There have already been a million think pieces inked on the symbolism of Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out. I’m definitely late, there is no disputing this. However, I just could not move forward without adding my thoughts to the internet universe.
Get Out isn’t horrifying in the traditional sense of a big bad boogey man lurking or ghosts haunting a house. It’s about the haunting and hunting of Black people. Peele brilliantly evokes all the nuances of being a Black person navigating a world of whiteness. Specifically, when the world involves meeting the family of your White partner.
The main character, Chris, takes a trip with his White girlfriend, Rose, to meet her parents. As if meeting the parents of your partner isn’t already stressful, doing so while in an interracial relationship can bring upon an added layer of anxiety.
Often, we as Black people are met with so many micro-aggressions on a daily basis that when you spend more than a minute thinking about the offense you feel paranoid. Peele masterfully uses this paranoia as a narrative device that drives the movie forward and makes Chris’ experience so universal. While trying to overlook the micro-aggressions of this small liberal community, Chris finds the behavior of the Black people to be a little more than strange, such as that of the family’s maid, Georgina. He later finds the reason behind this behavior is that they have been preyed upon by Rose and her family. They have had their brains removed and replaced with that of Whites who have “purchased” them at auction from Rose’s father. He realizes that he’s next on the chopping block and narrowly escapes.
The Black characters have been made vulnerable to such a grisly act by being hypnotized and trapped in The Sunken Place. According to a tweet from Peele, “The Sunken Place means we’re marginalized. No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us.”
This brings me to my reason behind writing this piece. One of the victims of Rose and her family is the maid, Georgina. We later find out that she was one of Rose’s partners whose body was taken by Rose’s grandmother. When the “lobotomy” is performed, there is just enough of the victim’s brain left, that in spite of their body being inhabited by another person, there are still moments of consciousness from their original self. There are a few times in the film when Georgina tries to warn Chris, but she is often misinterpreted. At one point, Chris assumes that she is upset that he, a black man, is with Rose, a white woman. Georgina’s conscious is stronger than her male counterparts, that she is able to break out just a tiny bit more than they are without assistance. However, she is labeled negatively based off Chris’ own insecurities about his relationship which brings me to The Sunken Place of the Angry Black Woman.
I may be reaching as I do not know Peele personally or his motivations for creating Georgina. However, I have often found myself in a place between worlds. The moment I speak up for myself or dare to have an opposing opinion on a matter, I’m labeled adversely, kind of like Georgina. I find myself being dismissed as being negative or having an attitude even when I clearly articulate my point. Now, of course, I don’t want to be labeled or considered “angry,” so I sometimes water my personality down to make others comfortable. At that moment, I feel like I have entered The Sunken Place. I am paralyzed, I am looking out onto the rest of the world, wanting to desperately “get out,” but I am stuck because of other people’s perceptions.
This is why Georgina struck a nerve with me. Although she was stuck, she was desperately trying to break through while being considered more problematic than the other victims.
So anyway, it goes without saying, there is much to unpack and process with Peele’s thriller. However, this is just my two cents. Reach one, teach one and go see Get Out!