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Date of Event
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2019
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Title
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An Ethno Gothic Interpretation of Us
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Brief Description
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Jordan Peele’s 2019 horror film, Us, sets up a society of two identical looking groups with one group receiving happiness out of life while the others are destined for failure. I believe the film is a response to the difference in opportunities within the black community and how some black folks have “made it” while the underprivileged have not. When trying to establish the “haves” and “have nots”, Jordan Peele uses horror and the ethno-gothic as a way to depict the reason behind why the folks who have “made it” choose to not give back to their community and instead focus on helping themselves.
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Location
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Santa Monica, California
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Student creator name(s)
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Mayra Morales
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Afrofuturism Canon
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The Ethno gothics
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Tag(s)
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Cinematic/Television
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Abstract
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In Jordan Peele’s 2019 horror film, Us, the main character, Adelaide, is haunted by a childhood event where she finds a doppelgänger of herself inside a house of mirrors. As the film continues, Adelaide is now an adult and is traveling to her family’s summer home with her husband and two kids. On the first night, the family finds a family of four standing outside their house. When the strangers make their way into the house, they reveal themselves to be the family’s doppelgängers. The women the viewers know as Adelaide is actually a part of the Tethered community. The twist is that the mirrored Adelaide swapped places with the real Adelaide when she was a young girl during the house of mirrors incident.
The purpose of the film is to set up a society of two identical looking groups with one group receiving happiness out of life while the other lives under society’s filthy surface. The two groups represent the “haves” and “have nots”of the black community. While some black folks have “made it out of the hood”, others have not. "The hood" is a term most often used to describe the poor neighborhoods black people grew up in. To say "I made it out of the hood" usually means that an individual was able to escape poverty and move to somewhere nicer. In the film, the Wilsons are a part of the black community that has “made it” while the doppelgängers are those who have not. When trying to establish the difference between the “haves” and “have nots”, Jordan Peele makes commentary on why we aren't helping the people who need help but continuing to help ourselves.
Viewers first see a difference in the two communities when the doppelgängers show up to the Wilson’s house and the father confronts them. When the Wilsons first see the family of four standing outside their house, the father confronts them in a nice manner. “Hi, can I help you?.. If y’all are out here trying to scare people, I think you picked the wrong house for that” says Gabe in a friendly and reasonable manner (Us). After Gabe is ignored, there is this type of code switching in which Gabe decides to approach them in a different tone. As Gabe threatens to hurt the family with a bat, Gabe says, “Now I thought I already done told y'all to get off my property… okay… so if y’all want to get crazy we can get crazy” (Us). Him talking in this manner proved that he might have grown up speaking that way. When he chose to speak like he was from the hood, he knew that he would get a feared reaction, as if he was from the hood. This scene plays a role in stereotypes and assumptions since there's this black man, presumably from the hood or from an unprivileged background that has now essentially “made it.” Gabe is now a successful businessman that is financially stable enough to go on a family vacation with his family. Viewers are making assumptions because he could have moved from a middle class to an upper middle class background or may not even have any ties to the hood. Here, Jordan Peele is challenging our assumptions with stereotypes. The fact is that Gabe has either maintained his economic status or has moved up just a little bit. As viewers, we are making assumptions but one thing we do know is that in the mirror world, there are people who don't enjoy that privilege. In the real world, the underprivileged don't have the same opportunities as those black folks that have “made it”.
When trying to establish the difference between the “haves” and “have nots”, I think it's important to also include the scene between the real Adelaide and the mirrored Adelaide. In the beginning, when the real Adelaide and the Tethered Adelaide switched places, the mirrored Adelaide was quick to leave her own kind behind and just wanted to help herself. The oppressed had essentially become the oppressor. In the real world, this treatment often happens to our oppressed population. As soon as one progresses in economic or social status, one seems to forget about where they came from and how important it is to give back to those who were just like you at one point in the past.
When the real Adelaide decides to escape the mirrored world, she chooses to do the opposite of what the mirrored Adelaide did and instead help those in need. When the real Adelaide and the Tethered Adelaide confront each other as adults, one assumes it's a home invasion but it's actually just the real Adelaide taking back what rightfully belonged to her. I was confused as to why the real Adelaide never admitted to being the real Adelaide, but then I realized that this revolt had nothing to do with her. The Adelaide who got pulled into the mirrored world, had become a part of the community and established a relationship with the Tethered. For Adelaide, It wasn't about making things better for herself, it was a communal effort in which seeks to help the entire Tethered community and pull all of them out of the mirror world.
When trying to establish the “haves” and “have nots” and Jordan Peele’s commentary, on why we aren't helping the people who need help but continuing to help ourselves, I think it's important to include the scene between Gabe and the doppelgängers and the scenes between the real Adelaide and the Tethered Adelaide. Jordan Peele uses the ethno -gothic to depict the difference in privilege between the black community that has “made it” in life and the others that “have not”. Peele uses horror to show how the “haves” have sort of pushed the “have nots” and have essentially ignored them. Peele is examining the idea of black folks making it while others are unable to rise. This is a commentary that Peele is looking at but from the black perspective since we're focusing on this black family and black folks who make it but don't go back to the community and give back. The point of the film is to show that there are people living under cruel conditions and Adelaide is aware of it but chooses to ignore those in need and help herself. Which is a true reflection of the real world and how some black folks often choose to not help the “have nots” in rising beyond their socioeconomic status.
