Get Out!: The Message

This week I want to give a shoutout to Jordan Peele, an american actor, comedian, and filmmaker, who directed and wrote the movie Get Out, which is in theaters now. I saw this movie over spring break and I would like to say that I really enjoyed it. For those of who who have not seen it, I strongly recommend it. 

I do not want to spoil the movie too much, so I will just talk why I particularly enjoyed this horror film and the actual meaning behind the movie. I am sure that many of you can agree with me when I state that in most horror films, the main character, subjected to torment or danger, is curious to find “the noise” they hear outside or do some investigation to get to the bottom of what is happening. Personally, I find this to be idiotic! If I heard a strange noise anywhere, I would immediately try to escape. In this movie, finally, the main character is smart to realize that he needs to get out, hence the title, before he gets killed or kidnapped. 

I also enjoyed this movie because the main character has a high level of intelligence. When I refer to intelligence, I specifically mean when it comes to common sense and survival skills. Most main characters of horror films run away and scream for help; however, this main character fought back. “Yes!” and “Thank God!” are some phrases many viewers and I shouted in the theatre during this action-packed movie. I truly respected the fact that the main character did not let himself get defeated.

Some of you may be wondering: what does this have to do with black reality? Well, to address that, I want to talk about the meaning behind the movie. To keep it simple, this movie does a great job at highlighting a specific subset of white racism that is very much present today. This racism is described by the common admiration of “blackness” rather than black people themselves. This sounds pretty confusing at first, but consider the following example: a white person does not want to befriend black people; yet, s/he hires a black servant because it is generally attractive to have a black servant. This kind of situation used to be a common way that whites would show others that they are wealthy.

In the movie, various white characters made comments about how “black is in style now,” which is a subtle but clear way of demonstrating this. We see this kind of racism happening today when whites state that blacks are more athletically gifted (which seems to not be racist), are better rappers, or even are better at dancing. Despite the fact that these associations seem to be complimentary to blacks, they ultimately represent this idea that we are desired for the characteristics and qualities we offer, rather than who we are as people. As mentioned before, the main character, a black man, was able to use his common sense to detect a peculiarity in the house he was staying in. In addition, he was capable of defending himself and surviving through the torment. The fact that he was able to do these things demonstrates that he is an intelligent, creative man, not just a fast runner. I truly appreciated this movie for addressing this hidden truth that I see and hear all the time, even from my own friends.

I am interested to hear from those of you who have watched the movie, did you like it? Why or why not?