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Get out By Hollie Potter
Background info • ‘Get out’, directed by Jordan Peele is a world renown horror movie which follows the narrative of a black man named Chris visiting his white girlfriend's in-laws. However, it takes a drastic turn once he realizes his girlfriend's family is not just hyper-racist—they're progenitors of a cultish group that lures black men to their neighbourhood so that their white neighbours can control their minds.
‘The sunken place’ scene • The scene I picked to present was ‘the sunken place’ scene. This scene shows the moment shared between Chris and his mother in law, she is seen attempting to hypnotize him. • Chris is obviously uncomfortable in this scene and reluctant to participant, unfortunately, she holds the dominance between the two and performs the hypnosis successfully.
In the clip provided, you can see a wide angle shot of Chris falling into ‘the sunken place’. We have just heard the mother in laws voice command ‘sink’ in a distorted voice as Chris submerges from his bed to the foreign setup shown above, the use of distortion is to stimulate ideas of illusion and fantasy which correlates with the main concept of the scene, which is hypnotization. The majority of the screen is pitch black with stars, connoting ideas of space and emptiness. This creates a fearful tone to the scene as we are stepping into the unknown. It is a full length shot of Chris with his back facing the viewers, this could have been done to build on the mystery of the setting and allow us to experience it through Chris’ perspective. Violin’s are heard playing in a jarring, one note sequence, this creates a huge impact on the atmosphere of the scene as the sharpness of the music exaggerates the tension that was already present.
Here is another screenshot of the scene which illustrates further into the fear and darkness of the film than dialogue ever could. Through this one close up shot we can clearly see the intricate layers of paralysis displayed through his facial expression. As an audience, this clip is extremely unsettling and gripping, therefore making myself and others more invested and engaged with the film and Chris’ character. The tear stained eyes contrasted with the stiffness of Chris’ face uses juxtaposition to perfectly embody immobility and the feeling of being trapped. Yet again, this makes the audience feel closer to the character as they are confined to their own emotions and trauma just like Chris. The lack of space closes many bridges of distance between the audience and the characters and produces a stronger bond. Although some directors like to stray away from the idea of intimacy, I personally think it’s a great technique to involve the viewers and make room for connections to be built.
Representation • Race and ethnicity is presented in ‘Get out’ through the use of racial abuse to Black people. • With knowledge of the whole film, we know that the family’s objective is to control the minds of innocent black people due to their unjustified beliefs around white supremacy. • This scene in particular is a strong example of the family’s aim as the woman is trying to hypnotize Chris, this foreshadows the tragedy and oppression behind the mind control scheme they have planned for him and many others. • However, Chris survives throughout the film and in effect of this, changes the lives of many black people who would have been later affected by this family. This represents the battle for racial justice in today’s society as it shows fighting in the face of adversity can and will have huge impacts.
