Filmmaker Boots Riley appeared on The Daily Show with Jordan Klepper to discuss his new film, “I Love Boosters” [1].
The project marks a significant return for Riley, who spent eight years [5] developing the film. By blending a fashion-and-shoplifting premise with political theory, the work attempts to use cinema as a vehicle for anti-capitalist activism [1, 2].
Riley said the film interrogates the mechanisms of capitalism and argues that art should push people toward collective political action [1, 3]. The narrative focuses on the act of "boosting" — a term for shoplifting — within the high-fashion industry to highlight systemic inequalities [1, 2].
“I Love Boosters” previously screened at the 69th [4] San Francisco International Film Festival [4]. The filmmaker used the platform of The Daily Show to explain how the film's heist elements serve as a metaphor for reclaiming value from corporate structures [1].
According to Riley, the goal of the work is not merely to entertain but to provoke a shift in how audiences perceive ownership, and labor [1, 3]. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on May 22 [6].
Throughout the interview, Riley and Klepper discussed the role of the artist in society. Riley said that art is most effective when it moves beyond observation and encourages viewers to engage in real-world political struggle [1].
“Art should push people toward collective political action.”
The release of “I Love Boosters” signals a continuation of Riley's career-long effort to merge avant-garde cinema with Marxist political theory. By centering the plot on the illicit acquisition of luxury goods, the film challenges the legality of property rights in a capitalist system and positions the act of theft as a political statement rather than a simple crime.
