Boots Riley’s ‘I’m A Virgo’ Takes a Gigantically Surreal Aim at Capitalism

Alci Rengifo

There is little doubt the times we live in are quite surreal. Artists like Boots Riley thrive on interpreting and feeding off such an era, using it to fuel the imagination to make blistering commentary. This was first seen in Riley’s acclaimed 2018 feature debut, “Sorry to Bother You.” Like many, if not most, major directors working today, he now gives television a try with “I’m a Virgo.” This series may seem hard to categorize at first, but the simple answer is that it’s Afro-Surrealism used to jab mercilessly at late-stage capitalism, American racism, society and all that is worthy of merciless observation.

The main character is as memorable as any you will see in a series this summer. Cootie (Jharrel Jerome) was born in Oakland and raised by adoptive parents LaFrancine (Carmen Ejogo) and Martisse (Mike Epps). But Cootie is no ordinary 19-year-old. He’s 13-feet in height. Why he was born this way is one of the show’s central mysteries. LaFrancine and Martisse try their hardest to confine Cootie to their home, afraid of how the outside world will take advantage of a Black youth who is in essence an anomaly. They won’t even let him try a Big Bang Burger, despite the creepily tempting ads on TV. But when Cootie finally manages to go out into the world, it’s all such a strange whirlwind. Friends like Felix (Brett Gray) take him joyriding and soon enough Cootie becomes a viral internet sensation. And with that sudden fame come corporate offers to sell his image. Hovering in the skies meanwhile, is “The Hero” (Walton Goggins), a millionaire in a super suit who makes sure law and order is preserved with good old fashioned prejudice.

Only in streaming and with the supreme irony of a studio like Amazon covering the bills can a show like “I’m a Virgo” even exist. Boots Riley again pulls off the feat of injecting a radical message inside a very entertaining production that breaks rules along the way. There have been excellent streaming shows about the contemporary Black American experience, from “Dear White People” to “Insecure,” but Riley wants to be an heir to Spike Lee and Luis Bunuel, using surrealism to strike at the economic and social order, while still having fun. The characters of this show are California’s Black working class and part of Cootie’s growth process is realizing he’s a major curiosity in an unequal world. One of the characters in what becomes his entourage, Scat (Allius Barnes), has an accident but is refused medical care at the first clinic he enters for lack of insurance. A white manager spots Cootie at a public place and instantly begins to groom him in the ways of making money off his image. 

Cootie is like a giant, almost sci-fi version of those infamous stories of young people with an odd gift who are then turned into products. Like a loud conscience there’s the character of Jones (Kara Young), an activist who identifies as a Communist, though in that rather light way typical of millennials and Gen Z leftists. Yet she’s the one who truly captures Riley’s more radical stances regarding gentrification, race relations and class war. Just as important is The Hero, who symbolizes Cootie’s dashed consumer dreams and also our cultural obsession with superhero fantasies. The millionaire behind the suit also runs a comic book based on the persona which Cootie admires. But when he actually sees The Hero in action it becomes obvious the super cop is nothing more than a prejudiced enforcer, breaking up anti-eviction rallies and warning Black teens that several people wearing similar clothing in a group can be considered a gang. There is a sweeter, romantic angle involving Flora (Olivia Washington), a Big Bang Burger worker who has a super speed power. She instantly connects with Cootie and their eventual sex scene could have been a wild farce like “The Boys,” but instead becomes rather tender.

Then there is the visual inventiveness of “I’m a Virgo,” as Riley combines surreal images of Cootie’s massive presence with the everyday feel of an Oakland neighborhood. CGI, doll-size props and other tricks are utilized for moments that are both memorable but full of depth. Cootie’s situation is a powerful symbol for how Black American young men have dealt for so long with dangerous, threatening stereotypes imposed by a discriminatory system. Cootie gets booked for a show where he threatens a bunch of white mannequins, and instead of retreating from such an idea, takes the money. That isn’t just a critique of racism, but of a social system that prizes doing anything to get some cash, or fame. There’s much more in this intelligent, wildly creative show. Eventually we even get a cult convinced Cootie is some kind of prophetic figure. Such a joke is fitting, since satire and surrealism combined have made for prophetic visions before. “I’m a Virgo” focuses on a sweet character mysteriously born larger than life, but traversing a world of brutal inequality and distorted perceptions, lorded over by super soldiers with guns. Come to think of it, it’s not that surreal considering how true to life it feels.

“I’m a Virgo” season one begins streaming June 23 on Amazon Prime Video.