Lure of Jordan Peele’s Get Out!

Abstract

What does it take to make a horror movie a household hit? Get Out, a debut film from acclaimed writer-director Jordan Peele, is a cultural behemoth—winner of 152 industry awards—that tackles the trauma that black people face within the horror genre and beyond the screen. This paper explores what it is about Get Out that shook the very foundations of the horror genre to its core, and why this movie is still relevant today. It considers the argument that Get Out became a cultural hit because it mirrors the reality of many black and brown people, and critiques the idea that—in exposing the horrors of racism—the movie is doing anything new. It closes by arguing that the central character Chris’ survival is one of the strongest reasons why Get Out performed as well as it did and completely dominated conversations around social commentary and its place in the horror genre.