Without question, “Get Out,” was one of the most controversial and thought-provoking films of the year, and many were expecting it to get substantial consideration from the voters for the Golden Globe Awards, which it did. However, while the film has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, the category in which it has been nominated as many people scratching their heads. It seems that the voters only considered the comedic undertones of the film. The film was nominated for being an outstanding comedy musical. From my perspective, it seems that there is an attempt to do everything possible to make the movie disappear.
There were definitely some comedic undertones to the film; however, the film was dark and, at times, frightening, having the average person classify it as a horror film. More importantly, the film served as a social commentary on racial divide in this country – a divide that Americans are constantly told does not exist, while experiencing it at an increasing intensity.
Maybe the fact that Jordan Peele directed the film swayed the decisions of those responsible for making the nominations, but the comedian, actor, and director quickly responded to the news of the nomination with a short tweet that said, “Get Out” is a documentary.
Here is my take on this situation. To nominate ‘Get Out’ as a comedy musical is a gross injustice to the film and its social message. It there is a topic that needs to be discussed in the United States, it is the lack of racial and cultural diversity and the influence of a racial caste system that tends to favor one group of people over the other. By categorizing the ‘Get Out’ as a comedy, it detracts from the seriousness of the commentary being rendered. Furthermore, placing it this particular category also denies the influence that the movie has had on social culture since its release.
There are people on both sides of the race discussion that admit the film gave them something to think about. Blacks have been talking about the sunken place ever since. This short article does not provide the platform to seriously investigate the social psychology that is explored in this movie, but it is worth mentioning. When a racial caste system is in place, the racial divide becomes about more than bigotry and hatred, because the entire system favors one group and disproportionately targets the other group for mal-treatment and mal-distribution of wealth. The oppressed group will innately attempt to assimilate into the system to find a place of comfort and acceptance, but in the process, they will lose the sense of who they are and where they come from. This is the sunken place revealed in the movie.
The theme of wealth White people somehow capturing the eyes, physicality, and variety of Blacks in order to live vicariously through them in ways unimaginable examines a dynamic that is normally avoided at all cost. This movie should be either categorized as a documentary since this is how the director defines it, or as a horror film, but it definitely does not deserve to be relegated to the status of being a comedy musical.
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