If you’ve already watched Get Out, Jordan Peele’s genre-bending horror parody film, you’re probably in awe of his ability to simultaneously scare you, make you laugh, and force you to have a good, hard look at the state of race relations in 2017.
If you haven’t watched it – please stop reading – this post definitely contains spoilers.
Get Out is unlike any film we’ve seen in the past and it’s the kind of movie experience that’ll follow you around for weeks – leading you to want more.
And we’ve got more. Throughout the movie – Peele cleverly scattered little clues that foretell Chris’s fate – if you’re smart enough to pick them up.
And honestly – we weren’t – but here they are:
- The music in the opening credits is even more foreboding than we originally thought.
In an interview with GQ, the film's director, Jordan Peele, explained that the Swahili song “Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga” that played at the start of the movie contains a hidden message for Chris.
"The words are issuing a warning to Chris," he said. "The whole idea of the movie is ‘Get out!’—it’s what we’re screaming at the character on-screen. They go, ‘Brother, brother,’ in English, and then something to the effect of, ‘Watch your back. Something’s coming, and it ain’t good.’ ”
- Rose isn't defending Chris when she argues with the cop, she's making sure there's no paper trial.
When the cop asks to see Chris's ID after the car accident, Rose stands up for him and pretty much accuses the cop of being racist. But what she's actually doing is ensuring there's no proof of her and Chris being together before his inevitable disappearance.
- Dean hints at his intentions very early on in the movie.
When Dean is giving Chris a tour of the house he says "We hired Georgina and Walter to help care for my parents. When they died, I couldn't bear to let them go." He couldn't bear to let "them" - meaning his parents, not Georgina and Walter - go. Get it?
- The African American characters are always covering their foreheads.
We never see Walter without his hat and Georgina always has her fringe covering her forehead. Later at the party when we are first introduced to Logan, he is also wearing a hat. This is because they're hiding the great big lobotomy scars which would hint at the horror that was to come.
- Red and blue.
Everyone else at the party is wearing some form of red, while Chris is wearing blue. When Rose and Chris are sitting together waiting to see whether Logan is OK, they resemble the American flag.
The use of red and blue is a subtle nod towards American political parties and the divide between the left and the right.
- Chris's mobile phone.
Chris's mobile phone first gives him insight into who Logan really is and the Sunken Place. The phone is the only power he has over the situation and it represents how mobile phones have been used to shed light on racially motivated police brutality in recent years.
- The Sunken Place.
The Sunken Place is a metaphor for the representation of People of Color in American society. Peele told USA Today, that first, it reflects “the suspended animation of how we look at race in America,” a nation that grew out of the increasing belief that once Obama was elected President, it had overcome racism.
He also sees the Sunken Place as embodying the lack of representation of black characters in the horror genre - because, you know, they're usually the first to die.
Listen to the latest episode of The Binge. Post continues...
- Picking cotton.
At the end of the movie, Chris escapes by picking the foam out of the chair he's strapped to, and stuffing it in his ears, so he can't be hypnotised. He is basically "picking cotton" to survive just like the slaves did in Southern America.
Did you pick up on any other hidden messages in Get Out?