This week on Feminist Frequency Radio, we discuss Boots Riley’s wild, unforgettable comedy of race, class, labor and capitalism, Sorry to Bother You! It’s a gem of distinctly Oakland storytelling that’s very relevant for the moment in history at which we find ourselves, and we explore the ways in which it sharply blends comedy and critique to create a uniquely piercing work of cultural commentary that’s also tremendously entertaining. We also take a moment to talk about how, for all its wonderful aspects, Sorry to Bother You doesn’t do right by its female characters.
We also talk about the not-so-super comments on flirting and dating from Henry Cavill, the harmful laziness of Trump/Putin gay “jokes,” and other assorted pop culture happenings. Anita shares some fascinating animal facts and has an epiphany about what paraphrasing means. Our producer Phil knows everybody in Oakland.
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Segment Timestamps:
:00 intro
1:40 Homophobic Trump/Putin “jokes”
3:15 Entertainment news: ScarJo backs out of trans man biopic, POSE is renewed, and Henry Cavill says some things
16:30 Sorry to Bother You (general, no spoilers)
30:00 STBY spoiler territory
44:45 What’s Your FREQ-Out?
53:45 wrap-up
Relevant Links:
Eve Ewing’s Twitter thread on “what about black-on-black crime?”
The magical beard-growing Henry Cavill GIF
Tweet by @BeeBabs about Henry Cavill and rape culture