Putney Swope — Film T-Shirt (1969)
Released in 1969, Putney Swope is one of the sharpest and most incendiary satires of late-1960s America — a no-budget, no-permission takedown of advertising, capitalism, race, and media power. Written, directed by, and starring Robert Downey Sr., the film detonated like a prank played at full volume.
The story follows the accidental rise of Putney Swope, a Black man suddenly installed as head of a Madison Avenue ad agency, who promptly fires the white executives, renames the firm, and begins producing commercials that are profane, political, and openly hostile to consumer culture. What follows is anarchic, offensive, hilarious, and deliberately uncomfortable — satire that refuses to behave.
Putney Swope became a midnight-movie classic and a cornerstone of American underground cinema. Its DIY aesthetic, anti-establishment fury, and gleeful disregard for good taste made it essential viewing for artists, punks, filmmakers, and anyone suspicious of polished narratives. It also occupies a complicated place in history — confronting race and power through exaggeration, irony, and provocation rather than reassurance.
