I got 5 on it
December 25, 2018 8:55 AM Subscribe
The first trailer for Us. A new nightmare from the mind of Oscar winner Jordan Peele (Get Out), starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o (Black Panther, 12 Years a Slave) and Winston Duke (Black Panther).
Us as described in Entertainment Weekly: "The story is set in the present day and follows Adelaide and Gabe Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) as they take their kids to Adelaide’s old childhood beachside home in Northern California for the summer. After a day at the beach with the Tyler family (which includes Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker), Adelaide — who’s haunted by a lingering trauma from her past — becomes increasingly more paranoid that something bad will happen to her family. As night falls, the Wilsons see four figures holding hands and standing silently at the bottom of their driveway…"
Us as described in Entertainment Weekly: "The story is set in the present day and follows Adelaide and Gabe Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) as they take their kids to Adelaide’s old childhood beachside home in Northern California for the summer. After a day at the beach with the Tyler family (which includes Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker), Adelaide — who’s haunted by a lingering trauma from her past — becomes increasingly more paranoid that something bad will happen to her family. As night falls, the Wilsons see four figures holding hands and standing silently at the bottom of their driveway…"
It means you're paying for half a dime-bag.
posted by jordantwodelta at 9:25 AM on December 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by jordantwodelta at 9:25 AM on December 25, 2018 [18 favorites]
Oh noooo. I will buy opening weekend tickets for someone else, or for empty seats, but I don't think I can make it through that.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:32 AM on December 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 9:32 AM on December 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
Forget scientists trying to eradicate sleep, just show this trailer at intervals and everyone will be awake forever. MY GODS.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:41 AM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:41 AM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I was all set to watch Get Out for the first time back around Halloween. I was getting into it, enjoying the growing sense of unease, then it got to that scene where it mom is stirring her tea in the tea cup, grating that metal spoon around and around the inside of that damned ceramic hellmouth. The audio track focusing in on the dreadful cacophony of stainless steel on china. Louder and louder it got: the incessant grating, scraping. I could feel the microfragments of ceramic glaze ablating off the inside rim; no, off of my soul! The scraping, scraping, scraping. Clouds gathered, lightning stuck. Something broke inside me. I grabbed the remote, changed the input, issuing a scream of primal relief.
I decided not to continue on with Get Out, thinking, perhaps wrongly, that any production that had left such soul-maiming AMSR trigger in the final product was too dangerous for me to attempt.
I hope Us doesn't have a scene like that.
posted by glonous keming at 9:47 AM on December 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
I decided not to continue on with Get Out, thinking, perhaps wrongly, that any production that had left such soul-maiming AMSR trigger in the final product was too dangerous for me to attempt.
I hope Us doesn't have a scene like that.
posted by glonous keming at 9:47 AM on December 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'm going to need an entire Does the Dog Die trigger warning subcategory to warn me WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE SCISSORS.
"Peele and his cast are tight-lipped about the horrors that befall the Wilsons, but Peele does reveal one key detail: The monsters in his movie are called the Tethered. All we know is that the Wilsons most certainly suffer a holiday from hell. Nyong’o says 'it turns into this relentless nightmare that taps into [Adelaide’s] deepest fears and ours as well — the idea that we might be our own worst enemies.'"
No cutting! No tethering! No scissors!!!
posted by nicebookrack at 9:55 AM on December 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
"Peele and his cast are tight-lipped about the horrors that befall the Wilsons, but Peele does reveal one key detail: The monsters in his movie are called the Tethered. All we know is that the Wilsons most certainly suffer a holiday from hell. Nyong’o says 'it turns into this relentless nightmare that taps into [Adelaide’s] deepest fears and ours as well — the idea that we might be our own worst enemies.'"
No cutting! No tethering! No scissors!!!
posted by nicebookrack at 9:55 AM on December 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
And they said Jungian theory was dead.
posted by New England Cultist at 10:00 AM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by New England Cultist at 10:00 AM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
To prepare, Peele gave Nyong’o 10 classic horror films to watch so they would have “a shared language” when filming: Dead Again, The Shining, The Babadook, It Follows, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Birds, Funny Games, Martyrs, Let the Right One In, and The Sixth Sense.
Hey! Me and Jordan Peele are the only two people on this planet who consider Dead Again a classic!
If this list is supposed to provide her with a shared "horror trope" language, I gotta wonder if the inclusion of Dead Again means that someone is the reincarnation of someone else, and if it's a white person come back as a black person, or vice-versa, what interesting commentary the film might make from that.
But he probably put it on the list so Nyong'o would learn Fear of Scissors. Alas.
posted by tzikeh at 10:05 AM on December 25, 2018 [30 favorites]
Hey! Me and Jordan Peele are the only two people on this planet who consider Dead Again a classic!
If this list is supposed to provide her with a shared "horror trope" language, I gotta wonder if the inclusion of Dead Again means that someone is the reincarnation of someone else, and if it's a white person come back as a black person, or vice-versa, what interesting commentary the film might make from that.
But he probably put it on the list so Nyong'o would learn Fear of Scissors. Alas.
posted by tzikeh at 10:05 AM on December 25, 2018 [30 favorites]
Meanwhile, the list of big names attached to Peele's reeboot of The Twilight Zone keeps getting longer.
I don't throw around the term "master of horror" lightly, especially since so much modern horror isn't really horrifying at its core, but damn.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:08 AM on December 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
I don't throw around the term "master of horror" lightly, especially since so much modern horror isn't really horrifying at its core, but damn.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:08 AM on December 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
.@JordanPeele out here being the Black Grinch and ruining everyone’s Christmas for no goddamn reason at all. [SLTweet]
posted by Etrigan at 10:10 AM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 10:10 AM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yeah, I'd guess if you're a fan of Dead Again, then ... THIS IS FOR YOU!!!
posted by LionIndex at 10:15 AM on December 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by LionIndex at 10:15 AM on December 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
Peele has Lovecraft Country coming out on TV in 2019 too! Master of horror indeed.
