"Talk to Me" Dominic Nemmers
The people in positions of power are portrayed as looking only out for themselves, and as being racists. Dewey was probably afraid because he thought that if he stuck out too much from the norm, and expressed what he really thought about the people who were oppressing minorities. Dewey admires Petey’s honesty, and his ability to cut to the heart of many issues. Petey isn’t a racist at heart he has just gone through a lifetime of being acted against and portrayed as a “certain person� by the people who are in power. The fact that Sponsor thinks that black listeners had more confidence in black disc jockeys really hurts the credibility of black people. The way that this is portrayed in Talk to Me is the fact that Petey has more popularity than other artists at the station because he embodies all of the qualities that Sponsor thinks his listeners are looking for. When MLK is assassinated in the movie, the progress that the black people had been seeing in the community all washed away. Dewey, being Petey’s manager, really lives out his own lifelong dream through Petey. The conflict arises because Petey doesn’t have the ambition or the want to go to the “top�, only to be affective and enjoy his life. Part of his sabotage of the Tonight show is he seeing himself as not ready to be the ultimate comedy act, but the other part of it involves him not really wanting to be the top act and selling himself out for popularity.