by: Rachel Juay
A Brief Synopsis of the Film [Spoiler warning!]
Chris, a budding African-American photographer, is on a weekend getaway with his White girlfriend, Rose, to meet her family. The film revolves around Chris’ encounters with the Armitage family and his discomfort in being the only Black person around when the Armitages invite their other majority-White friends over the weekend. A series of events unfold, and Chris finds himself extremely disconcerted by the other Black people he is surrounded by—the Armitage’s helper, Georgina; the Armitage’s gardener, Walter; and Logan King, the young Black husband of an older White woman at the Armitage’s gathering. After being hypnotised by Rose’s mother, Chris finds himself in a precarious situation, finding out that the Armitages are involved in a sinister plot to transfer the consciousness of a blind art dealer, Jim Hudson, into Chris’ youthful body. The film is a meta-commentary on race, racist stereotypes and privilege.
Get Out: A Commentary on Race Relations in the 21st Century
This article seeks to discuss how Patricia Hill Collins’ ideas of oppression in the hegemonic and interpersonal domains are portrayed and reflected in the film. Consequently, I discuss how the film seeks to undermine this oppression by encouraging viewers like me and you to think deeper about the types of power dynamics we share with others.
To begin, I’d like to explain what Collins means by oppression in the hegemonic and interpersonal domains of power. The hegemonic domain of power is the domain that produces controlling images that validate the use of these discriminatory policies by dominant groups (Collins, 1999, p.284). A historical example of oppression in this domain would be the “grandfather clause” (Library of Congress, 2019) that prohibited many African American slaves from exercising their right to vote in the early 1900s. This clause, determining one’s “American-ess” and therefore claim to vote, stipulated that a man was allowed to vote only if his grandfather had voted—this made it impossible for African American slaves to vote. Here, one’s heritage was a measure of one’s right to vote, and therefore used to systematically exclude those who did not possess the heritage. On the other hand, the interpersonal domain of power deals with everyday interactions that exert or take away power from an individual (Collins, 1999, p.287). Oppression in this domain can involve microaggressions against someone of a different race and demeans them rather than empowering them. For instance, a simple comment like “you’re smart for a Black person” possesses a negative judgement on Black people’s intelligence under the guise of a compliment.
Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” manages to effortlessly weave depictions of these oppressions into the film’s plot. For instance, building up to the climax of the movie, we see Chris’ interactions with the Armitage’s White friends; how he is treated by these White characters demonstrates oppression in the interpersonal domain of power. At one point, a White woman with an older husband in a wheelchair approaches Chris and feels his arm, adding that she thinks he is very attractive. She later turns to Rose and asks, “if it’s true; is [Black] better”, which makes Chris very uncomfortable. This micro-aggression is built on the cultural myth that Black men are sexually virile in bed. Translated onto the screen, Chris’ visible discomfort and shock upon receiving the comment is a poignant reminder of the visceral effect that micro-aggressions can have on others. The strange interactions that the Armitages’ White friends have with Chris is later revealed by Roman Armitage, Rose’s grandfather, to be a reflection of the physical qualities that the White clientele is looking for to transfer their consciousness into. Indeed, the Armitages are involved in a horrific scheme where they capture young Black people and sell their bodies off to the highest bidder; after which, the bodies are used to hold the consciousness of the White person, allowing them to have a prolonged life in a ‘virile’ body.
At the climax of the movie, as Chris is detained by the Armitages and awaiting the transplant of Jim Hudson’s consciousness, an eerie video of Roman Armitage plays, explaining why Chris was chosen for the transplant:
“You’ve been chosen because of the physical advantages you’ve enjoyed your entire lifetime. With your natural gifts and [the White race’s] determination, we could both be part of something greater, something perfect.” A video of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon plays.
A pattern emerges that the Armitages have always chosen Black people for their rich, White clientele’s consciousnesses to be transplanted into. They have long justified the sinister practice because of assumptions made on the virility of Black people’s bodies—this idea originating and mirroring the justification of Black slavery in America in the 19thcentury. “Get Out”, a contemporary 2018 thriller, strikes fear into the audience by bringing the notion of slavery back onto the big screen. It haunts the viewer not only because we fear for Chris’ safety, but how the violence and brutality of slavery can be justified by the essentialist assumption that Black people’s bodies are different from others’; that White people’s minds are more superior and therefore worth more than those of others. It is a poignant reminder of how a simple assumption of “nature’s hierarchy” can lead to a lifetime of subjugation for some.
Overall, “Get Out” does an excellent job in attempting to undermine the hegemonic and interpersonal oppressions by prompting viewers to think deeper into how we interact with those around us. The stark portrayals of micro-aggressions and racist stereotypes illustrate how easy it is for some to justify the oppression and harm of others based on misinformation. In sum, the movie acts as an important reminder that these learned actions still occur today, and they can be unlearned, so as to prevent the harm that others feel at the hands of racial injustice.
References:
Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Revised, 10th Anniv., 2nd edition, Routledge, 1999.
Library of Congress. Voting Rights for African Americans. 2019, https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/voting-rights-african-americans.html.
NPR. ‘The Racial History Of The “Grandfather Clause”’. NPR.Org, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/10/21/239081586/the-racial-history-of-the-grandfather-clause. Accessed 1 May 2019.
Peele, Jordan. Get Out. Universal Pictures, 2017.
If you'd like to see more on Collin's four domains of power and what oppression looks like in each, refer to this infographic (left), made for Women's Day 2019.