Peele at the trailer premiere for Us: “[It was] very important for me to have a black family at the center of a horror film,” Peele said. “But it’s also important to note this movie, unlike Get Out, is not about race. It is, instead, about something that I feel has become an undeniable truth: the simple fact that we are our own worst enemies.”
So this ostensibly will not be about race, with the footnote that a wide-release horror film made by acclaimed black filmmakers and starring acclaimed black actors, playing a successful black family going about their lives as the focus, is already immediately about race due to the rarity of that mainstream portrayal.
posted by nicebookrack at 10:26 AM on December 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
Peele at the trailer premiere for Us: “[It was] very important for me to have a black family at the center of a horror film,” Peele said. “But it’s also important to note this movie, unlike Get Out, is not about race. It is, instead, about something that I feel has become an undeniable truth: the simple fact that we are our own worst enemies.”
So this ostensibly will not be about race, with the footnote that a wide-release horror film made by acclaimed black filmmakers and starring acclaimed black actors, playing a successful black family going about their lives as the focus, is already immediately about race due to the rarity of that mainstream portrayal.
posted by nicebookrack at 10:26 AM on December 25, 2018 [26 favorites]
I hate horror movies. But I enjoyed Get Out a lot and this looks even creepier.
Merry Christmas indeed.
posted by hijinx at 10:36 AM on December 25, 2018
Merry Christmas indeed.
posted by hijinx at 10:36 AM on December 25, 2018
Luniz - I Got 5 on It
The Root, Once You See Jordan Peele's Us Trailer, You'll Never Hear 'I Got 5 On It' The Same Way Again: "The trailer’s soundtrack choice has to be intentional, right? I have a feeling Peele doesn’t do anything 'just because.' I got five on it. There are five main characters here. The father, mother, son, daughter and the random white lady (I already don’t trust her for reasons). (Editor’s note: Given Peele’s choice to open Get Out with “Run, Rabbit, Run,” I’m going to say it’s hella intentional.)"
posted by nicebookrack at 10:40 AM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Root, Once You See Jordan Peele's Us Trailer, You'll Never Hear 'I Got 5 On It' The Same Way Again: "The trailer’s soundtrack choice has to be intentional, right? I have a feeling Peele doesn’t do anything 'just because.' I got five on it. There are five main characters here. The father, mother, son, daughter and the random white lady (I already don’t trust her for reasons). (Editor’s note: Given Peele’s choice to open Get Out with “Run, Rabbit, Run,” I’m going to say it’s hella intentional.)"
posted by nicebookrack at 10:40 AM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
[It was] very important for me to have a black family at the center of a horror film,” Peele said. “But it’s also important to note this movie, unlike Get Out, is not about race."
I hadn't read the EW piece before I posted my comment about the trailer, and so I instantly assumed that the movie would be about racial tension, or some comment on racism or white appropriation, which just goes to show how fucking racist I am despite that I work every day not to be so. The first thought I had was *not* "This is a film about a family and the bad horror-things that happen to it," which is absolutely the first thought I would have had if the central family in the film had been white. Instead it was "If this is about black people then it must be about race."
It's never done, the work white people do to un-fuck ourselves from how badly structural, societal racism has fucked us. But the more we get movies like this one, and Moonlight, and Black Panther and all of the other "breakthrough" films that are about black people being People As Default rather than Black As Default -- the more these filmmakers can flood the market with films about black people that aren't about Blackness -- the better the chance that we white people will be able to kick more of our racism to the curb.
Representation is a hell of a drug.
posted by tzikeh at 10:41 AM on December 25, 2018 [46 favorites]
I hadn't read the EW piece before I posted my comment about the trailer, and so I instantly assumed that the movie would be about racial tension, or some comment on racism or white appropriation, which just goes to show how fucking racist I am despite that I work every day not to be so. The first thought I had was *not* "This is a film about a family and the bad horror-things that happen to it," which is absolutely the first thought I would have had if the central family in the film had been white. Instead it was "If this is about black people then it must be about race."
It's never done, the work white people do to un-fuck ourselves from how badly structural, societal racism has fucked us. But the more we get movies like this one, and Moonlight, and Black Panther and all of the other "breakthrough" films that are about black people being People As Default rather than Black As Default -- the more these filmmakers can flood the market with films about black people that aren't about Blackness -- the better the chance that we white people will be able to kick more of our racism to the curb.
Representation is a hell of a drug.
posted by tzikeh at 10:41 AM on December 25, 2018 [46 favorites]
Adelaide’s old childhood beachside home in Northern California for the summer
So Santa Cruz, right? It's the only Northern California town with a boardwalk like that.
Santa Cruz means Lost Boys. I am so down for a Jordan Peele homage to Lost Boys. Maybe he can get Kiefer to do a cameo.
posted by Nelson at 10:49 AM on December 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
So Santa Cruz, right? It's the only Northern California town with a boardwalk like that.
Santa Cruz means Lost Boys. I am so down for a Jordan Peele homage to Lost Boys. Maybe he can get Kiefer to do a cameo.
posted by Nelson at 10:49 AM on December 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
I got $8.50 on it. (Matinee pricing.) Cannot wait.
Re the Twilight Zone reboot, I hope Peele does a take on this episode from the 1980s series.
posted by fuse theorem at 10:52 AM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Re the Twilight Zone reboot, I hope Peele does a take on this episode from the 1980s series.
posted by fuse theorem at 10:52 AM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
The movie has a creepy doppelgänger family and at least one pair of identical twins in the cast. As I am a movie wimp who hides from horror movies, are any films in Peele's theme list particularly doppelgänger-y?
