Introduction
In this paper, I will present evidence supporting Ernest Dickerson’s claim that Jordan Peel’s Get Out is “the perfect Black horror story.” Dickerson makes this claim in the documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, which develops the overall thesis statement that “Black history is Black horror.” The documentary presents plenty of evidence from American history to support this assertion. Moreover, Dickerson gives us cultural and historical context vital for understanding why Get Out might be the perfect Black horror story after all.
Horror Noire Summary
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror discusses the cultural and historical context for the genre of horror stories and the role Black people have roled in it over the years. The documentary delves into the exploitation of Black people in the media for the sake of entertainment throughout the years. Tananarive Due states at the very beginning, Black people “have always loved horror, horror just hasn’t always loved [Black people]”. The documentary does a fantastic job conveying this sentiment by analyzing classic horror movies, including Get Out.
Get Out Summary
Get Out is a satirical horror movie directed by one half of the comedy duo Key & Peele, Jordan Peele. The film is fuelled by the social commentary of a Black person’s experience in the predominantly White world. The protagonist, an African-American photographer Chris, is visiting his Caucasian girlfriend’s family for the weekend. At a first sight, the family seems to welcome him with open arms. However, Chris soon starts to notice little inconsistencies between reality and what is presented to him.
The protagonist becomes uneasy at the odd behavior of the Black servants, who are constantly smiling, and the passing comments of the family members. Feeling scared and uncomfortable, especially after experiencing hypnosis by his girlfriend’s psychotherapist mother, Chris decided to flee the house. However, he is instead presented with the horrifying truth of what goes on in the house. The family kidnaps African-American men and women and performs surgery on them that allows other people to control their actions. Although Chris manages to escape his haunting fate, the message of the film is worth pondering over.
Get Out as the Perfect Black Horror Movie
Undoubtedly, Get Out comprises of social messages that are incredibly relevant today. Although the main plot-twist of the film is exaggerated and unlikely to happen in real life, the anxieties of a Black man meeting his White girlfriend’s family are the main focus throughout. For the majority of the film, there is barely anything outrageous that is shown to the audience – a couple of passing comments by the family, suspiciously optimistic and compliant behavior of the servants. Otherwise, the film only hints at the secret life of the antagonists, and we are left wondering if we are just being crazy, together with the protagonist Chris.
At several points throughout the movie, Chris explicitly expresses the sentiment that he feels “uncomfortable” around “too many White people”. The fact that for a large part of his stay at the house he is the only African-American person that is not working for the family unnerves him. In Horror Noire, this issue is addressed at the very beginning, by mentioning that for a long time the roles that were available to Black people in horror movies were very limited. It is noted in the documentary that the only roles that Black people could play, once they could actually participate in the movies, were those of criminals, or monsters.
This parallel between history and Get Out is fascinating, the portrayal of this feeling of not belonging that Chris is feeling. Although it is no longer the case that the only roles, if any, that are reserved for Black people are those of antagonists or background characters, the historical negligence is still present in people’s minds.
Another parallel that is seen in Get Out is the whole idea that Black people are a trend. Similarly to the way White people used to put on Blackface to play Black characters in the old movies, the White suburban community in Get Out is using the bodies of African-Americans. The twisted and inhumane approach to the matter roots in their belief of superiority, which allows them to excuse their own behavior before their conscience. Even the one character that calls out the rest of the house’s visitors for being “ignorant”, the blind gallery owner, turns out to be a part of the scheme. Although he believes in the “deeper” reasons that he has for participating in the surgery, he is no different to the rest of the White people in the film. By exaggerating the behavior and views of the people in the film, while masking them behind the normalcy of the suburban life, Get Out remains socially and culturally relevant as a perfect Black horror film.
Works Cited
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Directed by Xavier Burgin, Stage 3 Productions, 2019.
Get Out. Directed by Jordan Peele, performances by Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Lakeith Stanfield & Catherine Keener, Universal Pictures, 2017.