Gegenstand der vorliegenden Bachelorarbeit ist eine übergreifende Analyse des Films "Get Out" (unter der Regie von Jordan Peele, 2017). Die Analyse bezieht sich dabei stilistisch auf das Genre der amerikanischen Schauerliteratur, durch welche innerhalb des Films die Darstellung von Afroamerikanern und Weißen untersucht wird. Anhand dieser Analyse werden vorherrschende Muster des strukturellen Rassismus in Amerika hervorgehoben.
Zu Beginn wird der geschichtliche Zusammenhang des Genres der amerikanischen Schauerliteratur zur Darstellung nicht-weißer Minderheiten in der Populärkultur dargestellt. Dabei trug das Genre schon zu Beginn der Entstehung der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika zu oftmals diskriminierenden, von Stereotypen geprägten Auffassungen nicht-weißer Minderheiten bei. In der Entwicklung des Genres wurde es schließlich jedoch auch von diesen Individuen genutzt, um sogenannte 'counter-narratives', also Gegenerzählungen, welche den bestehenden, hegemonischen Diskurs kritisierten, zu kreieren.
Der darauffolgende Analyseteil ist in zwei Hauptkapitel geteilt, das Erste behandelt dabei die Darstellung von Afro-Amerikanern als „Other“, also deren marginalisierte Position innerhalb der Gesellschaft, welche daraufhin in der Dynamik mit den weißen Charakteren als Sozialkritik an den in Amerika vorherrschenden Diskurs bezüglich Farbenblindheit (colorblindness), gedeutet wird. Im zweiten Kapitel wird schließlich die Darstellung der weißen Charaktere untersucht; diese Darstellung kehrt das vorherige Paradigma um und hebt nun, speziell durch stilistische Mittel, die weißen Charaktere und deren rassistisch motivierte Handlungen hervor, welche vor allem in der zwischenmenschlichen Dynamik weißer Menschen sonst als Norm gelten.
In diesem Zusammenhang fungiert der Film selbst als 'counter-narrative' und übt durch die Integration historischer Elemente der amerikanischen Sklaverei in den nord-östlichen USA des 21. Jahrhunderts nicht nur Kritik am Verhalten der weißen Neoliberalen, sondern auch an der Langlebigkeit der Ungerechtigkeiten, die Afroamerikanern und anderen Minderheiten auch gegenwärtig widerfahren.
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. AMERICAN GOTHIC
2.1 AMERICAN GOTHIC AND THE RACIAL OTHER
2.2 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN GOTHIC
2.3 HORROR AND AMERICAN GOTHIC
3. THE BLACK OTHER
3.1 DANGER AHEAD: WHITE SPACES
3.2 A FAMILY AFFAIR: THE ARMITAGE’S LEGACY OF RACIST THOUGHT
3.3 A PAST THAT HAUNTS THE PRESENT: THE THEME OF SLAVERY
3.3.1 Georgina and Walter as Personifications of Slavery
3.3.2 Blackness as Commodity: The Modern Slave Auction
3.4 WHITE LIES, BLACK TRAUMA: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HYPNOSIS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
4. THE WHITE OTHER
4.1 WHITE PRIVILEGE
4.2 DESIRES AND FEARS OF THE WHITE OTHER
4.3 RESISTANCE AGAINST AND LIBERATION FROM THE WHITE OTHER
5. CONCLUSION
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This thesis investigates how Jordan Peele’s film "Get Out" utilizes the American Gothic mode to expose systemic racism and the covert, oppressive nature of white liberalism in an ostensibly post-racial society. By analyzing the film’s narrative structure and character dynamics, the work explores the marginalization of the Black Other and the inversion of the Gothic to position whiteness as the true monster.
- The intersection of American Gothic, history, and racial discourse.
- The construction of the Black Other through themes of slavery and commodification.
- The analysis of white privilege and "performative" liberal racism.
- The function of the "sunken place" as a metaphor for structural oppression and black paralysis.
