Jordan Peele makes his debut as a Hollywood director with the newly released horror and comedy movie Get Out. The movie centers around a black man who enters a hyperreal white nightmare and uses humor in short bursts to provide relief from the high-tension horror that is all too realistic at this point in time within America.
One may dismiss Get Out as another variation of the stale “escape the crazy people” cliche after watching the trailer, however, upon deeper inspection, it becomes apparent that the movie is a searing social commentary wrapped in the disguise of a thriller-comedy.
The premise of the movie: a dark skinned black man takes a trip to meet his white girlfriend’s family. He is advised not to to by his other black friends but, persuaded by love and progression, he goes with his girlfriend anyways.
An allusion to the Trayvon Martin shooting is used to start the movie— a black man wearing his hoodie up is dragged off of the side of the road, shot, and killed. This is followed by the characteristic 30s movie music titled, “Run Rabbit, Run,” which utilizes an upbeat and high-pitched tempo to juxtapose the otherwise quiet atmosphere of the movie, begging you to jump out of your seat.
Later in the movie, the horror becomes more prevalent with the rising idea of new age slavery in an even more grotesque way. The main character, throughout his visit, comes to realize that his girlfriend’s family is a part of a deranged cult out to dissect him for his more “advanced melanin organs.”
He is captured and then made to watch the religious cults mantra on hypnotic repetition (meant to be a jab to the brainwashing of the religious). During his escape, he encounters a community of other enslaved black men and women that, because of their brainwashing, have also come to recapture him.
In the end, the woman and her family stand at the edge of town with our protagonist with an almost clear end in sight; however, that manages to not be the case in a heroic, sardonic twist ending that leaves the viewer laughing wearily.
