GET OUT ESSAY

[Title Here, up to 12 Words, on One to Two Lines]

Jaylen Oneell

State College of Florida

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[Title Here, up to 12 Words, on One to Two Lines]House Chris!

Defining Horror

Horror films can be profound fables about human nature in dire situations, yet people

dismiss them to be just gory films with the only purpose is to show blood and nudity. (Kawin,

2012). Just because the material is awful to watch, just because the film is a nightmare that no

one wants to see coming to the big screen and into our minds, people play these films as stupid.

Even though these films have violence, gore, and cruelty used to scare us badly doesn’t mean

they can’t share message to the audience. (Kawin, 2012). This film genre known as horror is an

compound of terror and revulsion, these elements are used to make imagined horrors in a made

up world that is uncomfortably close to our own. (Kawin, 2012). A film that does all of this well

is Jordan Peele’s film Get Out.

Jordan Peele’s Get Out

Peele’s directorial debut Get Out released in 2017 is about a young interracial couple

(Chris and Rose) spend a weekend at Rose’s parents house (Missy and Dean). At first Chris takes

his awkward interactions with Missy and Dean as them trying to appeal to him, since Rose told

him he was her first black boyfriend. And as awkward turns to disturbing Chris realizes that there

is something wrong with this family. This film updated the horror films by Peele setting new

boundaries for the genre. He did this by focusing about a fable of a man’s appearance, too little

films talk about race especially horror films, and by talking about race the nightmare coming to

life is racism. There is also two scenes that use violence and cruelty where the hero uses what the

villain teaches him to defeat him. Another thing this film does very well is making you feel

uncomfortable, Peele did this amazingly with one scene, another feeling Peele can make you feel

while watching this film is revulsion.

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Fable of Appearance

When this film was released race and discrimination against black people by the police

was a in strong discussion. Movements like Black Lives Matters may not have started in 2017,

but it was still going strong in that year. That’s why the perfect scene to use discuss the fable of

appearance in this movie is the end of the deer hit and run scene. In this scene Chris and Rose are

driving to Rose’s parents house and they accidentally run over a deer. Rose was the one that was

driving, just as a reminder. After staring at the deer, Chris and Rose call the police, the cop

checks everything out and ask for her ID. After checking hers he demands to see Chris’s even

though he wasn’t driving, Chris being accustomed to this treatment gets his ID. But Rose stops

him and yells at the cop to go away and leave. I was worried this film wasn’t going to get the

response that it did, because of scenes like that one (Peele, 2017). Scenes like this which

showcase some ordinary troubles of most African Americans worried Peele that his movie would

get blacklisted and never see the light of day. I was also worried that this movie would divide us

instead of bring us together (Peele, 2017). Not only was he worried that his movie would be

blacklisted, but when it didn’t he was still worried. He was still worried that his movie would

divide us, instead of us bringing us together. He didn’t want this movie to divide, but he feared

that it could. Peele used this movie and this genre to show the fable of appearance instead of a

fable of man, as an African American man he used a nightmare that is already alive for him.

Nightmare Coming to Life

Horror films all have one thing in common, they bring our nightmares to life. Whether

it’s a serial killer or a evil spirit, a horror movies one job is for you to feel afraid of the nightmare

the director came up with. When it came to his movie Jordan Peele knew exactly what should be

his big bad in his movie. In the very first scene his used something that everyone should be
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afraid of, date rape. Even though no actual rape happens in this movie, this scene some what

symbolizes that horrific crime. This scene starts at night with a man (we find out later in the film

is to be Andre) walking to his dates house. We can assume this is their first date because he gets

confuse on which house it is, while he is walking a white car starts to follow him slowly. Andre

has suspicions and starts walking across the other side of the road, but before he can go to safety

he is attacked and choked from behind by a man wearing all black and a nights helmet. The man

in all black puts Andre’s unconscious body in the back of his trunk. “Like George Zimmerman

stalking Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Florida. ‘Run Rabbit Run’ is playing on the

car's sound system, which introduces the thrust of the film's plot and describing what this

character needs to do.” (Boyd, 2018). Boyd’s comparison to the murder of Trayvon Martin,

describes it perfectly. Andre who is minding he’s own business expecting to go own a date,

instead gets followed and attacked just because of his skin (we find out later in the movie).

Jordan Peele used acts of violence against people just because of their skin color as the

Nightmare coming to life in his film. He also used violence and cruelty as a before and after

effect.

Violence and Cruelty in Get Out

Get Out uses violence differently than most horror films. That’s what makes it so unique.

