In Lippi-Green’s English with an Accent, she writes about language focused discrimination and the need to understand individuals beliefs about language in order to relate on a personal level. In the film, Sorry to Bother you, Cassius is advised to “use his white voice.” This standard of language is not only racist, but also reflects on the idea of what black people have to do to hide who they are. Cash becomes successful when he uses his “white voice” and this is because he becomes very personable and talks to his client as if they can relate to him. This relates to the concept of passing and not passing because he passes as a rich white male whenever he is on the phone, but in reality, he is a black male who lives in a garage.
The ending was unexpected, crazy, and just made me think of the power of resistance. He takes the first step towards change, whether it ends up being big or small, it is a step in the right direction to fight against capitalistic power. Boots RIley chooses to comment and examine the capitalistic view and pressure put on labor forces. Cash lost his morality because he was pushed by the authority to crave more and more. This greed is a reflection of the capitalist society as a whole and the hierarchical power that is manifested into the system. It was up to Cash whether he wanted to be a participant in the system or not, and he ended up making the wrong choice.
For me, I think I change the way I speak depending on where I am. When I’m with my friends, I definitely am more comfortable with my language. Around my professors and family, I have to be more aware of what I say. In a classroom setting, I tend to think a lot before I talk, but I am trying to grow out of that habit. In Lippi-Green’s chapter 8, she says that our language, “shouldn’t be corrected, it should be enriched” and I value this statement a lot because it spoke to me as I read her article as something everyone should be aware of. Sometimes it is hard for people to speak up because they are afraid of judgement, but instead of this being the norm, it should be that we can all learn from what each one of us has to say.