By Jameson Decatur
Movies that were deemed “scary” are the most relatable movies. These movies almost
rarely use inhuman monsters that we know will never truly happen. A scary movie is the scariest when it pertains to the audience seeing it. Jordan Peele’s Get Out uses both of these factors to some degree. The movie was a horror-thriller that focused on a interracial couple visiting the white girlfriend’s parents house. The thrill comes towards the end when the family tries to take the main character's body. The movie happened in modern time and addressed the racist stigma that white people steal minorities’ culture, in this case, their body. Since the film takes place in modern society, it gives the audience the illusion that it can happen to them today hence making the movie more scary.
Peele used common social anxieties to add thriller to the movie. Since the beginning of
time there has been a certain discomfort about meeting your girlfriend’s parents. It is a big step for the relationship at the time, the movie says that Chris and his girlfriend have been dating for 3 months (Get Out 14:00- 21:22). Even though this moment in Chris’s relationship is a huge step of commitment, it is still a common interaction in modern society. Since the whole climax is sparked from this uncomfortable moment between Chris and Rose's parents the audience is immediately more comfortable and intrigued because this is an awkward moment. The director, Jordan Peele, made sure that there was some type of uncomfortable environment when Rose and Chris arrived at their parents house. When they initially arrive at home, the music suddenly changes and shifts to a uncomfort pace for the audience briefly. This is one of the examples of an offsetting tone to the movie. In addition, the cinematic shots changed as well. As the couple walks into the house, the “landscaper” is slowly revealed as the camera zooms out and the music gets louder and sharper. The changes in music signals that something is going to happen to Chris.
Get out also has a good present connection with the African American community
through interactions with white people. Bringing an African American to a predominantly white
party can be very uncomfortable. It is generally offsetting for them because of the culture
difference. In Chris’s case, There was an annual party that he was not prepared for. In addition
to this, the people at the party were making racist remarks and questions to Chris. For an
example when being introduced by Rose, Chris is asked if he enjoys sports by an old white guy (Get Out 47:21-48:20). This was referring to a racist stigma that all black men love sports.
Questions like this we’re constantly asked throughout the party. This can be very uncomfortable for anyone; but since this uncomfortable interaction is common in modern society, the audience again becomes more comfortable and intrigued by the plot of the story. Chris being placed in an unnatural environment makes the audience relate to him more. According to the textbook, It says in page 91 “We identify with her because she is (initially, at least) unusually fearful, a weakness that allows us the greatest possible identification with her struggle” (page 91). As humans, we all feel pain or fear to some extent. When watching a horror movie we never relate to the monster or the killer; we best relate to the victim. Chris being a victim and having to fight for his freedom makes the audience see themselves in him because he was weak and powerless yet he still emerges from danger.
Adding a cellphone makes the movie scarier because it allows the audience to relate to
the main character more. In an article, longtime podcaster, co-host of The Next Picture Show
and film/streamer editor at Polygon, Tasha Robison says “...upward of 75 percent of Americans owning smartphones, and upward of 95 percent owning cell phones of some kind...” (Verge). We live in a tech world, where almost everyone has a cell phone and rely on that cellphone all the time. It is normal for a human being to have a phone or some type of device in their hands. This is not a problem in modern society, the problem is that the most iconic horror movies like Halloween, Friday the Thirteenth, and Jason all took place in the 20th century where cell phones or landlines did not have the same responsibilities as they do today. In this new generation of horror movies, directors have to “get rid of'' the cell phone in the quickest and most realistic way. Simply because, the jump scares came when the protagonist was isolated from the real world (like the woods or being alone at home) not when they were on their phone. Although the cellphone is a problem for directors, the cellphone is also the only thing that can connect the modern audience to the movie. If the technology is outdated the audience loses relatability instantly. The story becomes unbelievable because we cannot view ourselves being anywhere without our phone. Director Peele knows this, and brings subtle attention to Chris’s phone by building suspense and showing suspicions when his phone is mysteriously uncharged (Get out 48:16-50:12). Chris is already isolated enough by being the one of the few minorities in a rural country house, now he has no connection with the outside world. Subtle details like this snatches the audience’s attention.
Chris being in a Interracial relationship brings more horror to the movie. Get out has a
unique aspect that creates the essential nervous tension necessary to make a scary movie. And that is the interracial relationship between Chris and Rose. This movie cannot be made in the 20th century. According to a research by nonpartisan American think tank Pew Research Center “In 2015, 17% of all U.S. newlyweds had a spouse of a different race or ethnicity, marking more than a fivefold increase since 1967, when 3% of newlyweds were intermarried, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.”(Pew Research Center). In the 20th century, it was simply not common to see a interracial relationship. So to see a interracial couple as the main characters is more comfortable for the audience because in modern times it is more common to see a interracial couple. Black people don't have a negative history of dating white women, but there is some negative history to the idea. Mainly because of what happened to Emmett Till. He was brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman in 1955.
This is why interracial relationships are frowned upon in the African American community. And
Get Out uses this negative background to create tension and horror.
Horror movies are evolving and as they evolve they become more and more relatable to
the audience through subtle details like the interracial relationships and social anxieties to make the movie more scary. Due to director Peele including social anxieties like meeting your
girlfriend's parents and being a predominantly white party as a black man, the audience is able to be intrigued yet still on edge. And once the audience is on the edge of their seat, that is when they are easily scared. The cellphone plays a huge part in our world today. We need it to survive and modern society; this proposed a problem to horror movie directors today. But the cellphone is not only a problem for directors, it is also a tool used to reel in the audience’s attention. Tools like the cellphone make the horror story more real for the audience. Peele also allowed Chris to be more relatable to the African American community which allowed people to “identify” with him which increases horror. In any film the audience tries to see themselves through the characters, in horror this can create more of a scare for the audience.
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