By Travis Coltrain
Racism has been, and continues to be, an issue at the core of American discourse. A recent movie, Get Out, has stirred a lot of controversy on the topic.
Many viewers have felt its treatment of the topic was too harsh, which, in a sense, is true. It was harsh, but racism is harsh, and the world is harsh, and director Jordan Peele did an exemplary job of showcasing this in an original manner.
Racism is a prominent and tough issue that is difficult to portray in movies in a non-stereotypical way, but Peele did just that.
Much of the controversy, in fact, arises from this. Peele’s choice to lay bare the despotic subtleties of racism drew ire in conservatives circles on social media. But Peele’s depiction, while brutal, rings resoundingly true. Racism — rampant in a nation roiled by the ugly underbelly of its newfound nationalism — is built on oppression, which, in turn, is the foundation for tyranny. Get Out’s motive, plain and simple, was to put this on display.
Some have seen the movie as racist toward white people, but this is, on its face, an impossible concept. One cannot argue that the movie was “racist” towards white people, because white people are not oppressed.
While Peele does show oppression in his movie, he showcases it in a way that lets the viewers know that even today, in the 21st century, people who aren’t white still face oppression.
He starts the movie by stating the obvious form of racism, which is simply based on appearance. He shows this through the main character’s concern that his girlfriend’s parents will judge him because he is black.
However, Peel doesn’t leave it there. He decides to go a level further to show racism in a more discrete way. These subtler forms of racism are ever-present, yet not evident to many in today’s society.
The idea that being different is only OK if you fit a specific, stereotypical image is portrayed through the characters’ depictions in Get Out.
Peele showcases this when the main character, Chris, at a brunch for old WASPs, finally gets to talk to someone non-white. He tells the man he meets how he feels like he sticks out like a sore thumb, but the man replies by saying that he’s not quite sure what Chris means. This catches Chris off guard, and as the two talk, he realizes something is off with the man in front of him.
Without revealing too much of the plot, the audience later discovers that this man has, indeed, been brainwashed — in a sense — and had his former identity stripped from him.
Chris’s friend recalls having met this man at a party years ago, and the image Chris sends him — of a primped-up, white linen suit-clad, fedora-sporting chap — doesn’t click.
One later learns that this instance is part of a larger, darker scheme to effectively whitewash and take over the bodies of black men.
Peele’s — and Get Out’s — genius lies in its searing critique of this subtle tendency towards effacement. And, in exposing the problems, it also displays the diversity that makes us as a human race, despite our issues, somewhat promising.