Dr Boyce: Yes, The Transformers Movie Was Quite Racist

I came to the latest release of "The Transformers" looking for what I saw in the first film: Jaw-dropping special effects and a story just interesting enough to hold you over until the next explosion. I didn't go to the film looking for racism or embarrassing minstrel shows. My "racial bias glasses" are designed to weed out harmless, inadvertent racism, which comes with living in a society that spent 400 years thinking that black people were less than human. But when racism is thrown in my face repeatedly in the form of ridiculous and disgusting stereotypes, that's when I start to get mad.

Michael Bay is one of my favorite directors, next to the Hughes Brothers (where are they by the way?). He's damn good at what he does. But on this occasion, Bay simply missed his creative target and I'm not the only one who's noticing.

Meet Skids and Mudflap, two Transformers who may as well have been called Lil Wayne and Random Black Male idiot. One of them actually has a gold grill, and neither of them can read. They are bungling buffoons and cowards with barely an ounce of intelligence. One of them rides around as an Ice cream truck with the words "suck my popsicle" on the side, yelling "get your ice cream bitches" to those who might want to buy from his dirty little truck. They also remind you in every other sentence that you are a "punk ass bitch" and that they want to "bust a cap in your ass."

Now meet Optimus Prime. Optimus is a brave, principled leader who speaks with proper English and stands tall in the face of adversity. He protects the cowardly idiots in spite of the fact that they are too stupid to take care of themselves. I can't say whether Optimus is white or black, but he doesn't talk like Skids and Mudflap. His diction is perfect and he doesn't curse. He would never offer to put a "cap in your ass", and he doesn't seem to have any gold teeth. Even dressed in red, white and blue, he looks and sounds a lot like a Republican. Everyone wants to be Optimus Prime. No one wants to be Skids or Mudflap.

Every time Skids and Mudflap opened their mouths, I sank a little further down in my seat. I could almost stomach it all, until the characters backed away in fear when being asked to read. After watching how Bay used these two to provide much of the comic relief in the film, I wanted to find the screen writers, slap them one by one, and force them to take a class on historical images of blacks in media. Hollywood is home to the most sophisticated technological advancements, the most accurate marketing data, and precise, multi-year script analysis. In the face of all of this research, how could they do something so asinine? What's worse is that they absolutely ruined my favorite film by insulting me. Steven Spielberg, the Executive Producer who will also be responsible for making the Martin Luther King film, should have noticed these problems after viewing the Director's cut. Anyone marketing movies for black dollars should have greater racial sensitivity.

Michael Bay, I'm disappointed. The truth is that Skids and Mudflap were unnecessary and had very little to do with the story line (I noticed that they disappeared during the climactic battle at the end, other than the scream, "I don't wanna die" as they were being destroyed by the enemy). Did you also notice that the other urbanized character in your first film, Jazz, was the first to die and came into the movie with the words, "What's happenin lil bitches"? I won't say that I am no longer a fan, because I want to take the high road and use this as an opportunity for communication. I appreciate your willingness to inject edgy humor into a strong and consistent corporate brand. I have no doubt that "the suits" in the industry squirm every time you allow for a sex joke or use a curse word in your films – I usually love it, and appreciate your willingness to take creative risks. But if I go to the next film and see anything even resembling the buffoonery you've put in this movie, I will transform myself into someone who never sees another one of your films again.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and author of the forthcoming book, "Black American Money". For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered directly to your email, please click here.