Get Out – Political (Recommendation)

Year: 2017

Director: Jordan Peele

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, Caleb Landry Jones, Lil Rel Howery, Lakeith Stanfield, Betty Gabriel, Marcus Henderson, Stephen Root

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfpyUB60YY

 

Get Out was the director debut of actor, comedian, and writer, Jordan Peele, who won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 2018 Oscars (for Get Out). The film revolves around Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), an interracial couple, going to the countryside to visit Rose’s parents. On their arrival, the couple is welcomed with “disguised” racism, which foreshadows a deeper and darker revelation.

 

Peele has openly admitted that Get Out was intended to be a horror film, but it slowly developed into something more. He often describes it as a “Social Thriller” and a documentary of the black experience, stating that “the movie is an expression of my truth, my experience, the experiences of a lot of black people, and minorities.” Within the first minute of the film, we see the anxiety of a black character being followed by a car. He eventually decides to turn back as, “you know how they like to do motherfuckers out here”, reflecting how unprovoked attacks against African Americans is a frequent and real occurrence.

 

During Chris’s first night at the Armitage’s, he is hypnotised by Rose’s mother and sent to the Sunken Place, a space at the depths of our mind. This display of white power is symbolic, especially as it is in preparation for a white man to take over Chris’s body and mind, which is reflective of how black men and women were simply seen as cargo/possessions from the 17th century to the late 1800s, and were exploited and used to profit, advance, and cater to the white population.

 

Additionally, Get Out highlights how Chris is treated with a blatant display of otherness; from discussing his physical attributes, which stem from race, to discussing how “the pendulum is swung back, black is in fashion.” As shown in this party scene, each white party member offers Chris a racist comment or discusses skin colour in some form, suggesting that we (white people) are not able to have a conversation that doesn’t revolve around race.

 

There is so much more to this film than I can write, so I would suggest watching it for yourself. All I can say is this: Get Out is an innovative and thrilling piece of film, which is a disturbing reflection of the black experience. You leave the cinema wanting to fight for all social equality, as you finally glimpsing at struggles black men and women face every day.