Why We Should Be Concerned with Capitalism
SPOILER ALERT FOR SORRY TO BOTHER YOU
Sorry to Bother You was a movie I stumbled across while developing a movie bucket list. I was enticed by the “Wes Anderson-like” dollhouse aesthetic of the trailer, and I thought I’d give it a shot. Little did I know that this film would become one of my favorite movies of all time. Aside from the amazing choices in costuming and intriguing plot development, Sorry to Bother You captured me on the premise of its message: the danger of capitalism.
I consider myself to be pretty left-leaning on the political spectrum, but watching this movie made me even more angry at the capitalist methods of our economy. Sorry to Bother You serves as a perfect case study for the dangers of capitalism.
A Crash Course on Capitalism
Before talking about the links between our modern world and the futuristic elements of Sorry to Bother You, I thought that I’d talk a little bit about what capitalism is. Capitalism is a form of economic system where a country’s trade, industry and profits are controlled by private owners rather than the government or people who directly make the product. It is commonly associated with a free market economy, meaning that the amount of capital (or materials/services being sold) is dependent on supply and demand, rather than a government-issued quota. This method allows for a larger range of people to be involved within the market without having boundaries to limit their financial success. This is part of the reason why capitalism is favorable among some individuals. In this way, it promotes entrepreneurship and innovation with a ‘greed-is-good’ philosophy.
However, there is a dark side. Private enterprises depend on labor to produce a maximum amount of product possible. Thus, issues of exploitation arise. Business owners can easily profit from the expansion of their company, while workers have to live on the stipend their employers provide. Objectively speaking, this isn’t completely fair. The people who create the product do not directly profit from their creation; owners do. There are cases where workers are treated fairly and are making sustainable wages. However, that’s not the majority. This is where movies like Sorry to Bother You aim to target their satirical attack.
Maybe Horse Humans Aren't That Far Off
Sorry to Bother You is a movie that relies on a satirical approach of bending the line between realism and fantasy. Quite honestly, if we’re taking the ‘horse human’ plot-point at face-value, it is—without a doubt—extremely absurd. With that being said, I’m going to explore this concept beyond face-value.
The whole premise of Sorry To Bother You is extremely congruent of how a capitalist society works. Within this film, there is a gross fetishization of productivity, and in turn, this obsession drives the increasingly exclusive tiers of this company to absurdist standards. For instance, in the film, regular telemarketers are badgered to become ‘power-callers,’ which are telemarketers who have a knack for making sales. As Cassius Green, the main character, gets promoted to a power-caller by using his ‘white-voice,’ the object of sales drastically switches from self-help books to slave labor. Entranced by money and success, Cassius Green devotes himself to making as many sales as possible, making him rise to the top of the power-callers. His talent is then recognized by “WorryFree” CEO Steve Lift. Lift offers Green the chance to willingly volunteer to transform into a horse-human to manage a “new race” of the optimal productive people. Now, hear me out: I don’t think CEOs of major companies like Microsoft or Facebook are going to come up with some drug to make horse people, like in the film. However, this escalation insinuates how capitalism is a never-ending grasp for more power and money, regardless of morals.
The majority of the characters in the film fall into capitalism’s shadow, meaning that they aren’t receiving even a quarter of the wealth Lift has access to despite the fact that they are the ones driving business. Through this dichotomy, the director Boots Riley underlines why we should be concerned with capitalism. Without boundaries, private owners are allowed to manipulate their workers beyond an acceptable point. In a capitalist society, everyone is viewed as a means to achieve more capital. No one is fully human, anymore. The bounds of what it means to be a community are broken because of never-ending greed. This is where the issue with capitalism lies; it’s dehumanizing.
Is There Anything We Can Do?
Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do. Capitalism isn’t an issue like climate change, which we can attempt to rein in. However, what we can do is be more mindful of politics, since some candidates and politicians are more socialist-leaning than others. We can focus on putting people who have some extent of mindfulness towards the struggling lower-class population into positions of power. Being more intentional with voting in elections is a start. For more information about the next presidential election, you can check out this article.
