Get Out: Abduction of the Black Body

WEEK 10

 

    When discussing Jordan Peele’s movie, Get Out, writer Steven Thrasher puts it better than I ever could by saying that “it is really a masterwork of Afrofuturism, the artistic and scientific framework for understanding race as a technology across time and space.” We see clear comparisons through black bodies being abducted and alien abduction, furthering the notion of science fiction through this film. This relates to black people from every wrinkle of time to every walk of life. From slavery to police brutality, black violence has been ingrained in history and black people are still experiencing forms of abduction. Get Out is a modernized take on slavery of the theft of black bodies through technology. 

    The film uses the horror genre to present a critique of the "post-racial" myth and to expose the continued existence of systemic racism in America. One way in which the film represents slavery is through its portrayal of the "Sunken Place." This is a state of being in which the protagonist, Chris, is trapped and unable to control his own body. The Sunken Place can be seen as a metaphor for the experience of slavery, in which black people were denied agency and treated as property. The film also portrays the ways in which modern forms of racism and discrimination can be just as insidious and controlling as slavery was in the past. Additionally, the film explores the themes of exploitation and commodification of black bodies. The white characters in the film view black people as commodities to be exploited for their own benefit, a theme that echoes the history of slavery and the treatment of black people as property. Fetishization of black people is also present due to the fact that these white people desire black attributes without actually changing the color of their skin. It is a theme that reflects the history of slavery and the ways in which black bodies were often treated as objects of desire.

    Get Out represents slavery from a modern standpoint by using the horror genre to critique the continued existence of systemic racism and to explore the ways in which the legacy of slavery and racism continue to impact modern society. The film presents a powerful commentary on the ways in which racism has evolved and continues to manifest in insidious and dangerous ways.