On Feb. 24, 2017, the world got a taste of some truth, reality, and better yet humor, with the release of “Get Out”. As his first directing debut, comedian, Jordan Peele directed this masterpiece, to inform the world that racism still exists, but not in the way that you think.
If you haven’t seen “Get Out”, I encourage you to see it as soon as possible. The film stars Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), an African-American photographer, who is going to visit his white girlfriend’s, Rose (Allison Williams), parents for the weekend. At first, he is skeptical because he does not know how her parents will react to the fact that he black. Rose assures him that everything will be okay and they drive up to the middle of nowhere for a weekend at the Armitage’s.
Once he arrives, everyone seems to be welcoming and inclusive, that’s good, right? Maybe. Then Chris meets the yardman Walter, who is black, and the maid, Georgina who is also black. This sparks a red flag in Chris’s head. A white family with black servants. But the strange thing is that Walter and Georgina seem a bit off. They seem to be in a trance, or maybe even zombie-like. They seem to not be in the culture that Chris is used to and this sparks a concern in Chris.
What is even more strange is that when the Armitage’s host a party that includes one other black man, he acts strange as well. I am not talking about strange as in they don’t like ketchup on their fries, I mean his demeanor was off than Chris was used to.
Throughout the rest of the movie, Chris soon finds out what the family’s intentions are for black people – yes that is including his girlfriend, Rose, and they aren’t pretty.
If there is anything that we can learn from this movie, it is that racism still exists. You can come across people who want to talk to you, saying things like “my man” or “I would’ve voted for Obama for a third term”, but in the end, you don’t know what their intentions are.
Another thing that we can learn from this movie is to always listen to your gut and the person wearing the black hat. By that I mean, if something seems a bit off to you, listen. If your friend tells you not to do something because of whatever reason, listen to what they have to say.
Everything is not all good and gold. Again, someone may not be racist to your face, but what they do behind closed doors is another story.