I am familiar enough by reputation with Funny Games and Martyrs to know that any movie inspired by them may involve torture gorn that I need to stay away from
posted by nicebookrack at 11:19 AM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I am familiar enough by reputation with Funny Games and Martyrs to know that any movie inspired by them may involve torture gorn that I need to stay away from
posted by nicebookrack at 11:19 AM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm seeing this in theaters but I'm NOT watching the trailer. Still kinda peeved how much Get Out gave away.
posted by es_de_bah at 11:21 AM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by es_de_bah at 11:21 AM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
are any films in Peele's theme list particularly doppelgänger-y?
Dead Again, to an extent. Though honestly Dead Again isn't a horror film so much as a suspense film with a bit of a "thriller movie" ending.
posted by tzikeh at 11:28 AM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Dead Again, to an extent. Though honestly Dead Again isn't a horror film so much as a suspense film with a bit of a "thriller movie" ending.
posted by tzikeh at 11:28 AM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I need this movie like breathing, which I doubtless will forget to do whilst watching this.
posted by XtinaS at 11:28 AM on December 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by XtinaS at 11:28 AM on December 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
That looks awesome.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:52 AM on December 25, 2018
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:52 AM on December 25, 2018
On the one hand: It's great to see a horror movie that doesn't look like it's based on people being stupid ("let's split up and wander through the woods alone") or packed with clichés (or worse, packed with racist and sexist clichés), or is only horrific if you share the worldview and religious biases of the creator.
On the other hand: Nope nope nope NOPE NOPE NOPE nOpe NOPE nope nope...
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:53 AM on December 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
On the other hand: Nope nope nope NOPE NOPE NOPE nOpe NOPE nope nope...
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:53 AM on December 25, 2018 [20 favorites]
I hadn't read the EW piece before I posted my comment about the trailer, and so I instantly assumed that the movie would be about racial tension, or some comment on racism or white appropriation, which just goes to show how fucking racist I am despite that I work every day not to be so.
I wouldn't beat yourself up quite so much. I mean, as nicebookrack says: So this ostensibly will not be about race, with the footnote that a wide-release horror film made by acclaimed black filmmakers and starring acclaimed black actors, playing a successful black family going about their lives as the focus, is already immediately about race due to the rarity of that mainstream portrayal.
To the extent that we live in a racialized society, any story that features, well, humans, is going to be "about" race. A story in which the main characters are black, even if "race" isn't an explicit concept in the narrative, even if characters never mention anything about their own (or others') race, will inevitably deal with it as a topic insofar as it presents characters living with the realities of being black in the modern world -- and audiences will also react differently because of the way we have been socialized into a racialized understanding ourselves and others. If you did a shot-for-shot, line-for-line remake of this film, with the only change being that you replaced the black characters with white characters, it would be a quite different film, I can only imagine.
posted by Saxon Kane at 11:55 AM on December 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
I wouldn't beat yourself up quite so much. I mean, as nicebookrack says: So this ostensibly will not be about race, with the footnote that a wide-release horror film made by acclaimed black filmmakers and starring acclaimed black actors, playing a successful black family going about their lives as the focus, is already immediately about race due to the rarity of that mainstream portrayal.
To the extent that we live in a racialized society, any story that features, well, humans, is going to be "about" race. A story in which the main characters are black, even if "race" isn't an explicit concept in the narrative, even if characters never mention anything about their own (or others') race, will inevitably deal with it as a topic insofar as it presents characters living with the realities of being black in the modern world -- and audiences will also react differently because of the way we have been socialized into a racialized understanding ourselves and others. If you did a shot-for-shot, line-for-line remake of this film, with the only change being that you replaced the black characters with white characters, it would be a quite different film, I can only imagine.
posted by Saxon Kane at 11:55 AM on December 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
This looks great. On another note, I know the sample from that song from the more recent "Hello" with Busta Rhymes and Chance the Rapper. Goddamn that was a bit of a hunt as my brain was going crazy.
posted by nevercalm at 11:59 AM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by nevercalm at 11:59 AM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Jordan Peele breaks down the frightening first Us trailer
"I think rabbits and scissors, they’re both scary things to me, and both inane things, so I love subverting and bringing out the scariness in things you wouldn’t necessarily associate with that."
posted by nicebookrack at 12:01 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
"I think rabbits and scissors, they’re both scary things to me, and both inane things, so I love subverting and bringing out the scariness in things you wouldn’t necessarily associate with that."
posted by nicebookrack at 12:01 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
This is just another project getting in the way of his adaptation of Lovecraft Country, frankly.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:08 PM on December 25, 2018
posted by ryanshepard at 12:08 PM on December 25, 2018
I am excite about this!
posted by supermedusa at 12:09 PM on December 25, 2018
posted by supermedusa at 12:09 PM on December 25, 2018
This trailer does seem like it gives a lot away, which I i take to mean that revealing the nature of the monsters is only the tip of the iceberg.
I am very excited. We’re in the midst of a horror renaissance, and I am happy to be living through it.
posted by ejs at 12:14 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I am very excited. We’re in the midst of a horror renaissance, and I am happy to be living through it.
posted by ejs at 12:14 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Winston Duke seems like he’s incorporating little elements of Jordan Peele into his performance — hairline, glasses, speech cadence. God, I can’t wait to analyze the shit out of the whole movie.
posted by palomar at 12:18 PM on December 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by palomar at 12:18 PM on December 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
Winston Duke seems like he’s incorporating little elements of Jordan Peele into his performance
Yeah, I had to watch the trailer again immediately (despite being enTIREly creeped the fuck out) after I realized that it wasn't Peele.
posted by Etrigan at 12:22 PM on December 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Yeah, I had to watch the trailer again immediately (despite being enTIREly creeped the fuck out) after I realized that it wasn't Peele.
posted by Etrigan at 12:22 PM on December 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Jordan Peele's professional life has gone from talented, intermittently brilliant comedic writer/actor to, if he can keep up with his killer directorial debut, a certifiable horror/suspense genius. I'm really hyped to see this and his new Twilight Zone series.
