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 attempts to curate a Talking Android was doomed to fail from the start because of his background. He didn’t know anything about black culture, and his android was just a mere imitation of it. It was an inherently surface level caricature, and it showed through the Talking Android’s poem, “Harlem Tom Toms.” The poem contained a lot of offensive language, and it was written in a voice that could only be written by someone with very little awareness (Reed 158, 159). The android wouldn’t ever resonate with black people (which was its entire purpose) because it lacked culture and understanding. It ultimately diluted everything nuanced and special about black culture.
I noticed something similar happen to my friend, nohluhn, a few years ago, specifically about authenticity. His work used to commonly reference old media from the 2000s and 2010s (now it's more so the vibe over direct callbacks). He repurposes current media and his own assets to recreate the look of older media from the time period:
Flash warning on the third video
The references I noticed from a few of his videos in order:
- "NOH!" (1000 Ways To Die, Just Dance)
- "Testing" (PS3, Apple iPod Shuffle commerical)
- "Side of me: NOH!" (Guitar Hero, Windows 7)
- "Recovered “Haven Fashion Boutique” Commercial" (Nintendo DS commercials, Bratz Fashion Boutique)
- ":(" ("Loves Me...?" Yoshi minigame in Super Mario 64 DS)
- N/A (Hershy's Christmas Bells commercial)
I didn't want to upload a remake here so as to not put anybody on blast, but you can find a ton of them if you search "nohluhn frutiger metro" on TikTok or something similar!
Hi Sandaru! Your blog post was super interesting! I liked how you made connections between the nohluhn copiers and Hinckle Von Vampton's "derivative" works of different group's art that turn out to be much worse than the original. I do think its interesting that the nohluhn copiers unfamiliarity came from not really understanding the art form, while Vampton's came from not understanding it AND hate.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandaru!!! Nice blog!! I like how you captured the inferiority of pure imitation in attempts to represent a culture. I like the example you gave with nohluhn. I think another similar example you could consider is how, in Ragtime, mother's younger brother's active participation in the revolutionary movement is just a performative mimicry. His minstrel appearance is easily recognized by all other characters, yet he seems to be completely unaware of it because he is not "cultured" enough. His ignorance forever hinders him from actually becoming a true, black revolutionary.
ReplyDeleteHey Sandaru! This is a great blog. Your friend is really talented -- those videos were amazing. I'm interested to see what an imitation of that would even look like. I'm not sure it could come that close. I also love your thoughts on the talking android and its comically horrible poem. The scene with Moses and his band and the bleeding ears I also think is equally satirical. Reed really had a point to make. I look forward to your future posts!
ReplyDeleteI agree that it would have been interesting if Reed had enabled us to see the Talking Android in action, actually "working," since he clearly believes that such a thing is possible--it's a viable strategy for the Atonists to undermine Jes Grew by popularizing an inauthentic replica. And we can maybe think of some examples from the 20th century where a form of appropriated Black culture can be seen as undermining the culture from within, although the identification of a specific "android" might get controversial. I wonder if Reed would be willing to name an actual figure from the Harlem Renaissance who he believed served as a kind of Talking Android in the "real life" history--the HR poets he depicts in the novel seem very able to resist HVV's attempts to recruit them to the cause. In the climactic scene at Villa Lewaro, however, we see that it's less a matter of the Android "passing" among Black audiences, but more a joke at the expense of the wealthy white "patrons of the arts" who seem entirely ready to embrace Safecracker Gould as the new "voice of Black poetry in America" or whatever. The idea that they take him as a "real" Harlem Renaissance poet based on his appearance and the ridiculous poem he reads is strong satire, and the joke is on the host and her guests. The very idea that the ruse is "revealed" when the makeup runs is part of the joke--up to this point, they're fully willing to accept this minstrel performer reading a half-baked approximation of a poem in Black English Vernacular as authentic. In this sense, the Talking Android HAS worked already.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy! Your point is definitely echoed by Mumbo Jumbo, and the metanarrative of Jes Grew. The way I see it, the whole point is that there's an inherent, undeniable value to culture that can't be faked. It must be about someone's authentic experiences from their perspective. I really like your example of the edits being ripped off, and it definitely shows that creativity is something you can't fake. Good work!
ReplyDeleteHi Sandaru! This is a really cool blog post! I agree that Reed is definitely trying to send the message that original works of art are always superior. One of the Mumbo Jumbo scenes that comes to mind when thinking about this idea is Moses attempting to perform Jethro's music. When he does, it is a huge failure and the audience's ears begin to bleed. This connects back to your point about second-hand ideas being inferior to their origin. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Sandaru! I find it a little silly that your reaction to the failure of Hinkle's talking android kind of makes it seem like you might have been rooting for Hinkle but that's ok I trust that you weren't. I think the failure of the talking android is such a perfect representation of how misunderstood Jes Grew is, and the fact that Hinkle isn't able to properly infiltrate the Harlem Renaissance because his imitation poet was too vapid and offensive is really telling. This was a great blog!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good topic, and I completely agree with you. I think a big part of the reason that talking androids don't work is that people outside of a group of people, especially those brought together by one identity trait, could never truly understand those people without being kind or understanding of their culture. Therefore, talking androids can't really be carried out properly and don't really have the capability to infiltrate a group. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy!!! I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I think that the talking Android didn't do well because it didn't have people who understood the vision that Hinckle envisioned it would have. I really loved how you included someone doing something similar to the talking Android today. I think that I fit really well with what you were arguing in your blog post. Good Job!!!
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