Get Out (2017) ****/5: This film is effective as a social critique of racial relations in the US. I was not scared though.

 

(photo courtesy of Imdb.com)

Get Out has probably made a lot of black people feel uncomfortable when surrounded by a sea of white people. It has visualized our worst fears about racism or racial exploitation and the lengths that white people will go to maintain their hegemony as the dominant racial group in America. This is despite some of these whites trying to appear progressive and liberal when it comes to accepting the material progress of some blacks in society. In the culture of the US black culture is very much mainstream right now with a half black president, in the form of Obama, just demitting office. Get Out is making a certain statement that black people should be wary of how much they allow themselves to be caught up with the fact that they are now accepted in a lot of states by white America. If you allow yourself to get caught up as a black man you will become absorbed by the whites because they are still the dominant racial group in the country. With black culture now mainstream the liberal whites are just jumping on the bandwagon and in typical white fashion exploit the natural talents of black people. This is the case being made in the film. So watch out or Get Out.

This film is about the black man Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) going to meet the parents of Rose (Allison Williams), his white girlfriend, somewhere in the American heartland or the white American heartland. The weekend getaway turns sour for Chris because of some very disturbing discoveries and he realizes that his only option is to get out or be put out.

Positives

I was more impressed by the social critique than the horror element. I’m not a big horror film fan because I’m rarely scared and this film is no different. The social critique however is very important. This film is clearly one for the integrationists who call for closer cooperation with the dominant white racial group in America. Closer integration with the dominant white racial group comes at a cost. Obviously this film blows it up from an emotional point of view but when you seek to integrate as a black man or woman you definitely become increasingly isolated in their company. Fitting in becomes even more difficult and in a lot of cases black people merely adapt and begin to act like their white counterparts. They begin to lose their identity and find it even more difficult to interact with their fellow blacks. A lot of them literally believe that by acting white they will be taken more seriously and they become an important instrument in the domination of their own brethren as they are culturally absorbed by the dominant white racial group. Obviously I can’t spoil the mystery elements of the plot but a lot of the horror in Get Out is based on how disgusting black integration with white culture can be. Obviously in this case it is not entirely Chris’s fault but the important message is that you must stay black and preserve your essence or it will be taken or absorbed by the dominant white racial group. An audience member said it perfectly ‘Him nuh black’ or ‘He’s not black’, referring to Chris. The audience member picked up immediately on what the film was trying to say. It’s when Chris starts to act ‘black’ that a lot of the audience members began to cheer. In Jamaica most of the audience members are black or mulatto/ brown people, a mixture of black and white. This is why Chris’s best friend, Rod (LilRel), a TSA agent, is such an important figure in this film because he stays to true to his blackness and this is why he picks up immediately that something is wrong. Credit must go to the character Chris though because he can’t have lost all his blackness if he’s still friends with Rod. So in this film you either Get  Out or be put out. The film reminded me of a quote by Marx when he said that the rule of the dominant class becomes more solid and dangerous the more they can absorb the best and brightest from the dominated classes.

There is also an important psychological element in this film that made the story a bit grounded and made the Chris character more sympathetic. He’s the most developed character in the whole film as a result. This does make the film more than just straight horror. Chris has buried a secret deep in his brain and when it’s unlocked and revealed it brings to the fore all the trauma he experienced on that tragic day. It’s also important how it’s used against him.

I also enjoyed the mystery elements. I was not scared  but the elements in the plot justified its horror film status. The one horror film Get Out reminded me of is Rosemary’s Baby. I found a lot of parallels.

Negatives

Since Get Out is effective as a social critique it can also be challenged on these grounds. I’m not going to get into that debate now but suffice to say one could say that the idea of how integrated blacks get with whites can be exaggerated and Jordan Peele could have balanced it by referring to the role some blacks play to get themselves caught by trying to act white in the first place. Chris does not represent the extreme of some of the oreo cookies out there. Initially I thought Peele was going that route in the film but when the mystery is revealed I realized that it wasn’t the fault of those black individuals why they acted in a particular way.  Also when you look at the fanatical white secret society Peele could have examined the extent that these societies are spread throughout the US. It would show that the struggle goes on despite minor victories. This would mean that there was the big picture. The big picture would have made a sequel possible especially when it comes to getting to the root of these fanatical secret societies. You do get a sense that some characters will never get out but that should also apply to the big picture.

 I also thought that Rose could have been more effective as a character. Even before the big mysteries are revealed she doesn’t seem very engaged or involved from the beginning and that sort of gives her away. She does act naïve initially but when we see the real  Rose she’s not very effective. 

when the mysteries are revealed it becomes a racial slugfest lol. This is why i wanted to see some genuine oreo cookies in the mix.

I wasn’t scared and I don’t blame this film in particular because I’m not usually scared by horror films. The attempt to make things appear horrific and scary in Get Out seemed formulaic to me. You literally expect to see some horrific things or to be manipulated so that you’ll feel scared.

Overall the film was very effective as a social critique.