Current Events > I don't really see how Get Out is actually about race (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

As far as I can tell, the race component is a red herring for a pretty interesting scifi story.

First, the cult doesn't seem to be particularly kidnapping black people except recently. They make the point that black people are "in" lately, as a fashion choice, but they've kidnapped and would kidnap all sorts of people. It's really just about what sort of bodies the old fucks want to possess.

Second, I don't see how it works as an allegory for slavery. The black people who they kidnap don't actually become slaves because they don't maintain control over themselves. They're more akin to prisoners who are observers rather than willful actors.

Third, the workers on the property are also a red herring as it turns out that these are the girlfriends' grandparents who live there -- they're not actually workers.

Am I missing something?
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that's why it's such a good movie

Transcendentia posted...

that's why it's such a good movie

I agree but I read that the director/writer says it's about slavery. I don't see how.
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its not about slavery. there are allusions to slavery, but the movie is about subtle "racism".

as far as the slavery thing goes, it's likely a parallel about how rich people bid on black bodies like they did during slavery auctions
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On_The_Edge posted...

Transcendentia posted...

that's why it's such a good movie

I agree but I read that the director/writer says it's about slavery. I don't see how.

well this is definitely a case of the director just saying whatever it takes to get maximum traction with audiences everywhere, imo.

I just loved it because it was a great thriller movie.
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anyway, it seems the family had a fixation on black people after the grandad lost to Jesse Owens, but the rest of the group got on board gradually for various reasons (black people "being in style", for example)

Edit: and her grandparents most likely just play servant roles to put the future victims at ease, because they'll be seeing other black people in the area, but do their own thing when it's just them
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That plot twist at the end with his girlfriend I did not see coming at all.
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The movie was about wiping away black people's identities and culture to use their bodies for their own purposes (because they are fit, for a fetish etc.)

That entire auction scene was all about racism and had a double meaning. Watch it again.
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I think the race wasn't a red herring as much as an overlay, if that makes sense. Agreed that it was much better than I expected, except for the comedy bits.. just didn't seem to fit with the scenes they were in at the end.