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‘In general, little attention has been given to the filmic representation of race in film genre criticism.’ (Mark A Reid). Making detailed reference to one or two discuss the ways in which a genre of your choice uses discourses of race.
This essay will analyze the horror genre’s approach to race in a variety of ways. Depictions of race in horror have changed and developed over time, one of the most influential modern interpretations being Jordan Peele’s Get Out (Peele, 2017). The film displays how the genre has moved in recent years to improve its racial depictions and Peele’s work uses the genre’s conventions to effectively approach modern racism. The premise of the film surrounds a black man meeting his white girlfriend’s family, inspired by the classic Look Who’s Coming to Dinner (1964, Kramer). Unlike its inspiration, however, Peele’s Get Out takes a sinister turn and becomes a commentary on race in modern society.
Consistently within the horror genre, there has been a lack of representation of black people as leading or even prominent characters. This is supported by the 2019 Hollywood Diversity’ Report where Darnell Hunt claimed that most horror films are “not about the humanity of the black characters, it’s about the humanity of the lead, who’s typically white, and everyone else in the film is there to sort of support that lead character in his or her story.’ (Hunt, 2019). Hunt’s claim amplifies the need for more representation of black people within horror. This is also confirmed historically by the genre, due to the famous trope “the black character dies first” (Ebert, 1997). Ebert identified a recurring trend in the genre in which black characters are deemed expendable and are often sacrificed the earliest in the film therefore prohibiting substantial characterisation. One notable example of this trope can be found in The Shining in which the only death is a black janitor Dick Hallorann who also dies for his white counterparts (Kubrick, 1980). Another example is Scream 2’s black character Phil Stevens (Craven, 1997), who dies before the opening credits. Peele’s Get Out, however, entirely subverts this genre trope (Peele, 2017). The film’s protagonist Chris is anything but expendable, despite being a black man in a horror movie, instead he guides the audience through the film. Due to watching the film through Chris’s eyes, the audience recognizes racism more coherently in contrast to if it were a white protagonist. Textually this is shown through the dialogue in the party scene, in which partygoers approach Chris with racially charged comments. Peele uses music with ominous undertones and close-up shots of Chris’s face, displaying uncomfortable reactions to create a sinister atmosphere. Comments such as “is it better” (referring to having sex with a black man as opposed to a white man), “black is in fashion” and “I do know Tiger” may seem harmless, however, it display that this is a gathering of people who cannot see Chris as a person past his race. The film makes it clear these comments are an example of necrophilia which is defined as an obsession with black culture in a way that fetishizes it (Landsberg, 2018). The partygoers are tokenizing Chris hidden behind the guise of white liberal acceptance. Additionally, Peele claims he views Get Out as a documentary and that these comments are based on real comments that people have said to him, displaying that we are far from a ‘post-racial society’(Sangkadila and Fadlilah, 2018). The device Chris uses to escape these interactions is his camera, he claims in response to a comment “Pardon me, I’m going to take some pictures”(Peele, 2017). Yet again the audience is placed watching the film through Chris’ lens, and using that same lens he uncovers the racist plot around him. It is his camera that exposes the body snatch plot by taking a photograph of Andre. Landsberg comments that Chris’ camera, is the instrument that will break the trance and make visible to Chris and to us, the audience, the reality of what is happening at the Armitage house, and by extension, metaphorically, in liberal, ‘post-racial’ American society (Landsberg, 2018). The camera plays an influential role as through its use racism in contemporary America is exposed. A further metaphor is that watching through the lens of black people, both metaphorically and through more representation will uncover the horror of racism within society.
