Firstly Jordan Peele produced the movie and I'm a big fan of "Key & Peele". They are the funniest comedians next to Dave Chappelle with a show and they always have me rolling. They also make a lot of social commentary on blackness in the media, especially through the male perspective. The trailer showed this white suburb community that a black man visited with his white girlfriend. It starts to get spooky and the black boyfriend, the protagonist, gradually is in fear of his life. Now after seeing the movie today, the plot didn't go in the direction I anticipated, but it was actually even better that what I expected.
So the cast and actors were great. All not very known (aside from Pam from "Living Single") but great and charismatic. There were moments that actually scared me, which I liked because I'm usually watching a movie in suspense awaiting the scary moment. There was a job well done when it came to shock factor. Also many moments of the movie combated racism, challenged blackness, and flipped the script on black representation in the media, specifically horror films.
The race conversation is old but still very relevant, because people are still grossly racist. This movie displayed the various macro and micro aggressions of racist America. From the father changing his dialect in an attempt to connect with Chris, to the brother Jeremy fetishizing Chris's genetics, race was a big portion of the film's conversation. It was also funny but exhausting seeing the girlfriend Rose realize how racist her family is while Chris knew they would be before even meeting them. It was a comment on privilege which whet folks need to check regularly. Then of course the black servants added to that race discussion. Though these weren't regular black domestic workers, and here's how!
It turned out these workers were former lover's of Rose. Her mother Missy is a doctor who uses hypnosis and was knocking them out so the father whose a doctor could harvest their bodies. Dean, the dad, would then put a white person's brain in their black body. Crazy I know. This also plays into the appropriation and adoption of black culture without the respect of the black mind and body. This was a weird but amazing horror movie plot, which also changed the role of the black man in a horror film.
Time and time again in horror films, and honestly mainstream media, the black man is the first to die. It's become so expected in these movies it's become a huge joke. It was probably historical that Peele produced this film where Chris lives through the end! And it feels good to have not only witnessed that, but to be in an audience that applauded each of his victories as he fought he way out of the house. My friend I saw this with said this was a great way to end Black History Month! Also I would be serving the movie no justice if I neglected to mention Rod, Chris's best friend who dog sat, filed a missing persons report, and eventually rescued Chris. My friend and I deemed him the real MVP and friend goals. He also credited all of this to his positing as a TSA and how "he handles shit
". This was also real cool too because the TSA are thought of as so unconcerned and angry; it was interesting flipping that script. There was a lot of black male empowerment which I loved so much. I tip my hat off to Jordan Peele and am excited for future productions from him.
Let's talk about my theatre experience. I saw the film at the AMC off 84th St. It was a steep $20 (reason I'm not a movie buff). There were only 3 seats left so my friend sat in the aisle behind me which was a bummer but I made sure to check on him occasionally. The theatre had reclining chairs that my neighbor showed me how to recline. They were so comfy! Because the air conditioning was on and I was cozy I dozed off a couple of times (another reason I'm not a movie buff, because why pay for a nap right?). So the next time I want to see a movie I'll attend a matinee showing and save some cash, but I had a great experience.
So if you haven't seen "Get Out" yet, do! If you have and you want to share your thoughts, comment! But either way just learn: do go to your white partner's parents house!
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