Peele used violence and cruelty as a before and after effect in this movies, (in the before) a

character explained something in one scene and (in the after) at the climax of the movie his

words were used against him. The first scene was the dinner scene, where Rose’s brother Jeremy

explains why jujitsu is his favorite combat sport. He says in jujitsu it’s not about physical

strength, it’s about being four moves ahead like Chess. And in the climax of the movie Jeremy

and Chris are fighting and Jeremy is choking Chris from behind, while he tries to open the door
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and Jeremy keeps on stoping him. After three times of the same sequence Chris goes for the door

again and Jeremy kicks his foot on it. Chris thinking three steps ahead, stabs his leg and stomps

his head out. The climax of the film worried me, I thought people wouldn’t cheer for Chris. I

didn’t think people would want to watch a black man killing a white family (Peele, 2017). Peele

believed that people wouldn’t root for Chris, he didn’t see audiences (especially white people)

wouldn’t enjoy seeing Chris killing the Armitages. He was worried that audiences would turn on

Chris as a character. Peele strategically uses the before and after effect to put meaningful

violence in his film. Another element his does very well is making the viewer uncomfortable.

The Uncomfortable Party

The one emotion every audience member will feel watching this film is

uncomfortableness. You feel like this and more when watching the family interact with Chris. In

every scene where the brother, father, or mother are talking to Chris it is eerily strange. The party

scene is exactly like this, but it’s ten times as worst because the family’s friends are here as well

and they act the same way. There is this one particular part of this scene that shows this the most.

Jeremy invites Chris to play a game of badminton with him, his friend and Rose. Chris accepts

and starts playing after Chris gets the hang of the game a small crowd watches them. But they’re

only eyeing Chris and his movements, the small crowd turns to a bigger one and more people are

just tuning in to see Chris. Then Chris makes a winning play and everyone from the party starts

getting a little too excited for a badminton game. At first the racism in the movie was more

upfront, but then I sat down and I wanted to explore the idea of admiring black bodies instead of

your typical racism (Peele, 2017). Peele wanted to explore a different side of racism with this

film, he wanted to show a side of where admiring was over doing it. Another emotion he

provokes is revulsion.
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Revulsion in the End of the Film

In the ladder part of this film one key emotion is felt and that is revulsion. Revulsion is

key in any horror film, and Peele uses it effectively in the climax/falling action of this film. By

having most of the film be uncomfortable and quickly switch to disgusting is excellently done

here. When Chris awakened from being attacked from Rose’s family he wakes up to a video.

This video is a old commercial made by the family 20 something years ago. There was a second

video where it was of Jim Hudson in a hospital bed. Jim Hudson was a blind art critic, and he

told Chris that he was going to take his body and take his eyes. While he will live the rest of his

in the sunken place. The plot of Get Out is just like modern slavery (Boyd, 2018). ‘The White

Mans Got a God Complex’ is just like this film, with both plots dealing with white society’s evil

pursuit of black culture (Boyd, 2018). Since this film deals with rich white people taking over

black people’s bodies, it is a good modern representation of slavery. And because of that it

received major media attention.

The Lasting Impact of Get Out

In conclusion, Get Out is way different from any other horror film. Since the monster

isn’t physical, it’s a racist ideology and with this it continues the genre for a whole new

audience. Not just for a whole new generation but for minorities as well. This film modernize the

horror genre in a time that it needed something new. Since many companies have been putting

out the same lazy ghost story ever year since paranormal activity. It also talked about race in a

time, where the mistreatment of black people and other minorities were and still is a major topic

of discussion and, by discussing race and having a black lead this film explored a whole new

angle. This movie impacted the black community in a positive light when it first came out two

years ago, and well still affect is positively for a really long time.
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References

Boyd, M. J. (2018). Double Entendre and Double Consciousness in the Cinematic

Construct of

'Get Out'. Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire, 18(3), 36+. Retrieved from https://link-gale-

com.db15.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A595143363/LitRC?u=lincclin_mcc&sid=LitRC&xid=5f4282

9b

Kawin, B. F. (2012). Horror and the horror film. Retrieved from

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Peele, J. (2017, October 28). Jordan Peele GET OUT keynote | 2017 Film Independent

Forum.

[Interview by E. Mitchell]. Retrieved from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YnpDiuE8HJU

Peele, J., Blum, J., McKittrick, S., and Hamm Jr., E. (Producers). Peele, J. (Director).

(2001). Get Out. [Blu-Ray]. United States of America: Blumhouse Productions, Monkeypaw

Productions, and QC Entertainment.