Jordan Peele’s horror film titled Get Out is one of the most educative works which indirectly reveals events that happen in some Americans’ lives. It narrates a story of Chris Washington, a photographer who spends a weekend meeting with his girlfriend’s parents at their home in a New York upstate. However, the visit did not end well because he became a captive in their house, and Rose forgot about him while resuming the business of identifying the next victim to lure into the building. The encounters with the groundskeeper Walter and Maid Georgina unlocked an elaborate therapeutic hypnosis scheme and a brain transformation that aimed at prolonging lives of the weak white people. While staying at the apartment, Chris had seen Walter gazing at him at night like a person chasing an invisible enemy (Peele 34). Additionally, he had witnessed Georgina staring at her reflection in a state of a zombie. Just like Chris, both workers were African-Americans while Missy and Dean, the girl's parents, were white. Indeed, Jordan Peele applied symbolisms in various instances of the film to portray racism in America through diverse stereotypes and microaggressions.
Symbolism in the Film
The sunken place appeared in the film as a deep and dark abyss where Chris was floating when Missy hypnotized him. As he was aimlessly retreating backward through his minds recess, he experienced an exceptional feeling that represented the Black Americans’ views and perception (Boger 155). This theme has been evident in the history as an indicator of slavery right from the Tuskegee experiments to mass incarceration. It further exhibited the idea that horrible and denigrating issues emanated from the white ownership of black bodies (Peele 11). While in this chasm, the boy felt immobilized, powerless, and vulnerable in the Missy’s trance grips that emanated from the lie that the stupor would help in curing his addiction to nicotine. A scrutiny of the film indicates that Chris gets “submerged” every time he trusts his well-being to the whites (Lauer 83).
The deer was also a symbol of racism in the piece. One of the themed scenes took place at the beginning of the account when Rose hit a deer while driving upstate (Hughes 22). Chris ventured onto the woods to establish whether it was dead, and once they finally arrived at her parents' home, Rose’s father started a bizarre story of how he hated the creatures. He further explained that all dead deers were a victory to humankind. Such revelations send shivers down Chris' spine, and it was later evident that the animal represented several issues. First, the boy’s mother had died as a result of a hit and run accident having left him at the age of 11 (Peele 9). He felt guilty that he had not reported her as a missing person.
On the other hand, family members perceive Chris and the mammal as resemblances of each other. According to Rose, the black men and women she had dated with were fit for hunting and immortalizing as trophies just like the deer that hang on the wall in the room of the victim’s captivity (Peele 79). The fact that Dean perceived a beast as pests but still kept them around him was an indication that he despised the blacks which he compared to creatures.
The light also presents the feeling of being black and later realizing that he was not the only one around. At first, the hero understood that things were not right and was uncomfortable in the house. However, he felt relieved after seeing other blacks within the same compound but later came to realize that the whites had lobotomized and implanted their brain types in the servants (Hughes 48). The only thing which could revive their memories about the reality was Chris’ camera which would make them comprehend their blackness. Such is an implication that the whites did not value black people’s thinking explains why the plotters opted to change their mind organization so that they could act as white-skin individuals.
Racism was also present in Rose’s actions, but she always feigned innocence to avoid suspicion from her prey. Although she would pretend to be in love, her main goal was to lure black people into captivity and ensure that they separated from the whites (Lauer 85). While Chris was at the basement fighting for his life, Rose was upstairs in her bedroom snacking on milk and cereal as she listened to dirty soundtracks. The scene revealed her dressed in a white dress, shirt, and riding pants while taking the white milk drink colored food separately. Therefore, it is evident that the cereals demonstrated black persons while milk was Rose’s folks (Peele 62). Taking them independantly was a symbolism of what was in her heart: that the two races could never mix. On the other hand, her all-white wardrobe contradicted the innocence she always portrayed. While eating, Rose was online shopping for her next victim. Therefore, the witty use of color was the author’s way of showing how the whites discriminated the blacks. In summary, film titled Get Out has many instances that portray racism using diverse stereotypes and microaggressions. The above mentioned instances are openly visible in the film.
Annotated Bibliography
Primary Source
Peele, Jordan. Get Out. Universal Pictures Awards, 2017, http://www.universalpicturesawards.com/site-content/uploads/2017/09/GET-OUT.pdf. Accessed 14 Nov 2018.
Peele starts by quoting a Bible verse from the book of Romans 12:1-2 which requests people to present their bodies as living sacrifices that will be holy and acceptable to God. He further describes Andre, an African-American aged 29, walking down the sidewalk while speaking on his phone. After hanging up from the conversation, a car creeps behind him with the music “Run Rabbit Run,” and when he tries to check its occupants, a driver in a black helmet wraps him up in a choke hold, and he soon passes out. The author introduces Chris and Rose’s encounter later in the story and highlights how African-Americans face racism in the hands of whites as the play continues. The film helps to expose the reality of racism in America through symbolisms and stereotypes.
Secondary Sources
Boger, Jillian. "Manipulations of Stereotypes and Horror Clichés to Criticize Post-Racial White Liberalism in Jordan Peele’s Get Out." The Graduate Review, vol. 3, no. 1, 2018, pp. 149-158.
In this article, the writer observed that the movie by Peele makes the horror genres and white liberalism notions the items of satire. Additionally, it analyzes how Chris Washington challenges the black masculinity conventions in various media. According to the creator, it could be essential to apply the fear of assimilation in the discussion about cold war criticism or snatching. Since revulsion complies with the perpetuation of negative standards regarding black people, it is a perfect model which gives the opportunity to castigate black men’s media representations as well as white liberalism. This article helps to understand the challenges that black people face every day, and the rhetoric messages used to attack them.
Hughes, Brooke Dianne-Mae. Our Sunken Place: "Post-Racial" America in Jordan Peele's Get Out. Diss. State University of New York at Buffalo, 2018, pp.1-73.
Hughes critically analyzes the post-racial America as depicted in Jordan Peele’s movie Get Out. He posited that as a society, people have become victims of constant racist cases that dominate political frameworks and popular cultures. The writer highlighted various matters with a focus on the pit within which the United States is trapped. According to Hughes, Peele’s work represented the current gothic genres from the south in a manipulated way to reveal how the slavery scars can exhibit the contemporary images of the country’s socio-political ideologies. The reporter also looked at the death contract of blackness aspect which highlighted the depiction of black participants within the movie. This work helped point out how racism has become invisible over the years, but it is still present in society.
Lauer, Samantha. "Get Out: Peele's First Film Exposes and Teaches." Cinematic Codes Review, vol. 2, no. 2, 2017, p. 81-89.
According to the author, the film is quite outstanding because apart from exposing issues regarding racism, it also offers lessons to the audience. It reveals how black men who date women undergo issues in their courtships. Despite appearing happy, the blacks face traumatizing treatment in the hands of their white girlfriends and families. In this edition, the teacup and silver spoons are the symbols that boldly highlight Missy’s hypnotism. The lady controlled her workers and slaves by racial privilege and class. This article helps explain how black people and minorities are exposed to microaggressions and intrinsic racism.