Still won't be enough to get me to spring for CBS All Access, though. I won't drop $10/mo on just one or even three or four good TV shows.
posted by tclark at 12:43 PM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Still won't be enough to get me to spring for CBS All Access, though. I won't drop $10/mo on just one or even three or four good TV shows.
posted by tclark at 12:43 PM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
So Santa Cruz, right?
Yup, they filmed for a few weeks in Santa Cruz, and that is certainly the main beach with the boardwalk in the trailer. I saw a few scenes being filmed that may or may not give away what the past trauma was.
So typical though. Santa Cruz has a reputation for being so progressive, but we can see who gets invited into the vampire biker club and who gets attacked by their evil doppelganger family.
posted by subocoyne at 1:24 PM on December 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
Yup, they filmed for a few weeks in Santa Cruz, and that is certainly the main beach with the boardwalk in the trailer. I saw a few scenes being filmed that may or may not give away what the past trauma was.
So typical though. Santa Cruz has a reputation for being so progressive, but we can see who gets invited into the vampire biker club and who gets attacked by their evil doppelganger family.
posted by subocoyne at 1:24 PM on December 25, 2018 [13 favorites]
But the UCSC mascot is a banana slug, so they've got that going for them, which is nice
posted by The otter lady at 2:01 PM on December 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by The otter lady at 2:01 PM on December 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
Speaking of colleges, check out Winston Duke casually sporting a cozy sweatshirt from prominent HBCU Howard University. Judging from the kids wearing shirts themed with Jaws, Thriller, and rabbits, I expect that details like costuming are going to be very deliberate and densely layered with references and shout-outs in this movie.
More notable personal-is-political representation details observed from Twitter: Defying common casting colorism with a black family with all dark skin. Especially a wife/mother/female lead with dark skin and natural hair and a daughter with dark skin and natural hair who does ballet.
Also this very important observation which I co-sign: "Today I learned that my sexuality is actually Corny Pops Winston Duke. Please, sir, tell me your best Dad(dy) Jokes."
posted by nicebookrack at 3:01 PM on December 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
More notable personal-is-political representation details observed from Twitter: Defying common casting colorism with a black family with all dark skin. Especially a wife/mother/female lead with dark skin and natural hair and a daughter with dark skin and natural hair who does ballet.
Also this very important observation which I co-sign: "Today I learned that my sexuality is actually Corny Pops Winston Duke. Please, sir, tell me your best Dad(dy) Jokes."
posted by nicebookrack at 3:01 PM on December 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Ok, based on the trailer, I will attempt to spoil the film. A rogue government agency, or lone mad scientist, is doing testing with clones. Hence the rabbits and creepy-looking facility. A family is cloned--intentionally? accidentally? incidentally?--and the clones escape (are released?) and wreak havoc. In the end Our Heroes kill the clones, but the final shot leads us to believe that the clones did a switcharoo, cut to black.
posted by zardoz at 3:20 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 3:20 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
None of Peele's list are especially doppelganger-y, nicebookrack.
It Follows and Let the Right One In are about replacing people, though.
posted by doctornemo at 3:34 PM on December 25, 2018
It Follows and Let the Right One In are about replacing people, though.
posted by doctornemo at 3:34 PM on December 25, 2018
I went to UCSC, I worked at the Boardwalk, and I lived across the street from a house where they were filming The Lost Boys. I don't know what "I got five on it" means although in my past I have bought a dime bag, in the ancient times.
°Get Out" was scary but super good. This trailer is just scary.
posted by chocolatetiara at 3:55 PM on December 25, 2018
°Get Out" was scary but super good. This trailer is just scary.
posted by chocolatetiara at 3:55 PM on December 25, 2018
That silhouette of the evil family in the driveway seems straight out of every comic book where the heroes are stuck in the mirror universe and run into their team, who steps into the light and OH NO IT'S THEIR EVIL DOPPLEGANGERS.
Once you see it, it seems obvious how great a premise it is for a horror movie, but I can't think of anyone who's done it with this kind of horror slant before.
posted by straight at 4:03 PM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
Once you see it, it seems obvious how great a premise it is for a horror movie, but I can't think of anyone who's done it with this kind of horror slant before.
posted by straight at 4:03 PM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]
That's a good trailer. I hope this film is as strong as Get Out.
As for ruining Christmas... does no one else watch or read more horror at Christmas? Because its all about horror for me (well and eating...) Currently, I've been working my way through M.R. James (again) with my time off.
posted by Ashwagandha at 4:04 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
As for ruining Christmas... does no one else watch or read more horror at Christmas? Because its all about horror for me (well and eating...) Currently, I've been working my way through M.R. James (again) with my time off.
posted by Ashwagandha at 4:04 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Let the Right One In is about vampires, and I guess people turning into vampires is replacing people by the same line of thought that turning people into zombies is replacement. But personally I'd categorize LTROI as more of a Monster Romance with a side of "humans are the real monsters" and a monster-sympathetic happy ending. (The original book is a lot more queer and a lot more horror, as child vampire Eli's horrific backstory is explored in more detail and the storyline with the pedophile is a lot more gruesomely explicit.)
posted by nicebookrack at 4:09 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by nicebookrack at 4:09 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Good lord!!!!!!! I can't wait for this to come out. I am certain I will enjoy reading the plot synopsis on Wikipedia.
Yes. I am thrilled to pieces that Jordan Peele is meeting with success and that there's funding and space for this movie, and I will absolutely talk it up and urge people to see it, but it is obviously Too Scary For Frowner.
On strict technical terms there are many more impressive aspects to Lupita Nyong'o's career, ranging from her actorly chops to her fashion sense to her ability to select roles, but I think I am officially most impressed that she was able to watch Martyrs, a film so far past my scariness threshold that not only are the trailer and assorted film stills too scary, the Wikipedia summary is too scary.
posted by Frowner at 4:10 PM on December 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
Yes. I am thrilled to pieces that Jordan Peele is meeting with success and that there's funding and space for this movie, and I will absolutely talk it up and urge people to see it, but it is obviously Too Scary For Frowner.
