Jordan Peele is an actor, director and writer who made a horror film called “Get Out” that got him an Oscar. Before that, he was in a comedy series called “Key & Peele” that won two Emmy awards. In his horror movies, Peele has messages about what’s happening in the world today.
The following is an analysis of three horror movies produced by Peele.
Get Out
“Get Out” is about a man named Chris Washington( Daniel Kuuluya) and his girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) visiting her parents. Chris is trying to get out of his crazy girlfriend’s family’s house.The reason is because the white family is brainwashing Black people and making them servants.
Peele’s message in “Get Out” is that Black people are brainwashed to work for white people. He’s talking about how many enslaved Black people worked in tobacco fields, did chores around the house, or helped out in the master’s trade shop. Afrikans were treated badly and forced to do work that they didn’t want to do. It was a little different in Get Out because the white family brainwashed Black people instead of forcefully making them do work. However, Peele showed the similarities of enslaving Blacks in the movie.
Us
“Us” is about how Adelaide Wilson’s (Lupita Nyong’o,Madison Curry) tether is stuck in the Underground Tunnel but it switches places with the actual Adelaide. The real Adelaide who becomes red is now the leader of the Underground Tunnel and all of the tethers come out into the surface. Adelaide goes down the Underground Tunnel where a lot of bunnies are out of their cages. Red tells the story about her plan and what happened between her and her tether.
Peele’s message in “Us” is that tethers (shadow self) are a part of you and your fears and feelings inside so it’s good to calm it down or let it out. He is explaining how the shadow self is a rough part of you. For example, if people doubt themselves, the doubt won’t go away until you face it. Some believe that we need to fully see the dark side of ourselves if we are to be fully human. This means that if we face our shadow selves we will feel whole and balanced.
Horror Noire
Jordan Peele’s message in “Horror Noire,” a documentary directed by Xavier Burgin, is that we should be played as heroes but in the past Black people were portrayed as weak and the first to die.
Horror Noire is about a timeline of movies that showed a negative effect on Black people. Movie directors and actors in” Horror Noire” explained how “Birth of a Nation” was a horror film in the 1940s and 1950s that showed white men in black face playing as dangerous ,lazy people going after white women. “Candyman” and “King Kong” are also examples of Black men going after a white woman. The directors and actors explained how aliens represented Black people.
In the 1968 film” Night of the Living Dead” Duane Jones was the first Black man that wasn’t a criminal or victim but a savior in the movie. In the 1970s,Blaxploitation was when you started seeing Black female actors with major roles.Voodoo was portrayed as positive. An example of voodoo being used was in “Blacula” because one of the characters used it to heal.
In the 1980s Black actors played roles as the faithful servant and sacrificed themselves for whites. It was called being the sacrifical negro.”Candy man” and “Tales from the hood” were showing justice being served in movies but not in real life. They also showed struggles within the Black community. In the 1990s “Candyman” was the first Black supernatural killer. In the 20th century rappers started coming into horror films. For example, Snoop Dogg played in “Bones.”Horror films and movies started as a way of fearing Blacks. Now the audience looks to seeing Blacks as saviors in movies.
Wrapping Up
Jordan Peele’s movies explain how the world can be different if Black people aren’t treated badly in movies. Black people now are actually represented in movies as heroes. People will be able to see more Black actors thanks to Jordan Peele. It’s very important to see more Black actors because not everyone just wants to see white people on movies and television shows. If Black people see their own, they will feel important.
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