It is widely noted that the horror genre is commonly used as a vehicle to reflect societal issues at the time. Therefore, Peele’s utilizing the horror to discuss modern race issues is befitting of the genre. Peele effectively uses the ‘rehibition of bodies’ horror trope in Get Out (Peele, 2017). The trope is commonly in horror films, including The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Kaufman, 1978). However, the most comparable use of the trope can be seen in The Stepford Wives (Forbes, 1975), which is a horror film telling the story of housewives being turned against their will into robots. It largely represented the second wave of feminism which was thriving at the time, expressing the message that women were losing their own identity by becoming slaves to their family. This is shown by the robotic nature of the wives after the operation, which symbolically expresses that in society wives and mothers are pushed to sacrifice their own needs for their families leaving them without an identity. Peele uses this trope in a similar way instead highlighting racial discourse at the time. The takeover of black bodies further highlights black tokenism, the characters view the bodies as “cooler”, “stronger” and “trendier”. It also highlights the use of black bodies through the decades by white people through slavery as well as the current and rising Black Lives Matter movement, which was also thriving during 2017. During the body swap the body’s rightful owners remain in the “sunken place” (Peele, 2017). This means that while the white perpetrator uses their body to operate to their own wishes, the black owner remains in the background unable to speak or participate as their body is used. This is a wider metaphor for the silencing of African American voices by white people, by many means ranging from slavery to overall lack of representation. Textually there are links to slavery as Rose’s mother places Chris in the sunken place by running her spoon around the inside of her teacup, creating clear slavery links with tea production. Also, Chris is only able to escape this fate by stuffing his ears with cotton wool this being yet another clear product of slavery. Peele claims “The sunken place means we’re marginalized no matter how hard we scream, the system silences us” (Ryan‐Bryant, 2020). The sunken place represents the regression of racial issues, their bodies being used as a vessel while their thoughts and voices remain muted. Basto Da Silva claims that following ex-President Trump’s election in 2016 we are now living in a sunken place, where racial prejudice is being recognized more but due to that people believe that society is now ‘post-racial’(Bastos da Silva, 2019). Overall, it is clear that the body-snatching trope is a wider metaphor surrounding society’s view and use of black bodies.
Monsters are another common convention within the horror genre to induce fear in the audience and add stakes to a plot line. The horror genre has demonstrated that racism can create monsters on several occasions, an example being Candyman (Costa, 1992). Candyman is a ghost who has a hook for a hand and murders those who say his name three times in a mirror. While the film displays his graphic murders, it also characterizes him as a monster born out of racial injustice. He was once a black man who fell in love with a white woman and was brutally lynched for it (Costa, 1992). Georgina and Walter can be similarly displayed as the monsters of the film. Georgina appears almost as a Stepford wife, appearing robotic and, at a few points, as if she is malfunctioning. Textually this is shown when she comes out to the deck to pour iced tea for Chris and the Armitage’s, in this moment her face registers anguish and she overfills a glass, as if she is glitching (Peele, 2017). Walter’s overall depiction is monstrous as he seems to have an inhuman quality to him however, his monstrosity is quite literally a result of what allegedly ‘liberal whites’ have done to him. Despite this, the monster in Get Out shockingly appears to be the character the audience would least expect. Furthermore, she turns out to be the most diabolical of all; Rose, sweet, anti-racist, young, and liberal is revealed to lure black people to her parent’s sadistic laboratory. Due to this Georgina and Walter’s lives were taken at the hands of a racist society, much like Candyman’s. Georgina’s and Walter’s appearances are clearly a representation of modern-day slavery displayed effectively in a monstrous light. Through setting the enslavement of Georgina and Walter in the present day, the film points to the violence still committed against African Americans, perpetuating that racist exploitation is alive and well even among supposedly liberal white people. Therefore, expressing through the horror tropes that the monster is racism itself.
The setting of horror films has continuously been used as a device to heighten fear in the film. A consistent choice is often one that offers isolation for the characters, making the idea of escape and calls for help more strenuous. For example, “The Shining”, sets the infamous family in a hotel in the mountains completely isolated from society, meaning when Jack loses his mind there is an element of fear (Kubrick, 1980). Peele recognizes these tropes and uses them to highlight the racial differences surrounding the suburbs. This is not the first time the horror genre has approached this racial topic, an example being Wes Craven’s ‘The People Under the Stairs’ in which a 13-year-old African American Fool attempts to burgle his landlords (a white suburban family) and discovers the horror within (Craven, 1991). After Fool discovers the warped situation being the family’s hidden cannibalistic children it is clear Craven deliberately wished to express the alienation black people often feel towards white rich suburban families. Later on in the film, when Fool must survive his landlords, we see how dangerous suburbia can be. Siegel commented when referencing Craven’s film that ‘being black is also being shut out of the protected spaces reserved for whites’ and furthermore creating both an interest and fear about these places (Siegel, 2013). Textually this is illustrated by the opening scene, the film beginning with a long shot of an empty suburban sidewalk at night. The camera then slowly pulls back, as we hear the voice of an African-American man speaking on the phone. He searches for an address, but is agitated, and anxious, saying into the phone, ‘I feel like a sore thumb out here’. Peele uses this to convey what might seem like a tranquil suburb but for a black man quite the opposite; through his eyes, the street seems creepy, like he does not belong. This is a reversal of a commonplace trope – the white person alone in the city at night, afraid of ‘racial others’. However, to an African American man, the white suburb is an ideal place to set a horror film. Peele destabilizes the viewer’s effortless confidence in the safety of the suburbs, the film begins by breaking down the ideologically dominant view of the suburb as the safe alternative to the dangerous city. While this abduction is occurring an upbeat song from 1939 ‘Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit’ plays on the soundtrack. The lyrics of this song point to the danger as they tell the story of a vulnerable rabbit being murdered by a farmer foreshadowing events that occur within the film. As the opening credits end, we see Andre abducted confirming our suspicions not all is how it seems in the white suburbs. Peele’s subversion of the usually ‘dangerous’ places within horror highlights how different races may perceive these settings (Peele, 2017).