On strict technical terms there are many more impressive aspects to Lupita Nyong'o's career, ranging from her actorly chops to her fashion sense to her ability to select roles, but I think I am officially most impressed that she was able to watch Martyrs, a film so far past my scariness threshold that not only are the trailer and assorted film stills too scary, the Wikipedia summary is too scary.
posted by Frowner at 4:10 PM on December 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
Well, here I've just been getting over my childhood fear of rabbits (thanks a bunch Watership Down cartoon movie). God damn it.
posted by duffell at 4:15 PM on December 25, 2018
posted by duffell at 4:15 PM on December 25, 2018
The doppelgänger family's masks and red jumpsuits will be THE family Halloween costume to beat in October 2019!
posted by nicebookrack at 4:17 PM on December 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by nicebookrack at 4:17 PM on December 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
...are any films in Peele's theme list particularly doppelgänger-y?
There is a pair of ghosts in The Shining who look like, and are dressed like, identical twins. There are also a bunch of shots with people looking meaningfully at their own reflections, and ones where the face in the mirror is what the audience sees. The protagonist family is going to do the same job, in the same place and circumstances as the last family who attempted it before falling into insanity and mudder. I forget where my next point wandered off to,
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:23 PM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
There is a pair of ghosts in The Shining who look like, and are dressed like, identical twins. There are also a bunch of shots with people looking meaningfully at their own reflections, and ones where the face in the mirror is what the audience sees. The protagonist family is going to do the same job, in the same place and circumstances as the last family who attempted it before falling into insanity and mudder. I forget where my next point wandered off to,
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:23 PM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
And they said Jungian theory was dead.
Hey add a *SPOILER ALERT* next time pal
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:57 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hey add a *SPOILER ALERT* next time pal
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:57 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm a light-weight when it comes to horror, and occasionally I have to "nope" out of a horror movie if it gets too scary. This is the first time though that I've had to nope out of a trailer. Fantastic work?
posted by Balna Watya at 5:59 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Balna Watya at 5:59 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I, too, look forward to reading the wikipedia summary of this movie and capturing other aspects of it from conversation on twitter.
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:08 PM on December 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:08 PM on December 25, 2018 [15 favorites]
I never much cared for horror movies, because they seemed filled with stupid people, doing stupid things. WHich was fine, I understood on an intellectual level that horror movies aren't really about scaring people or not scaring them much. Because deep down, the horror genre didn't really want to dish out the true horror, like rejection or being alone (pipe down fellow introverts, just making a point).
But now Peele looks like he's honestly trying to scare the living shit out of people and oh boy is that trailer working its mojo. Somebody hold me, please?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:26 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
But now Peele looks like he's honestly trying to scare the living shit out of people and oh boy is that trailer working its mojo. Somebody hold me, please?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:26 PM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I suspect that the youngest Wilson was exchanged for his Tethered counterpart early on—perhaps even before the start of the film. Of the four Othered figures, his counterpart stands out visually and behaviorally, and they aren’t afraid or violently maneuvering to avoid meeting and studying each other.
I suspect the film is about the resistance we have to overthrowing capitalism. We have to change our lifestyles and societal structures before we kill ourselves and each other. It’s frightening to think what that might mean in terms of personal privations. We will become people we wouldn’t recognize. The young ones will accept it as a matter of course.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:09 PM on December 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
I suspect the film is about the resistance we have to overthrowing capitalism. We have to change our lifestyles and societal structures before we kill ourselves and each other. It’s frightening to think what that might mean in terms of personal privations. We will become people we wouldn’t recognize. The young ones will accept it as a matter of course.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:09 PM on December 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
My fave thing about my own experience of Get Out was that everyone I knew who saw it in the first week was more in the slightly bourgeois academic/intelligentsia camp and discussed the film with a certain . . . intellectual remove, like you'd talk about a Lars van Trier film.* I doubt most of these people even watch horror films normally, so they didn't really talk about it within the genre.
As a result, going into it I entirely failed to anticipate how good it would be as an actual horror movie.
If Peele can do that again, sign me up.
*this certainly isn't the appropriate place, but fuck Lars van Trier.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:46 PM on December 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
As a result, going into it I entirely failed to anticipate how good it would be as an actual horror movie.
If Peele can do that again, sign me up.
*this certainly isn't the appropriate place, but fuck Lars van Trier.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:46 PM on December 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
That looks like a whole gigantic pile of well executed NOPE to me. Sheesh.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:41 PM on December 25, 2018
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:41 PM on December 25, 2018
Well, here I've just been getting over my childhood fear of rabbits (thanks a bunch Watership Down cartoon movie). God damn it.
You can renew your rabbit fears with Netflix's CGI limited series of Watershed Down which just dropped recently.
posted by hippybear at 11:10 PM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
You can renew your rabbit fears with Netflix's CGI limited series of Watershed Down which just dropped recently.
posted by hippybear at 11:10 PM on December 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
And I'll probably not see this one in the theater but will probably watch at home. Peele is a director that I trust will give me meat with my jump scares, but I'm not that interested in being terrified in a dark room full of strangers anymore.
(I wanted to see A Quiet Place in the theater so badly, but couldn't overcome my dread.)
posted by hippybear at 11:12 PM on December 25, 2018
(I wanted to see A Quiet Place in the theater so badly, but couldn't overcome my dread.)
posted by hippybear at 11:12 PM on December 25, 2018
I, too, look forward to reading the wikipedia summary of this movie and capturing other aspects of it from conversation on twitter.
