Boots Riley on Creating the Capitalist Funhouse of I Love Boosters

      “I’ll find any reason to divert myself,” shares I Love Boosters writer-director Boots Riley when discussing his creative method.

      His dedication to his craft is unquestionable — Riley has been a labor activist since his teenage years and a musician from his college days — yet he still appreciates a convenient diversion.

      “Every time I fell in love,” he states, “I was meant to be writing an album.”

      I Love Boosters is far from a simple escape. This exuberant carnival-themed film examines the clothing supply chain through the experiences of three shoplifters, known as “the Velvet Gang,” shedding light on the intersections of fashion and exploitation.

      Unpredictable and continuously entertaining, I Love Boosters is also a surprisingly sincere exploration of friendship and female solidarity. As with all of Riley's works, it deeply reflects his commitment to labor activism and political ideals. However, unlike other films in the recent “eat the rich” trend, I Love Boosters focuses on themes of collective strength and labor rights.

      Our latest digital cover features writer-director Boots Riley on the set of I Love Boosters. Image courtesy of NEON. Cover designed by Ryan Ward.

      The Velvet Gang consists of Corvette (Keke Palmer), Sade (Naomi Ackie), and Mariah (Taylour Paige), three young women struggling to make ends meet in Oakland by boosting from their favorite store, Metro Designer.

      Corvette, an aspiring fashion designer, idolizes the vision of Metro Designer’s CEO, Christie Smith (Demi Moore at her most empowered), despite the company’s questionable labor practices. When they uncover the exploitation of not only the underpaid retail staff but also the Chinese workers producing the garments, they resolve to take Smith down.

      With aid from garment worker Jianhu (Poppy Liu) and retail-worker-turned-labor-organizer Violeta (Eiza González), the women plot to crash Metro Designer’s upcoming fashion show and dismantle the company permanently.

      The concept of I Love Boosters originates from a track of the same name that Riley performed with his hip-hop funk group, The Coup, for their 2006 album, Pick a Bigger Weapon. The song celebrates the women who, as Riley conveys, “jack from retail / and sell it in the hood for dirt-cheap resale.”

      He began developing the script for Boosters after releasing his first feature, Sorry to Bother You, in 2018, though progress halted while he worked on his 2023 series I’m a Virgo.

      Boots Riley, Under the Hood

      Naomie Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Keke Palmer appear in I Love Boosters. NEON

      Both the musical and filmic versions of I Love Boosters pay tribute to young women navigating a precarious underground economy while scrutinizing the exploitation that enables inexpensive clothing production to benefit the ruling capitalist class. While Riley critiques consumerism, he doesn't reject materialism. The film’s vibrant costumes, wigs, and makeup celebrate fashion as a form of art and self-expression.

      Riley’s visual style is marked by bright colors, surreal imagery, and intricate practical effects. A strong aesthetic component has always been a part of his music-making approach.

      “When I started in music, aesthetics were a significant element. It might have involved different considerations back then,” he explains. “People aimed for a look that suggested they just woke up and didn’t care. However, a lot goes into appearing that way.”

      One of the delights of Boosters is how Riley executes a series of magic tricks to make the seemingly impossible appear effortless. Within the imaginative production design are extensive stop-motion sequences, inspired by Riley’s fascination with miniatures.

      “Between my second and third albums, I stopped making music,” he recounts. “I began labor organizing and attempted to take apart and rebuild a Volvo engine, thinking it would be a good learning experience. It took six months, yet it never started. I also got into miniatures, with a fine art aspiration to create all these miniature rooms. This was before eBay — I used to visit garage sales, dollhouse shops, and flea markets. Then I realized I might get a gallery show, and twelve people would see it. I thought, What am I doing? and sold everything. Then I returned to music.”

      By that time, the organization he had been involved with had disbanded, but he continued to engage in various labor movements. Regarding the Volvo? “I did learn a lot. I learned that I was inclined toward impulse and that I could navigate things under the hood.”

      A solid understanding of the inner workings gives I Love Boosters a grounded feel despite its cartoonish aspects. The relationships within the Velvet Gang are affectionate yet complex and sometimes fraught. This dynamic emerges from Riley’s character development.

      “I take it slowly,” he mentions. “I’m mainly checking to see if the characters feel authentic, observing small details that reflect their personalities. It might just be a line