Get Out is a 2017 horror/ psychological thriller directed by Jordan Peele. The plot involves Chris Washington an African American photographer who prepares to meet his girlfriend’s family at their house. His girlfriend Rose who is white has been dating Chris for a couple of months and the parents of Rose don’t know that Chris is African American. When Chris meets the parents of Rose, the mother is a psychiatrist and the father is a neurosurgeon. Chris notices the family have black servants in their secluded wooded house. Chris soon realizes the sinister secrets of the Armitage family. Jordan Peele brings together a film with many twists and turns but hints at many key important messages like race, slavery, and labor.
Symbolism I noticed that the movie connected with the ideas of race. In the beginning of the movie Chris and Rose hit a deer on the way to Roses parents’ house. Chris notices it and feels remorse for it. When they arrive at Roses parents’ home the parents act different towards the thought of killing of deer’s. The father mentions the deer’s taking over their land and the only way to stop is to kill them. As we learn later in the film the family doesn’t just hunt animals, but Chris and other African Americans that Rose brings home.
Another symbol was slavery in the film. We know in history that many slaves were sold through auction. There would be bidders deciding which slave to choose for their property. In the film, there is a huge photo of Chris where the crowd bids on Chris. Jordan Peele does this to compare the Armitage family to slave owners. The showing of the past and how its seen in the present in society is depicted in this part of the film.
Spivak’s “Can the subaltern Speak”, is another connection you can take from the film. There were many examples, but one most prominently was Walter and Georgina in the film. They were the laborers to the Armitage family and was a connection to the oppression and inequality of African Americans. They weren’t able to speak for themselves since they were in a trance by the mother controlling them and their actions. This action is connected to many slaves in history who couldn’t speak for themselves and were controlled by slave owners. It was also a motif nod to the upper class choosing lower class individuals. Overall, Jordan Peele the director of Get Out brings many different ideas, symbols, motifs that tell a deeper and darker meaning onto the big screen for viewers to watch.