This describes the only way I have been able to consume any horror movie since I was about 30. I dunno what happened but I just can't anymore. However, I do love reading spoilery descriptions of these sorts of movies. And this one sounds amazing. I wish I weren't such a wimp!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:16 AM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
This describes the only way I have been able to consume any horror movie since I was about 30. I dunno what happened but I just can't anymore. However, I do love reading spoilery descriptions of these sorts of movies. And this one sounds amazing. I wish I weren't such a wimp!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:16 AM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
You can renew your rabbit fears with Netflix's CGI limited series of Watershed Down yt which just dropped recently.
nonononononononononononononono
posted by XtinaS at 3:34 AM on December 26, 2018
nonononononononononononononono
posted by XtinaS at 3:34 AM on December 26, 2018
I suspect that the youngest Wilson was exchanged for his Tethered counterpart early on—perhaps even before the start of the film.Someone on Twitter theorized that the mom had been exchanged for her Tethered counterpart, since she didn’t have the right rhythm when clapping along with the song.
posted by pxe2000 at 3:50 AM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Lyn Never beat me to it, I turned to my wife having seen it and said “oh noooooo”.
Looks fucking gorgeous. Am already horrified. When’s it out?
posted by Iteki at 3:57 AM on December 26, 2018
Looks fucking gorgeous. Am already horrified. When’s it out?
posted by Iteki at 3:57 AM on December 26, 2018
Okay, so in the past I’ve been able to get around my horror film fear by watching a movie on mute - closed captioning is not very frightening. So, when everyone here was talking about how scary the trailer was, I figured I’d try my trusty cheat and then post my experience here to help others who struggle with horror movies... but nope. I think I made it halfway through the trailer, but I can’t be sure because I was too busy closing the window.
posted by ovenmitt at 4:28 AM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ovenmitt at 4:28 AM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is obvious, I know (see post title), but the use of the I got five on it hook through this trailer is brilliant. Should win an oscar for trailer sound design.
The first couple times I watched it, i didn't realize that the scary music at the end was just the song, twisted into evil.
posted by pjenks at 6:10 AM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
The first couple times I watched it, i didn't realize that the scary music at the end was just the song, twisted into evil.
posted by pjenks at 6:10 AM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I forced myself to watch Get Out despite hating horror movies as Jordan Peele! but after watching the trailer it’s a nope from me! Too gory on top of the horror side.
posted by ellieBOA at 6:38 AM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ellieBOA at 6:38 AM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Tzikeh, I think you can let yourself off the hook on this one. This is a movie from Jordan Peele, who is best known for creating a comedy sketch show that explicitly deals with racial issues, and also for creating a horror movie that explicitly deals with racial issues. Assuming that "Us" might also do so... isn't so much racism as it is basic pattern recognition, like assuming that an M. Night Shyamalan movie might have a twist ending or that a Michael Bay movie will be basically unwatchable.
^__^
posted by Chronorin at 7:14 AM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
^__^
posted by Chronorin at 7:14 AM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
For you alter ego theorists out there, here’s some trivia: The CD single for “I Got 5 On It” includes the “clean bay ballad vocal remix” featuring performances by Digital Underground’s Shock-G and Humpty Hump.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:39 AM on December 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by infinitewindow at 7:39 AM on December 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
This looks like perfection with a side of "Oh sweet Jesus!"
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:48 AM on December 26, 2018
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:48 AM on December 26, 2018
I'm getting a different sense from "I Got 5 On It", based on the trailer --
The lyrics are saying that the singer has only got half of what's necessary (or desired). Clones could be read as someone being doubled, or as something *more* being halved....
(I would put money on this being the first attempt to dissect "I Got 5 On It" for any deeper meaning that the fact that the singer only has five bucks and a dime bag costs ten bucks.)
posted by tzikeh at 8:22 AM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
The lyrics are saying that the singer has only got half of what's necessary (or desired). Clones could be read as someone being doubled, or as something *more* being halved....
(I would put money on this being the first attempt to dissect "I Got 5 On It" for any deeper meaning that the fact that the singer only has five bucks and a dime bag costs ten bucks.)
posted by tzikeh at 8:22 AM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
From Twitter user @ItsTheBrandi:
It'd be hilarious if Jordan Peele just kept releasing trailers with songs that had no deeper meaning.
"Put It In Your Mouth is about people of the diaspora being forced to adopt a similar narrative."
"Are you sure? I think it's about sucking dick."
"READ A BOOK, CHILD."
....
A trailer where a group of black friends are playing spades while "Ass-n-Titties" plays.
"This about how the black nuclear family is being threatened by promiscuity."
"I think they're just turnt playing spades."
"I think you didn't go to grad school."
posted by elr at 8:26 AM on December 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
It'd be hilarious if Jordan Peele just kept releasing trailers with songs that had no deeper meaning.
"Put It In Your Mouth is about people of the diaspora being forced to adopt a similar narrative."
"Are you sure? I think it's about sucking dick."
"READ A BOOK, CHILD."
....
A trailer where a group of black friends are playing spades while "Ass-n-Titties" plays.
"This about how the black nuclear family is being threatened by promiscuity."
"I think they're just turnt playing spades."
"I think you didn't go to grad school."
posted by elr at 8:26 AM on December 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
I keep thinking about all of the Key and Peele sketches that flirted with or turned directly into horror (for example). It’s like Peele was hinting the whole time that he had the chops for it.
posted by gc at 8:40 AM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by gc at 8:40 AM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
To paraphrase Mel Brooks: tragedy is when I cut my finger, comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.
It seems to me that horror is just comedy but it keeps going.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:56 AM on December 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
It seems to me that horror is just comedy but it keeps going.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:56 AM on December 26, 2018 [8 favorites]
Let the Right One In is about vampires, and I guess people turning into vampires is replacing people by the same line of thought that turning people into zombies is replacement.
LtROI is about replacing people in the sense that Eli replaces Hakan (her ward/blood-procurer) with Oskar -- as, presumably, she has done for centuries, replacing one guardian with another as they age and die -- or, in the case of Hakan, get caught.
