Talk to Me - Melissa Colbert
The film Talk to Me illustrates the lives of African American men who were effected by growing racial tensions during the 1960’s and 70’s. Not only was there conflict between African Americans and the dominant white culture, but also between African Americans who saw themselves as activists and those who tried their best to fit into white society. In the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Dewey, an African American businessman who seems well adjusted to life in a dominantly white culture, and Petey, an outspoken ex-convict whose dream it is to work as a D.J. and make his viewpoints on racism and civil rights known. Throughout the film, the struggle between Dewey and Petey causes them to change the way they view their roles as black men. When they first meet, Dewey is disgusted with Petey and tells him that he’s a scoundrel, giving him very little respect. Petey later snaps back by accusing Dewey as being a “tan white-boy� who conforms to white oppression of African Americans. Even though Dewey has achieved some success in his work at a dominantly white-run radio station, when Petey stirs up things at the station, deep inside Dewey agrees with Petey, but he is too afraid to stand up for himself. Petey becomes his voice for equality, and towards the end of the movie, Dewey was expressing his ideas on his own. While Petey’s influence on Dewey has a somewhat positive impact, Dewey’s attempts to draw Petey into popular white culture (The Tonight Show) fail miserably, with Petey refusing to “be changed�. While I do not consider many of the beliefs African Americans had about white people during the Civil Right’s Movement racist, I do feel that the comments that Petey made while on The Tonight Show about white people not caring about what he was saying gave the impression that what negative feelings of racial hatred he had towards white people stemmed from disappointment rather than racism itself.