Cassius “Cash” Green, our protagonist, and an aptly named individual is at first trying to make ends meet. He is desperate enough to lie at an interview for a telemarketer job at RegalView, where he is caught, but gets a job anyway.
The whole movie is about the struggles working class in the world of late-stage capitalism. The most popular television show is “I Got The Shit Kicked Out of Me“, in which participants come and well… get the shit kicked out of them. It is a capitalist franchise that alleviates the frustration of underpaid workers as it warms their heart to see someone else get humiliated for a change. The satire doesn’t end there as a company that is accused of enslaving its employee is named “WorryFree” and whose CEO claims that the employees are not forced to sign contracts under threats of physical violence so the comparison to slavery is ludicrous and offensive. RegalView itself pays its employees starvation wages except for the elite few known as “Power Caller.”
The African-American Cassius Green struggles to get anywhere with his job as a telemarketer when another older African- American man advises him to use his “white voice.” Confused, Cash says, “Well, people say I talk with a white voice anyway, so why it ain’t helping me out?” The man replies that it is not white enough. Implementing this Cash finds so much success that he becomes one of the Power Callers.
But at the same time, his friends are protesting against the management who he later alienates. After this, the movie takes a surreal turn as Cash becomes privy to the true face of the corporate world. The demonic lifestyle of the new type of people he works with leaves him deeply unsettled and conflicted but not enough to leave it. That is until he accidentally discovers future plans of WorryFree’s CEO which forces him to go on “I Got The Shit Kicked Out of Me” and get the shit kicked out of him to get the attention of the masses. The little traction it gets makes things worse as corrupt politicians put a spin on the new findings.
The entire movie feels like a two-hour Black Mirror episode with an astoundingly bizarre yet dauntingly believable portrayal of current political discourse, especially in the United States. The bold kafkaesque debut by the director Boots Riley definitely ranks as one of the best movies of 2018. Brilliant acting by Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson made this almost two-hour long movie feel like a heartbeat.
I hope I have convinced you enough to make you watch it, and in case I haven’t, sorry to have bothered you.
-Ankur Pal