Spoilers follow, if you haven't read the book or seen the American remake:
This is a bigger theme in the novel -- Hakan is a teacher who got fired for having child pornography, and Eli explicitly seeks out people like him in order to manipulate them. Eli holds out the promise of some sort of physical affection as a way to control Hakan. It's also revealed in the novel that Eli was born male, was castrated at some point (I don't think it was voluntary, but I may not remember correctly), but presenting as a girl helps him/her to find potential male protectors.
The film downplays this aspect of the novel's story in favor of the romantic friendship angle, although there is a hint of it when Oskar peeps on Eli changing and notices that she has a gruesome scar right where a penis would have been. I don't think it's ever mentioned, and it goes by so quickly that a lot of people miss it. It makes Eli's response to Oskar all the more meaningful: "I'm not a girl" -- meaning, both that she's not a girl because she's a vampire, and that she's not a girl because she's a boy.
The fairly decent American remake Let Me In leaves out any suggestion of that Abby (the vampire) is/was born male (I guess the idea of a trans child vampire was too much for American audiences), but it does hint at the darker theme of replacement warders. Abby's protector Thomas (played by Richard Jenkins) is notably more pathetic in his desire for Abby, and there's the whole "Now 'n Later" motif throughout the movie, culminating in the final scene when Owen runs off with Abby, and as he's riding the train away from home (Abby hidden in a large trunk), he sings the Now n' Later jingle: "Eat some now, save some for later..."
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:10 AM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
LtROI is about replacing people in the sense that Eli replaces Hakan (her ward/blood-procurer) with Oskar -- as, presumably, she has done for centuries, replacing one guardian with another as they age and die -- or, in the case of Hakan, get caught.
Spoilers follow, if you haven't read the book or seen the American remake:
This is a bigger theme in the novel -- Hakan is a teacher who got fired for having child pornography, and Eli explicitly seeks out people like him in order to manipulate them. Eli holds out the promise of some sort of physical affection as a way to control Hakan. It's also revealed in the novel that Eli was born male, was castrated at some point (I don't think it was voluntary, but I may not remember correctly), but presenting as a girl helps him/her to find potential male protectors.
The film downplays this aspect of the novel's story in favor of the romantic friendship angle, although there is a hint of it when Oskar peeps on Eli changing and notices that she has a gruesome scar right where a penis would have been. I don't think it's ever mentioned, and it goes by so quickly that a lot of people miss it. It makes Eli's response to Oskar all the more meaningful: "I'm not a girl" -- meaning, both that she's not a girl because she's a vampire, and that she's not a girl because she's a boy.
The fairly decent American remake Let Me In leaves out any suggestion of that Abby (the vampire) is/was born male (I guess the idea of a trans child vampire was too much for American audiences), but it does hint at the darker theme of replacement warders. Abby's protector Thomas (played by Richard Jenkins) is notably more pathetic in his desire for Abby, and there's the whole "Now 'n Later" motif throughout the movie, culminating in the final scene when Owen runs off with Abby, and as he's riding the train away from home (Abby hidden in a large trunk), he sings the Now n' Later jingle: "Eat some now, save some for later..."
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:10 AM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I had to watch the trailer again immediately (despite being enTIREly creeped the fuck out) after I realized that it wasn't Peele.
Dudes don't look anything alike!
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:17 AM on December 26, 2018
Dudes don't look anything alike!
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:17 AM on December 26, 2018
I keep thinking about all of the Key and Peele sketches that flirted with or turned directly into horror (for example ). It’s like Peele was hinting the whole time that he had the chops for it.
posted by gc at 8:40 AM on December 26
I've been doing the same thing!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:24 AM on December 26, 2018
posted by gc at 8:40 AM on December 26
I've been doing the same thing!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:24 AM on December 26, 2018
Right as I was getting ready for bed last night, I started thinking about this trailer. And I got myself so creeped out, I couldn't sleep. FROM A TRAILER.
Jordan Peele is someone for whom I have pretty much endless good will, so I'm in for wherever he wants to take us. BUT THIS LOOKS SO SCARY.
Lupita Nyong'o's delivery of, "Go put on your shoes" makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
posted by Aquifer at 1:45 PM on December 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Jordan Peele is someone for whom I have pretty much endless good will, so I'm in for wherever he wants to take us. BUT THIS LOOKS SO SCARY.
Lupita Nyong'o's delivery of, "Go put on your shoes" makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
posted by Aquifer at 1:45 PM on December 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I wonder if there’s something wrong with me. I loved Get Out, but never felt scared by it. This trailer makes me excited to see the movie, but I don’t even feel mildly distressed.
Jump scares make me jump and really visceral gore turns my stomach, but movies just don’t scare me. Am I missing a gene? Does anyone else feel this way?
posted by argybarg at 1:56 PM on December 26, 2018
Jump scares make me jump and really visceral gore turns my stomach, but movies just don’t scare me. Am I missing a gene? Does anyone else feel this way?
posted by argybarg at 1:56 PM on December 26, 2018
Thinking about the racial element of this film (or lack thereof):
Even the "first contact" scene in the trailer (strangers in the driveway) is subtly racialized. Were this a film about a white family, perhaps the father would have gone outside to confront the strangers, but just as likely -- maybe even more likely -- is that they would call the police. A black family, however, is going to be much less likely to do so in modern USA, particularly if they think that the trespassers are also black. I'm not saying that's an "intentional choice" by Peele in the script, but just a way in which every story is going to be inflected by race, even if it isn't "about" race.
posted by Saxon Kane at 3:59 PM on December 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Even the "first contact" scene in the trailer (strangers in the driveway) is subtly racialized. Were this a film about a white family, perhaps the father would have gone outside to confront the strangers, but just as likely -- maybe even more likely -- is that they would call the police. A black family, however, is going to be much less likely to do so in modern USA, particularly if they think that the trespassers are also black. I'm not saying that's an "intentional choice" by Peele in the script, but just a way in which every story is going to be inflected by race, even if it isn't "about" race.
posted by Saxon Kane at 3:59 PM on December 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
From I Said Bitch (my first introduction to K&P) to this - a hell of a career path.
