eye group, and is

yet another instance where this alternate-universe draws similar to ours and is representative of

the groups fighting for social causes, and being notably anti-capitalist.

As Cassius moves up the ranks in RegalView to the level of Power Caller, he gets

everything he thinks he could ever ask for — the money his uncle needs, a new car, new

apartment, new clothes, better life — but as he becomes more invested in his job, he also begins

to watch his relationships deteriorate, both with his girlfriend and his friends. He becomes

increasingly uncomfortable with this new world he is privy to, as well as unstable, and this is

portrayed beautifully by Lakeith Stanfield in his acting as Cassius, becoming seemingly more

erratic in his tone of voice and the stuttering of his lines. We can also see this in how Cassius’

clothes, or costume, changes throughout this process as well, where at first he is in a well put

together suit, but as this process continues Cassius’ clothes become increasingly messy, and by

the end of it all his clothes are very loose and wrinkled, his shirt is untucked, his tie loosely

hangs around his neck, and he has a bloody rag wrapped around his forehead. Representing the

toll being part of such a process has taken on Cassius, as he realizes more and more the

immorality of the system he is taking a part in, that being capitalism.

Sorry to Bother You
Critical Film Review
by Julian Riedman
Just as the movie is critical of capitalism, its representation of race is critical as well. A

large way this is shown is through the dialogue of the film, where some characters swap between

their regular voice and their “white voice.” The person who does this most notably is Cassius, he

uses his “white voice” to rise through the ranks at RegalView as it is more advantageous in

making sales. Once he makes it to the top of RegalView, they are only allowed to speak in their

“white voice,” representing the high place whiteness has in our society, both in power and

esteem, as well as the intersection of business and race, where it is far more preferential to

present white or act “white.” Once becoming a Power Caller, Cassius is invited to a party where

he meets Steve Lift, played by Armie Hammer, and the very racial undertones become quite

clear. Lift asks Cassius to tell stories of gang life, as well as asking him to rap for the group of

partiers, and despite Cassius’ repeated refusals, it soon after cuts to him getting on the main

stairway in the house and attempting to rap, yet failing, until he ends up just repeating the words

“N***a shit,” and the crowd chants it back. To me, this almost represents modern-day pop

culture for much of the country, as while many people still hold racist and stereotypical views of

Black people, they often praise them and are enthused about rap music, among other things in

Black culture. All in all, representing a commentary on how whiteness is still held with much

esteem in our society, and still holds much power, but also how much of what it means to be

Black in America is looked at through a lens of whiteness as to what is acceptable.

After many twisting turns throughout the movie, leading to new and strange

developments, Sorry to Bother You can really open your eyes to some issues we face presently in

our society. Sorry to Bother You offers the lens of an alternate-universe Oakland, California in

order to reexamine many of your currently held beliefs, and potentially change them in our own

universe. Many of us have preconceived ideas about the morality of capitalism or how good the
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Critical Film Review
by Julian Riedman
system is given that it has been a part of America since the beginning and that we function under

it. But, what Sorry to Bother You offers you is quite scary given that it takes a very anti-capitalist

stance, and can be very critical of capitalism and its morality, which can lead to one challenging

their own beliefs, create a better understanding of our society, and lead to broader conversations

as to what we need to do moving forward to make society better for everyone. The same goes for

the idea of race in our society as one can see through Sorry to Bother You how whiteness is

placed upon a pedestal in our society, while aspects of being Black in our society are often only

accepted through some lens of whiteness. So, with all of that considered, I would recommend

Sorry to Bother You as a much watch given its representation of capitalism and race in American

society.