Jordan Peele’s Mind Game Films
Here are the slides: https://prezi.com/view/Fe8W7xx9Gwo7vKKOvOxT/
Explanation to read along with slides:
Introduction
I thoroughly enjoyed researching and presenting on Us earlier in the semester and it inspired me to continue to explore the works of Jordan Peele. I’m going to start by talking about Jordan Peele and how he started in the industry and later on successfully transitioning to horror filmmaking. Peele was born in 1979, which is important to note when viewing his films. Often his upbringing or events from his childhood in the 80s help shape the narrative of the film. He started his career in the entertainment industry by starting at “Mad TV,” which was famous for its satirical sketches about pop culture and politics. He was a cast member for 5 seasons until he started another sketch comedy series with a fellow Mad TV cast member called “Key & Peele.” His directorial debut Get Out came out in 2017 and his second film, Us, came out in 2019. I will go into more detail on those films later as they are the main focus of my essay. When I presented on Us a few weeks ago, I took more of a “psychoanalysis” approach by focusing on a theory that the tethered represent the shadow self, which is a term coined by the psychiatrist, Carl Jung. But in my prospectus for this paper, I also wanted to talk about the way politics and relevant political issues are implemented in Peele’s films. So I’ve decided to combine the two and write a political psychoanalysis of both Get Out and Us. I also plan on using other films like Peele’s newest film Nope, and two films we watched in class: Timecrimes and Source Code. I am especially interested in the way that these films utilize comedy when exploring political themes and want to psychoanalyze why it benefits or compliments these films so well.
Get Out
Get Out is my personal favorite of Peele’s films, not only because I think it is incredibly entertaining, but also because of the way that it uses/combines comedy and horror to approach some very touchy subjects. The political context of Get Out’s release is so crucial. It was released only a few months after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. Donald Trump was aided and supported by the Ku Klux Klan at the time and racial-tensions were extremely high in the United States. The film shines a light on racism, race relations, racial stereotypes, and police brutality. However, it goes about exploring these topics through a very satirical lens. Finding the humor or poking fun at the underlying absuridites of these racial themes in the film. It almost uses, or I think does use humor as a coping mechanism to deal with the collective trauma or inequalities of living the Black American experience. It also does a really good job at poking fun at the so-called “post-racial” white liberal ignorance (i.e. someone who would say “I’m not racist because I have Black friends.”) I think it wants to explain that everyone has something to learn or educate themselves on when it comes to racism and the history behind it, even if you believe you know enough about it. There’s also a very striking motif in the film which is the act of smiling. In the film, Chris (played by Daniel Kaluuya) visits his girlfriend’s family’s house. When he arrives, he notices that they have a Black maid. Her nuanced performance is intentionally stiff and one-note. She is often seen with a very big smile on her face. It’s almost eerie how artificial it is. It reminded me of Darwin’s facial feedback hypothesis (which means you can trick yourself into being happy by smiling). I thought it might be interesting to relate this theory back to the coping mechanisms behind dealing with political and societal trauma. I also want to talk about the ending of the film, which Peele said he contemplated over for a while. But in my opinion, I think the ending that he chose further illustrates the power behind combining comedy and politics. (Watch the alternate ending linked in the presentation.) In my opinion, this alternate ending doesn’t reflect the tone of the film very well. Yes, it provides a very powerful and disarming commentary on the realities of systemic racism. And it’s very pertinent to notice that this is the ending the audiences expected (which says a lot about the public perception on how prevalent racism and discrimination is in our society). But Peele decided to keep a more lighthearted ending. In the theatrical cut, Chris’s friend, Rod, is the one driving the police car. It still gives audiences a beat where they think Chris is about to get arrested by the cops. This ending gives audiences a much needed refreshing point of view. (An ending where a Black man is not villainized, but is saved by his best friend.) It gives both a social commentary and a sense of hope in this very dark subject matter.
Us
Us is set in “Present Day” but its most crucial symbol takes place during a flashback scene in 1986 in which it introduces “Hands Across America.” “Hands Across America” was a nationwide event to raise money for world hunger. People would pay $35 to link hands from one end of the country to the other. While one single chain wasn’t successful, mini chains around the country were successful. This event and the way that the film comments on this event says a lot about the political context of the American identity at the time. There was this sense of naivete surrounding the American ideals at the time, often supported by President Ronald Reagan. Peele even said in an interview “Hands Across America was this idea of American optimism and hope, and Ronald Reagan-style-we-can-get-things-done-if-we-just-hold-hands. It’s a great gesture—but you can’t actually cure hunger and all that.” (Watch the two clips linked in the presentation.) Red (Lupita Nyongo’s tethered character) says in the promo “We are Americans.” It shows the desire for the oppressed to be included within American society. However, the oppressed are often repressed within American society, just like the tethered. In a way, I think Peele is poking fun at the absurdity of this idea while also giving a new meaning to the Hands Across America campaign kinda suggesting Americans turning a blind eye to oppression and societal issues happening right in front of them. Peele also said that growing up in the 80s is “when I was afraid of horror movies. That’s when the Challenger disaster happened. There are several 80s images that conjure up a feeling of both bliss and innocence, and also the darkest of the dark.”
Dark Humor and Politics
Peele is an expert at creating films that perfectly balance humor and seriousness when exploring significan political issues like racism, discrimination, prejudice. In my essay, I will explore the importance of dry/dark/sarcastic humor in the context of a political mind game film with the help of a couple academic journals. One reading specifically talks about the importance of humor post 9/11 and how it gave a new perspective to satire. It also talks about it as a coping tool as well. I will talk about the way that humor makes these tough subjects more accessible and easy to digest. And that is not to say that Peele’s films aren’t challenging. But he does give an audience the opportunity to see a serious political issue in a new light.
More Main Ideas
I also plan on talking about the psychology of coping with trauma (childhood trauma, generational trauma) and the desire to repress or forget that trauma. For example, in Get Out, hypnotization is weaponized against Chris by his girlfriend’s mother. It’s used almost to make Chris forget his identity as a Black man and succomb to the white ruler. I also plan on relating Nope, Timecrimes, and Source Code to a politicized psychoanalysis. Timecrimes is a less politicized approach but one that is heavy on the usage of comedy.
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