In Paul
Beatty’s The Sellout, the idea of
freedom takes on an almost-antagonistic role, menacingly looming over both the
narrator and Hominy Jenkins as an extra burden or responsibility that they are,
to varying extents, reluctant to accept. It seems that Hominy has successfully
avoided the responsibility of freedom his entire life, offering it up to
others, starting with the entertainment industry during his career as a child
star. Even later on into his adult life, Hominy willingly surrenders his
freedom and subjects himself to a life of slavery under the refusing hand of the
narrator. In an attempt to set him free, the narrator officially grants him
status as a “free man of color” to which Hominy responds by “[wiping] his ass
with his freedom, then [handing] it back to [the narrator]” (82). Although
Hominy addresses the narrator as “massa,” it seems to me that he is more of a
slave to the entertainment industry, and that the narrator serves as an
extension of that.
Throughout
the novel, Hominy seems to be enslaved by the entertainment industry, though it
seems to be more of a self-imposed enslavement. Much of the time he is
mentioned in the novel, he is talking with the narrator about his various
experiences growing up in the entertainment industry as a child actor, effectively
creating a narrative solely comprised of stories and memories derived from such
experiences. The only other development of him as a character that is present throughout
the majority of the novel is through what is mentioned by the narrator, such as
his longing to “feel relevant” once again (77), a feeling that was previously
derived from the presence of visitors and fan mail from his days in the
entertainment industry. Furthermore, his
suicide attempt was driven by this lack of feeling relevant and the setting
itself reflected that of a “one-act of desperation” with things such as a
playbill containing his biography/screen credits and a publicity shot,
showcasing his love for and devotion to the entertainment industry and his time
in the “spotlight” even in what he planned on being his last few moments (74).
Throughout
the rest of the novel, Hominy repeatedly turns to the narrator regarding the
lost Little Rascal films as well. It
seems that potentially this, in addition to the narrator saving his life, is
the reason that he offers himself in servitude to the narrator. He sees the
narrator as the opportunity to obtain such a dear possession, and ultimately,
this is the case. Hominy is finally emancipated, from both the narrator and the
entertainment industry, when he obtains the Little
Rascal videos. Almost immediately after watching the Little Rascal films, Hominy tells the narrator that he quits
slavery (283). In this moment, he is finally emancipated from the entertainment
industry and becomes a free man of his own.
I agree that the time Hominy spent as a child actor negatively impacted his attitudes, but Beatty also uses satire to show how the exposure to racism distorts a life. The sections describing Hominy’s Little Rascals appearances evoke horribly racist undertones including the way characters talked, their depiction as criminals, and the imagery of oil seen in one of the lost tapes. (281) This made him recast the racism he experiences so racist events become simply a comic, bearable part of life. During an interview, Hominy refers to blackface as “acting” and nothing more because that was the industry norm in that era. (240) If Hominy had not been a child star, his life could have been full of hate and shame towards these images. But, the fact that he witnessed these events with the lens of youthful innocence and acting fun blended them together as something soothing rather than upsetting. He is still aware of racism but asking for it as his birthday present implies that he never saw it as a truly threatening concept. (128) By writing these comments with comedic intent, Beatty utilizes an ironic tone to convey how severely the mind can be affected by the sort of “entertainment slavery” Hominy witnessed, as described above. His actions have damaged his mind towards what is right or wrong, leaving him with a world view where racism is nothing more than a fond childhood memory.
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