"Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You is a surreal black fantasy film made for everyone." (Black Girl Nerds). Both Riley and the costume designer, Deirdra Elizabeth Govan teamed up to create the aesthetic of Detroit (Tessa Thompson), the artist and activist. Her big and bold earrings are eye-catching, and that is what we're gonna talk about today.
The first pair of earrings we see are the "Murder Murder Murder/Kill Kill Kill" pair, putting them on before she goes to work as a sign twirler, and after we watch the WorryFree commercial for the first time. After seeing the commercial and the immediate appearance of the earrings, it tells the reader that WorryFree is far more corrupt than anyone would know.
An important thing to note is that Detroit doesn't wear extravagant earrings all the time, however, she is an active social activist. For example, she wears a shirt with the message "The Future is Female Ejaculation", if she were to wear earrings, it would downplay the message on her shirt.
The next pair we see are the pink and purple glittery dildo earrings. Wearing them when she gets a job at the RegalView telemarketing office and standing up against the company and the underpaid workers. Essentially the earrings are very obviously telling the audience that RegalView can "suck it". Again, at the protest she doesn't wear this because it would take attention from the protest.
The pair that most stood out (at least in my opinion) are the golden set of earrings, featuring a person strapped to an electric chair. Right after seeing a close up of the earrings, the camera focuses on the WorryFree billboard of a man sitting on a couch with a remote in his hand. The earrings are most definitely another statement about the lack of freedom of the WorryFree workers. WorryFree takes away the lives and the freedom of the people who work for them and convert them into slaves, only providing accommodation (which is just a room with four bunk beds and two people to every bunk) and food. By taking away their freedom, WorryFree is "killing" those workers - like the man in the electric chair. On another note, it could also be a statement about the mass incarceration problem in the USA, since WorryFree workers are essentially prisoners (PS, the USA spends $182 billion on mass incarceration, and they're still confused about why they're in debt).
While Detroit has a few more iconic earrings, some of which are song lyrics, the next most clever crafted pair would have to be the Bella Ciao pair. This is seen in the second to last scene of the movie when they both move into Cash's uncle's garage. While all things seem happy, it quickly disappears when they realize that Cash had been converted. Bella Ciao is an Italian Folk and anti-fascist resistance song (translated to "Goodbye Beautiful"). The song is about a man who leaves to go fight in WWII and ends up dying. So, is Detroit saying goodbye to Cassius, or does Riley want us to remember Nazi Germany?
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