Talk To Me (Jeff Batts)
It was interesting in the movie to see the two main characters share the same skin color, but live in vastly different worlds. Dewey, being a career man, in a prominent position at a radio station, is seen as a black man living in a white world. Petey, being the opposite, has been stuck in the underclass. Even the ambitions of the two men are different. Dewey seems to be a man who's interested in advancing his career. He becomes Petey's manager and rides Petey's coattails to the top. He lives vicariously through Petey's career. When Petey blew his Tonight Show appearance, Dewey acts like it's his own career that's over. Petey, however, just wants to be a radio DJ. He has no interest in national fame or money. His goal is to unite the black community, and tell everyone about how all the social changes are affecting his life and the lives of those around him.
I don't feel that Petey was racist. Even though he is at times critical of whites, he is only pointing out injustices. He's not attacking them for being white, he doesn't hate them for their skin color. He only voices his disgust with the unfair treatment of blacks. He may make the occasional racial joke, but these jokes serve his purpose, and aren't meant to feed the flames of the times. His sabotage of his big chance was just his way of backing out of a situation he was no longer comfortable with. He kept telling Dewey that he was just a radio man, but Dewey's refusal to listen forced Petey into doing what he did. Petey was, for the most part, just a victim of Dewey's ambition and a pawn in Dewey's career.
Jeff Batts