I'd skipped the trailer until someone on Twitter mentioned the song - which I had as my ringtone (instrumental) for about a year.. dang.
posted by mrbill at 4:25 PM on December 26, 2018
I'd skipped the trailer until someone on Twitter mentioned the song - which I had as my ringtone (instrumental) for about a year.. dang.
posted by mrbill at 4:25 PM on December 26, 2018
Were this a film about a white family, perhaps the father would have gone outside to confront the strangers, but just as likely -- maybe even more likely -- is that they would call the police.
I was wondering if there might not be an element of "What if I were confronted by the version of myself white people are imagining when they call the police on me?"
posted by straight at 8:36 PM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was wondering if there might not be an element of "What if I were confronted by the version of myself white people are imagining when they call the police on me?"
posted by straight at 8:36 PM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Even the "first contact" scene in the trailer (strangers in the driveway) is subtly racialized.
I'm very curious to see whether that's a you thing (the general you), or whether Peele has injected racial elements into the script. It may be impossible to put a black family in any situation in America and not have a large part of the audience find a racial element.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:24 AM on December 27, 2018
I'm very curious to see whether that's a you thing (the general you), or whether Peele has injected racial elements into the script. It may be impossible to put a black family in any situation in America and not have a large part of the audience find a racial element.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:24 AM on December 27, 2018
Not to deny or denigrate a racialized interpretation but I think from another perspective it's just Peele writing a realistic depiction of our ethnic group. I mean, we don't normally say a white family's response to white neighbors is racialized.
posted by xigxag at 5:41 AM on December 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by xigxag at 5:41 AM on December 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm one of those people who gets totally involved in a movie. Sad movies make me sob. Scary movies stay with me forever. Even suspense movies are hard to take. Ergo: I couldn't even make it past the first beach scene in the trailer. As soon as she started running after the boy, I noped out.
I tend to stick to comedies or animation, and in fact, rarely go to movies at all. You'd be amazed at what I've never seen.
posted by corvikate at 6:15 AM on December 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I tend to stick to comedies or animation, and in fact, rarely go to movies at all. You'd be amazed at what I've never seen.
posted by corvikate at 6:15 AM on December 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I wonder if there’s something wrong with me. I loved Get Out, but never felt scared by it. This trailer makes me excited to see the movie, but I don’t even feel mildly distressed.
You're not the only one. I was surprised by all of the "nope" comments here. I'm not into horror or gore, but this movie looks like a really good thriller.
posted by bradf at 9:57 AM on December 27, 2018
You're not the only one. I was surprised by all of the "nope" comments here. I'm not into horror or gore, but this movie looks like a really good thriller.
posted by bradf at 9:57 AM on December 27, 2018
WOW okay I just learned that Jordan PETERSON is some alt right frog or whatever but I didn't know that. I kept reading Jordan Peterson as Jordan Peele. So I would see comments on stories that are like "ooh what would Jordan Peterson do with this info" and I was like ?????? Does the man have to make a movie or show about everything? He's busy! What did I miss in the Us trailer??
So here's my PSA. There's more than one famous Jordan P.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:28 PM on December 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
So here's my PSA. There's more than one famous Jordan P.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:28 PM on December 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm very curious to see whether that's a you thing (the general you), or whether Peele has injected racial elements into the script. It may be impossible to put a black family in any situation in America and not have a large part of the audience find a racial element.
Supposedly he's said that Us is not about race in the same way that Get Out was about race -- that is, as an explicit narrative element (and obviously dominant thematic element). But, regardless of Peele's authorial intentions, or attempts to watch the movie through metaphorically color-blind lenses (which I doubt Peele would endorse) race is an inescapable reality of American life at every level, despite blissful white ignorance.
Not to deny or denigrate a racialized interpretation but I think from another perspective it's just Peele writing a realistic depiction of our ethnic group. I mean, we don't normally say a white family's response to white neighbors is racialized.
But it is, because whiteness is a socially constructed race just as much as blackness is, it is just treated as the default "normal" perspective. White people who live, work, and socialize primarily with white people treat each other a particular way because they are all white.
Another way to say this: It's not just movies with people of color that are about race. A movie with all white people is not "not about race." It is about race through its presentation of whiteness and assumed exclusion of non-whiteness.
Similarly: a movie with only male characters is not "not about gender."
A movie with only straight sexual romances is not "not about sexuality."
With the caveat that: that's not to say that the movie is only about race, gender, sexuality, etc. -- just as movies with queer characters and romances is not only about sexuality, Get Out is not only about race, etc.
posted by Saxon Kane at 8:12 PM on December 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Supposedly he's said that Us is not about race in the same way that Get Out was about race -- that is, as an explicit narrative element (and obviously dominant thematic element). But, regardless of Peele's authorial intentions, or attempts to watch the movie through metaphorically color-blind lenses (which I doubt Peele would endorse) race is an inescapable reality of American life at every level, despite blissful white ignorance.
Not to deny or denigrate a racialized interpretation but I think from another perspective it's just Peele writing a realistic depiction of our ethnic group. I mean, we don't normally say a white family's response to white neighbors is racialized.
But it is, because whiteness is a socially constructed race just as much as blackness is, it is just treated as the default "normal" perspective. White people who live, work, and socialize primarily with white people treat each other a particular way because they are all white.
Another way to say this: It's not just movies with people of color that are about race. A movie with all white people is not "not about race." It is about race through its presentation of whiteness and assumed exclusion of non-whiteness.
Similarly: a movie with only male characters is not "not about gender."
A movie with only straight sexual romances is not "not about sexuality."
With the caveat that: that's not to say that the movie is only about race, gender, sexuality, etc. -- just as movies with queer characters and romances is not only about sexuality, Get Out is not only about race, etc.
posted by Saxon Kane at 8:12 PM on December 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by Scattercat at 9:23 AM on December 25, 2018