A conventional scene at the end of many horror films is when the group or protagonist uncovers the killer. This often unveils a lot of hurt and betrayal as it is usually someone close to the protagonist. An example of this is seen in Scream in which the final girl Sidney finds out her boyfriend was the killer all along (Craven, 1998). Peele uses this trope with the dramatic reveal of Rose as the killer. The scene in which Chris is trying to leave and Rose is looking for the keys builds tension before the big reveal. The cinematography cuts between Chris, Rose, and the other members of the family before it cuts back to Rose who reveals “You know I can’t give you the keys right babe” (Peele, 2017). The camera cuts back to a close-up of Chris, his face shocked with betrayal as the family begins to take hold of him and Rose utters the line ‘You were one of my favorites’. This line particularly stands out as sadistic, making it clear Rose viewed him as an object, not a human. Rose’s betrayal was the film’s biggest plot twist as the character had consistently been portrayed as liberal and protective of Chris, however, this was all simply a guise hiding her true intentions. Such as the scene where Rose refuses to hand Chris’s license over, we believe is because she loves him and is protecting him from being racially discriminated against. However, upon reflection we realize this is her trying not to leave a paper trail, stopping the officers from recognizing Chris if he is reported missing later on. Allison Williams, the actress who plays Rose, addresses how often white people who watch the film will approach her saying, “Was Rose brainwashed too? She’s not evil is she” (Lewis, 2019). This stands as a testament that society cannot stand to see someone who looks so much like a final girl (white, straight female), turn out to be the biggest monster in the film. Jillian Boger claimed that what makes it scarier is Rose is ‘in a relative position of power as a white woman of race and gender, white women are still privileged over black men’(Boger, 2019), unfortunately, we can see this in real life cases such as Emmet Till’s, a young black boy who was lynched due to the inaccurate accusation of a white woman. While the trope of a romantic partner turning out to be the biggest antagonist of all is common within the genre, Peele subverts the trope with the use of Rose who does not look like the average horror antagonist. However, we can recognize this new take on the trope as drawing awareness to the changing face of horror, and the race conversation.
A horror film’s denouement displays a lot about the film’s message and often they follow a similar narrative. Generally, in the cases of slasher films, once the final girl has successfully killed the antagonist, the police arrive to mark the ending. The red and blue flashing lights are consistently a sign of safety within horror films, that the hero has prevailed. However, Peele’s ending subverts this entirely, leaving the audience terrified, due to his choice of ‘final girl’. Chris is conclusively the function of Carol Clover’s final girl in Get Out (Clover, 1987). The ‘final girl’ is one of the horror tropes Peele utilizes in Get Out. Various critics debate certain traits of the final girl however she is generally understood to be the “survivor” at the end of a horror movie, the one who prevails in killing the monster. Besides Rose’s characterization, she aesthetically fits the final girl prototype; a white straight woman. However, what separates Chris from these final girls is the audience’s reaction to the police coming. Societally we are aware of discrimination against black men from the police and it is even shown in the driver’s license scene, where the officer consistently asks for Chris’s licence despite him not being the driver. So, when Chris has successfully killed the family which the audience supports, and is standing over Rose’s body, the audience fears for him when the blue and red lights flash. This is because a black man standing over a dying white woman’s body does not bode well for our hero. Chris raises his hands as the cars approach and Rose pleads for help, which all but confirms her plan to manipulate the story going forward. When Rod steps out of the car the relief is cathartic. There is a level of importance of the empathy built for Chris especially when contrasting with previous depictions of black characters in horror. An example of this is the blaxploitation era of horror which ran from 1969-1975. This era of horror allowed representation of black people within horror with the most notable commercial success being Blacula (Crane, 1972). However, the films were satirical in nature and the roles given to black people were defined as ‘demeaning’ and set to cause more racial divide’ (Benshoff, 2000). Due to this, we can see the depiction of Chris as progressive, a black character in a horror film who is no longer a caricature to be marveled at but instead a protagonist an audience can emphasize and align themselves with.
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