Blog Post #1

 Blog Post #1

Get Out and the following conversation captivated my attention the most. I had never watched this movie before this class, so I was excited to have the opportunity to watch it and analyze it in depth. The cool thing about having a class like this is that you listen to the various opinions and interpretations of a film, book, show, etc. from students and professors, which enables me to look at things differently and understand specific topics and ideas better. Although I found all conversations about this movie to be riveting in their own way, when we began to talk about the Sunken Place, that was where I found myself really wanting to learn more, wanting to research it outside of class, and most importantly, wanting to talk about it with friends and family. I have never heard of this term before, but I am glad that I heard it for the first time within this context. 

When I first heard about it, I tried to figure out for myself what it could mean and what it could be a metaphor for, and what I came up with is that it could be a state that someone falls into where they feel they cannot come out of it. I imagined it as someone drowning, the weight of the water just pushing them further and further down. I felt as though my interpretation of it was similar to what Peele was trying to get across, in the sense that it is a state of mental suppression and that no matter how hard one tries to scream or get out of it, the system continuously silences them. I found it horrifying to watch Chris get hypnotized and lose control. He feels himself falling through a black void, while still being conscious, and tries to scream and move, but nothing comes out. This evoked an immediate feeling of helplessness and panic, and all I wanted to do at that moment was help him, shake him, and show him that he is okay. When I first saw that scene, something didn’t sit right with me, but I couldn’t precisely pinpoint the feeling until we discussed it in class. Chris, aware of the danger he was in but unable to stop it, showed that this is a grander theme people face daily: they are conscious yet silenced, and stripped of agency over their own bodies.  

After watching the movie and partaking in class discussions, I was able to better see the Sunken Place as a metaphor for the similar states that individuals face in real life. They are aware of the injustices and dangers, yet they can’t do anything because they are trapped by the larger systems that continuously suppress them. Daily, people are seen, not heard, losing all power. This movie made me feel sad and scared that this is what most people feel in real life. This isn’t something talked about enough, even though it is a scary, real thing. After the movie ended, I felt in shock, and my chest felt tight because I knew that this wasn’t some ordinary film, rather it was making a statement and educating the public about real issues that people face. I feel as though this movie, as a whole, was a spectacular metaphor for what individuals think. This movie and discussion made me excited for the rest of the course.


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