Get Out thrills and educates audiences

Alice Naland, Co-Editor-in-Chief|March 10, 2017

Daniel Kaluuya stars as Chris (shown), who visits his white girlfriend’s parents and realizes that their prejudice to African Americans is more dangerous than he initially thought.

It would seem that most people would go to the movies to escape the intense political climate, however, Get Out, the newest hit movie in theaters, is a blunt commentary on racism and prejudice very present today. Comedian Jordan Peele’s directorial debut centers around Chris, an African American man who is meeting his white girlfriend Rose’s parents for the first time. He expresses concern that he will not be received well by them due to his race, but goes to Rose’s childhood home for the weekend. While there, he notices small moments of prejudice towards him and the hypnotic actions of the African American help who work around the house. Chris soon realizes the danger he is in after discovering clues about the family’s treatment of black guests and other troubling evidence uncovered by Chris’s friend.

Get Out is labelled as a horror film, but it does much more than scare viewers — it is a satirical comedy and a mystery that confronts racial relations and challenges audiences to face the state of prejudice in America. Compared with all of the hollow “jump” horror movies with lackluster writing and dull characters, Peele’s writing for Get Out phenomenally keeps viewers interested in the storyline without the cringe worthy “gotcha” moments common to the genre.

The most compelling reason to watch Get Out is the discussion of race relations that stems from the film. At the beginning of the story, Chris experiences microaggressions about his race that his seemingly neutral girlfriend fails to notice due to her inexperience with racism as a white woman. These moments illustrate the everyday racism minorities face and the obliviousness more privileged members of society have towards this treatment. As the movie progresses, it becomes clear that Chris is dealing with far more serious racism than a problematic comment or two — the discrimination against African Americans in Get Out reaches a level almost to the point of slavery, and Peele goes to extremes to display the degree of intolerance found in America currently.

The injustices portrayed parallel real life struggles of African Americans and are extremely important to understanding the African American experience. Get Out is not the most historically accurate depiction of race relations, but it provides a fresh, funny and informative take on issues everyone should care about. Peele’s masterpiece will entertain, scare and charm you until the last frame, then make you question just how fictional Get Out’s storyline is long after you throw away your popcorn.