Boots Riley is an unapologetically communist artist who is making art attacking United States capitalism and imperialism. That makes him worthy of admiration automatically. I will be tracking his films and television shows here.
3. I’m A Virgo [2023]
Boots Riley making a streaming show for Amazon is one of those moments that calls into question to what extent there is a value in being a communist filmmaker! I appreciate Boots stretching himself as an artist and trying to do different things. I did not think it worked all that well though It was perhaps trying to do a bit too much and not enough of it was done well enough. But hey, that is what happens sometimes. It was and is worth watching.
2. I Love Boosters [2026]
I Love Boosters was Riley’s cinematic follow-up to Sorry to Bother You. I hoped it would signal that – while interesting – the issues with I’m a Virgo were more of a sign that the streaming television format was poorly suited for Riley (as opposed to more fundamental flaws). Boosters is more Virgo than Bother You though. Yes, there is the great look, beautiful costumes imaginative set design and use of miniatures and stop-motion animation, kinetic energy, sense of wonder and joy, and an unapologetic communist worldview. But there is a missing connective tissue to hold the film together. It is a noble film. It is a sincere film. It is often even a fun film. (Please do see it in a PACKED theater – the Brooklyn BAM experience was electric.) I just wish it was a better film.
1. Sorry to Bother You [2018]
Sorry to Bother You is explicitly about how American society trying to treat you like wage slaves and cattle in order to make a handful of people wealthy. It is loud and in your face. It is designed to show how tempting the system tries to make it for you to sell out your people to become one of the handful. The film makes no apologies. I frankly love it and Boots Riley for it. It is a film that fills me with so much joy that I will always follow what Boots Riley does. It is a film that I proudly teach to my high school students, and they always love it.
The Reel World 