There's a lot to pick apart in Get Out, and this will include spoilers, so if you haven't watched yet, come back when you have!
The opening scenes were very predictable and disappointing. As soon as the white car started to drive past, I knew what was going to happen.. I thought this movie was going to do better than just follow the standard racism narratives that are so familiar in the USA.
With relief, the movie used this scene, I think very cleverly, to make the audience feel tired with racism (that it is so prevalent in the US). I long for more nuance and discussion in the related narratives, and it seems from the UK at least that the Black Lives Matter movement was simply hijacked and has been since abandoned again. This movie came out 3 years before the murder of George Floyd and the biggest spike in BLM protests in the US and around Europe, but it had been brewing for decades and increasing in the years surrounding this film.
The convo about "do they know i'm black?" was so uncomfortable on both sides.. her justifications that they aren't rascist because they voted Obama.. his concerns he wants his skin colour to be seen. This narrative is such a common one in discussions on black/white violence and racism in the US. Later we can see how this whole conversation was a lure, that Rose pretended to be naeve that she hadn't even considered his skin colour or that her family would.
I think the film is trying to show that although you can say that you're not racist because you voted Obama, or you loved Tiger Woods like the old golf player, or you think black people are sexy or strong, that these things are inherently racist. I think Daily touched on this concept too in his post how people want a pat on the back for appearing not to be racist, like oh I voted for Obama. Okay, but did you vote for him because of his skin colour, and to make a gesture? Or did you vote for him because you believed in his ability to lead and in his politics? Because even if you think the first reason is good, it is still racist.
To be honest I wish the film unpicked this a little more.. but I liked how they alluded to the Holocaust by discussing the deer "like rats" and in fact even how the deer was used to explore racist language without directing it at Chris. That really fascinated me, especially seeing as dehumanising is so prevalent again but this time in the world we see Israel using it. I'm not sure how obvious it was to non-English speakers but they also threw in hints about White Privilege. It was interesting how they used animals or other topics to use dehumanising language thst is typically common in rascist language. You can say that racism was largely absent or not too offensive, but actually, it was throughout the whole movie and still as offensive, just placed subtly. Again this served (I think) to highlight our unconcious biases and how normalised racism actually is.
Speaking as a white person, I think the film did well to eat into insecurities about racism, constantly being aware and hypersensitive to the race and colour of others. It played right into the White Anxieties of trying not to say the wrong thing or appear to be a rascist, all the while, making race and colour all the more of a discriminator.. something so focussed on when we all know it shouldn't be. The first half of the movie was SO uncomfortable for me, constantly cringing and feeling like oh gosh I can't believe they said that..
Another example of course is that right after the white cop has been rude to Chris and demanded his ID even though he wasn't the one driving.. we see the house which is very Plantation Era, and then a black groundskeeper. It was so stereotypical and awkward for me, while serving a purpose in the theme of racism but also the greater plot of the movie.
Of course the difference between Rose saying her family isn't racist, and their words/actions becomes more and more obvious and her innocence begins to unravel.
Right from the first ding on the cup of tea, when they all sat outside, I knew what was coming with Chris being hypnotised, it was set up to condition him before he really was hypnotised. Right away I thought the brother must be either involved or maybe hypnotised too, as with the father. For some time actually I thought maybe just the mum was coherent and all of the rest were under her influence. But by the time Chris and Rose sat at the lake and she initially said she wouldn't leave, I knew she was also involved.
I really liked the scenes in the sunken place. Suddenly the housekeepers tears made sense! I liked that some of the feeling and interpretation was left to the audience, and I thought the actor who played Chris did especially well. (P.s. if you ever watched The West Wing, tell me the dad was not just an older Bradley! I mean, same actor but it was also just an older Bradley gone wrong 🤣).
One thing I didn't really understand was this point in the movie.. were they planning to transplant part of the other guy's brain in to Chris? I didn't understand because the groundskeeper and housekeeper just seemed void? So I assumed that was their plan for all of the victims.. but it seemed Chris was going to be used to serve as new eyes for the artist. I was really confused how he thought that was going to work for him.. that he would suddenly have a new body 🤔 would it not be easier to just do an eye transplant? 😅 maybe I missed something there, just the ideas seemed to not really make the best sense.
As for the ending of the movie, I think it was really great! I had an idea that it was going to end with the white cop coming and the old narrative being followed that the black guy will be punished for all of the murders and a misscarriage of justice. I was really delighted that it didn't end like that, and instead did something different. I think it gave Chris the justice he deserved and also gave a little hope to those dealing with racism or sick of the same experiences or narratives surrounding the topic.
On the whole, I liked the balance between horror and the theme of racism. It certainly wasn't terrifying, much more just a psychological thriller (which I love) with only a few minor jumps to keep you on edge. I also thought the music at the start and end was very fitting. I'd rate Get Out a solid 8/10 for blending well the theme with the genre, and engaging my brain along the way too. The racism was more blatant than I expected, but was done in a thought out way to be more palatable.