Get Out film analysis PDF

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Daniela Saenz ENG3310 Ms.Williams 2/27/2018 Get Out: Film Analysis In this ruthlessly intelligent and controversial film that earned a high position on the box office charts, director Jordan Peele couldn’t get enough about the reviews as he had to debunk many theories and explain his symbolic messages. To get straight to the point, this movie has a lot to do with white privilege, power, and a visual depiction of being a black person in America through a comedy-inflected horror story. Protagonist Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris, an impeccable role indicating many racial tropes and racial conflicted situations that we see today. What I absorbed almost immediately from this film is how blunt and honest the screen play was and all the hidden symbolizations that stood out after watching it two times. Just from the opening scene, you know exactly what the movie is standing for and what it wants to project as a vigilant young black man walks through a suburban neighborhood seemingly lost who instantly gets killed by a hidden figure for the probable thought of him being a criminal due to his skin color. Peele and many reviewers spoke about how this film is for the “Post-Obama age” due to the fact that this film focuses on the white liberal elites. Targeting the issue about many white people voting for Obama and having a black president has solved the continual problems of racism, yet this is so far from the truth. There was a specific scene referring to this as Rose (Chris’s girlfriend) introduces him to her family, and her dad is lightening up the vibe by talking about Obama and trying to make him feel comfortable because he’s black. There are many more various scenes that show what an everyday African American goes through. For example, when Chris asks Rose if her parents know he’s black. Then the scene of the social gathering the parents threw, where everyone was fascinated by his blackness. To be specific, the elder lady grabbed his muscles and was idolizing him and then also when a white man told Chris that “black is the new fashion.” Peele is just showing little examples of how uncomfortable these small racist measures can effect a black person, as small as how uneasy it could be being the only black person at a social gathering. The satire isn’t targeted to the obvious racism but more of the conscious and unconscious prejudice actions everyone does. The Armitage family seems to be very liberal and genuine about not being the typical racist white family yet Chris feels very weird about the super strange maid Georgina and Walter, so he begins to discover that something is up even though there are scenes that show how the family stands up for his race. For example, when Rose argues with the officer about Chris showing his ID. Those were the hints to crank up the racial tension to follow up the tension you will later feel when Chris gets hypnotized by Rose’s mother and that’s when everything basically hits the fan and the truth is shown. The symbolization and imagery immediately reminds the audience of the history of slavery and the old south. Starting off with the Armitage home, which is a very plantation-like estate. Once Chris gets tied up by the family and he is now aware of the terrifying situation he is in, he sees a deer head hung up on the wall, which symbolizes his connection to the deer that Rose hit on the way to the estate. The accident of the innocent deer is an omen of what is about to happen, and how he will become a dead trophy just like the one that is mounted in front of

him. When it comes to Chris’s hypnosis, the “sunken place” is imagery to reveal that he will be pushed down and suppress his will just like historical matters that took place and when the mother closes his eyes it symbolizes how he won’t get the chance to see the world as a free man which relates to African Americans not obtaining an education. Lastly to state, the “slaves” of the Armitage family seem to be overly happy and enjoy their duties as this has always been a familiar stereotype on film. Quick note, there are many other symbols that surface throughout the movie! Peele evidently wanted to confront racial issues within an honest realm using horror, comedy, and drama. It has been known to use either horror or comedy films to appoint political problems, but Peele creatively put together a script using these genres to scare the soul out of you, to be satirical, and ultimately show its political agenda by presenting an insane story of an interracial couple and the white girlfriend introducing her black boyfriend to her family. Even though there has been a stereotype for the black person to die first, Chris makes it out alive after going through the most traumatizing series of events symbolizing hope and to end the movie on a happy note....