Jordan Peele, along with Keegan Key, created a generation that pronounces names like Aaron and Blake as A-A-Ron and Ba-Lackey. He inspired individuals to find humor in the basic situations of life that we often overlook or try to forget. Even more, he helped place black comedians at the forefront of comedic creativity and versatility. He showed that black actors and comedians are not just placeholders for racial stereotypes but can offer so much more to the industry.
Jordan Peele became a prominent figure in Hollywood following his thriller film Get Out, for which was the first black person to win the Best-Original-Screenplay Oscar. Get Out is known for touching on racial and social issues in society without necessarily explicitly stating them. He was able to move the audience and terrify them all in one. He explained that “Many horror films go to the depths of dirty, seedy, filthy Gothic Horror. I’m much more drawn to films that explore a beautiful, disarmingly attractive aesthetic.” He brought the audience to a place of comfort, of hope, and creatively twisted it into a statement about the dangers of systematic and subconscious racism.
For those that might not have seen the film, here is a quick synopsis containing spoilers. Chris, a black photographer, is invited to join his white girlfriend, Rose, on her trip to her parent’s home. Right off the bat, the family seems to be suspicious. There are many instances where the family makes some microaggressions. Most notably, Rose’s father often stated how he would have “voted for Obama” another term or people would make comments about Chris’ innate physical capabilities because he is black. After Rose’s mother tries to hypnotize Chris and some other concerning and uneasy events, Chris decides to get out and leave, only to find out that he has been a pawn the whole time. This synopsis does not do the film justice in the slightest, but it is beyond worthwhile to see it and experience it for yourself.
(Here’s the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfpyUB60YY)
Peele’s creative process when directing and producing Get Out was heavily influenced unconsciously by factors from his past. He explained that he studied puppetry in college, which later became shaped by his directing style. In his perspective, the human body is like a puppet. It can be forced to move and dragged around, but true puppetry involves following the rhythm of the puppet and using the puppets own strengths to further the story. This allowed him to prompt his actors, but ultimately allow them to enhance his work by telling the story in their unique way. He also used his experiences growing up as a black kid that “sounded white” and his interactions with white individuals, from other kids to police officers. These experiences are all hinted at in his film, creating a well-rounded and realistic story that is just as terrifying for its accuracy as it is for its horror. Peele also explained that one of his major influences was his fear of the unknown. While he did not realize it at first, the unknowns of the world are far scarier than that which is right in the open. He tied this back to an experience he had camping when he was alone in the dark woods by himself. During this experience, he found that he was not afraid of animals or even death on their own, but the idea that he did not know what could happen, anything was on the table. He later connected his fears to racism, explaining that he is less afraid of the individual that explicitly says racial slurs than “the person who is thinking it near me.” This unconscious fear and its development became the driving force for Get Out. He used his fear to shape the horror/thriller film that terrified an audience on various levels.
Ultimately, Jordan Peele would probably be considered a middle-C creative. While his work was groundbreaking in Get Out and he is a prominent force in Hollywood now, his work is more centered around American and Western racial matters. Still, his work is inspirational, entertaining, and moving. One thing is for sure, Peele is a big-C creative in prompting meme and video trends based on his work. The vibes are immaculate and hilarious.
Extra videos on the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBvcngHRTFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNKSgdT1FQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf6OB34m-_A
Sources:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/plotsummary
https://time.com/5159850/jordan-peele-get-out-fears-and-cultural-hope/
First of all, fantastic work. Outstanding, 10/10. I love that you included the sentiment from Peele's past regarding his blackness. He was the black kid that "sounded white", he didn't fit in according to others, and it's very fair to say that society cages people in and expects them to subscribe to certain stereotypes or expectations. People were surprised that Peele was not what they expected, and they reacted with disdain at the fact that he was different. Perhaps this influenced him in his future directing and his concept of directing vs puppetry. Although he gave the actors in Get Out direction, he allowed them to use their own strengths to their best abilities to progress the story. He did for them what people in the past should've done for Peele, in that he should've been allowed to talk any way he pleased without it detracting from his blackness. This prior learning through experience could very well have provoked a less traditional / strict directing style.
ReplyDeleteI am quite uncomfortable that Peele is unconsciously influenced by puppetry, nonetheless that's super interesting. It's interesting what people collect from their education and how this can influence later work without even realizing. It's also really powerful that he was able to connect fear of the unknown to real experiences of racism, and was able to depict this in the film in a subtle but striking way. Also, you make a good case for the potential that Peele's work has to shift paradigms of Hollywood humor and also depicting the Black experience in the United States through film in an indirect way.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post! I think it is so fascinating that he shifted from comedy to such disturbing horror movies. I think the point you included about Peele seeing the human body as a puppet is especially prominent is his movie Us. I think his work in horror also does a great job at being terrifying without being excessively gory and shifting away from gothic horror. I also enjoyed the moments in his other movie, Us, when you could see his background in comedy through his brilliant ironies and comedic timing within a horror movie.
ReplyDeleteFirdaus, thank you for this post. Jordan Peele is an amazing creative and I am so glad you have shared his story. Knowing about his past really opens my eyes to how although the movie "Get Out" isn't particularly real, the sentiment and emotion behind it is completely factual. The complete 180 in his genre of work shows that Peele has no limitations. He went from making people laugh, to touching upon important racial issues in horror films (although he still includes comedic elements in these terrifying films). I find the fact that he studied puppetry fascinating, as I see it tied into his film "Us". This could have possibly been an unconscious bond between his past experience. It is really upsetting that he was described as "sounding white" as a child. Society places people into these boxes and expects everyone to fit into the stereotypical molds that it has crafted. Though many movies touch upon racial issues, Peele carries this out in a way that is unique and forces you to really think rather than just blatantly placing it right in front of you.
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