- The use of resistance as a necessary, often violent, response to systemic white supremacy.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 DANGER AHEAD: WHITE SPACES
Jordan Peele creates racialized spaces to produce an environment that is conducive to the American Gothic mode and thus portrays the African American individual as out of place and Other in contrast to the white-dominated space. Get Out opens with a long shot of a dark alleyway, panning out slowly. The nocturnal setting appears desolate, as the lack of lighting and sound effects, such as the chirping of crickets, further reinforce. The resulting mood is a hallmark of the gothic genre, as “[in] Gothic the terror of what might happen, or might be happening, is largely foregrounded over the visceral horror of the event” (Smith 8).
Shortly after the scene is established, an unidentified Black character speaking off-screen enters the frame from the right. Essentially, the character’s entrance from what can be referred to as the periphery of the frame reflects the marginalized position of African Americans in society. In the following seconds, the character reveals he is located in a “creepy, confusing ass suburb” (01:18). In this context, it is essential to mention that a history of disadvantageous socio-economic conditions for African Americans preceded and contributed to the emergence of suburbs. Initially, the First and Second Great Migrations led to immense shifts within the population makeup in the Northern and Western parts of the United States. As increasing numbers of African Americans left the South to seek employment, demand for housing grew simultaneously.
Chapter Summaries
1. INTRODUCTION: Outlines the connection between the Gothic genre and American history, introducing Jordan Peele's "Get Out" as a tool for exploring contemporary systemic racism.
2. AMERICAN GOTHIC: Examines the theoretical framework of the American Gothic, emphasizing its role in negotiating the racial Other and its shift into contemporary visual media.
3. THE BLACK OTHER: Investigates the racialized settings and characterizations within the film, analyzing how the film depicts the Black experience through themes of slavery, hypnosis, and commodification.
4. THE WHITE OTHER: Shifts the focus to the white characters, exposing their privilege and monstrous nature as the architects of oppression within the Armitage household.
5. CONCLUSION: Synthesizes the findings, confirming that the film successfully uses the Gothic mode to reveal the persistence of systemic racism and the necessity of Black resistance.
Keywords
American Gothic, Jordan Peele, Get Out, Systemic Racism, White Liberalism, Post-Racial Myth, Black Other, White Privilege, Slave Narrative, Commodity Fetish, Racial Gaslighting, Sunken Place, Resistance, Horror Genre, Structural Oppression.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic work?
This thesis examines how Jordan Peele’s film "Get Out" employs the American Gothic genre to critique systemic racism and the liberal elite in contemporary America.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
The work covers the history of American Gothic, the representation of Black characters as "others," white privilege, performative allyship, and the legacy of slavery in modern society.
What is the main research question of this study?
It investigates how "Get Out" inverts the traditional Gothic process of Othering to reveal the oppressive nature of white liberalism and the persistence of systemic racism.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The analysis follows a literary and film-studies approach, utilizing theoretical frameworks from scholars of the American Gothic, race theory, and socio-political discourse.
What does the main body of the paper address?
The chapters systematically analyze racialized spaces, the legacy of racist thought within the Armitage family, the commodification of the Black body, and the ultimate necessity of resistance.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include American Gothic, systemic racism, white privilege, the Black Other, and racial gaslighting.
How does the film use "The Sunken Place" as a narrative tool?
The paper argues that the "sunken place" serves as a metaphor for the structural marginalization and silencing of African Americans under the guise of post-racialism.
What is the significance of the "Coagula Procedure" in the analysis?
It is analyzed as a literalization of the exploitation of Black bodies, representing a science-fiction version of slavery used to sustain white immortality.
How does the author interpret the final resolution of the film?
The author concludes that while Chris escapes his immediate captors, his liberation is limited because the systemic structures of racism and his own emotional trauma persist.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Christine Brosowski (Autor:in), 2021, Jordan Peele's "Get Out". An Analysis of the Gothic Construction of the Other in Relation to Neoliberal Racism in 'Post-Racial' America, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1170918
