Why Talking Androids Don't Work
When Hinckle Von Vampton finally figured out the Talking Android, I was a little disappointed at how underwhelming it was. He put in so much effort only for it to be intensely bad. While I was mourning over Hinckle’s failed creation however, I realized that its failure served a purpose: it showed that an imitation will always be inferior to its source. Mumbo Jumbo ’s Talking Android aimed to infiltrate black communities and rid them of Jes Grew. They wanted to use someone within the community to “drive [Jes Grew] out, categorize it analyze it expell it slay it, blot Jes Grew” (Reed 17). Hinckle Von Vampton had Woodrow Wilson Jefferson be the Talking Android, only after using skin lightening cream, but after Jefferson’s father takes him away, Hinckle ultimately had Hubert Gould be the android in blackface (Reed 142, 157). Ultimately the android isn’t successful, in part because Gould’s blackface was wiped off, but in my opinion, mostly because it was grossly inauthentic. Hinckle’s ...