Get Out…of Your Racist Systems, America

by jana abrea

Studies have showed that white Democrats were more likely than others to say that increased diversity made America a better place. A new phenomenon: liberal white “wokeness”—an idea that it is fashionable to announce to the world how aware you are about current issues. After the surge of #StayWoke on social media, being “woke” has lost its original meaning. Rated a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes’s “Tomato Meter”, Jordan Peele’s film, Get Out, confronts ideas of white wokeness. The film first came out in 2017, and received praise from critics and audiences for spectacular cinematography and a thought-provoking plot. Through short one-liners of conversation to more symbolic scenes, Peele includes these to teach a lesson about today’s racism. Peele uses Get Out to talk about racism’s haunted nature – how our present issues of unaddressed liberal racism have the potential to haunt the future.

Peele crafts a narrative about Chris, an African American man who is in an interracial relationship with a white woman, Rose. However, when he meets his girlfriend’s white family, he discovers suspicious and disturbing occurrences as he interacts with those around him. What many viewers overlook is that Peele’s film was not only relevant in 2017, but can still be a lesson for today.

Despite today’s open and welcoming culture, white liberals are reluctant to embrace full racial equality. In an interview with Obama, he describes “wokeness”: “The way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people…see how woke I was? I called you out.” Being woke doesn’t inspire action, it doesn’t provide a solution. It simply shows that you know what the problem is…but what are you going to do about it? 

The white liberal racism that is so prevalent in today’s culture is explained in Get Out, examining relationships between white and black people through the idea of “white wokeness”.

Here are three ways Peele calls out white people in Get Out:

1. Rose’s Father’s Comment on Obama

“By the way, I would have voted for Obama for a third term if I could. Best president in my lifetime. Hands down”

Photograph from https://www.thewrap.com/get-out-explaining-racism/
Universal Pictures

Rose’s father symbolizes what it means to exhibit white “wokeness” through his support of Obama. This is how Dean gives “evidence” to Chris that he isn’t racist—simply because he voted for an African American as president. This shows one characteristic of today’s liberal racism—white liberals often act like they have to “prove” that they aren’t racist, especially to African Americans. They act as if Obama’s presidency magically cured racism. He performs this white “wokeness” by trying to justify that he’s definitely pro-black. It is important to keep this in mind, especially with an upcoming presidential election, where candidates appear to be “woke”—showing the public that they are aware of what is wrong in the public sphere. But what are their proposals on possible and realistic solutions? Are candidates’ intentions on being pro-equality true or is it just a front to capture an African American voter? 

2. A Real Life Sunken Place

The sunken place serves as a symbol of silencing African Americans in society. One of the most popular screengrabs from the movie: Chris in the sunken place—a void full of nothingness, where he is endlessly falling and unable to speak out. This alludes to the lack of voice of African Americans in the United States. African Americans are forced to assimilate into white culture without much say, especially in important matters like politics and government. The issue of white wokeness is not explicitly given, but Peele tweets about the sunken place as a place of marginalization, “No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us.” Rose’s mother claims to be listening to Chris’s problems, yet later, banishes him into a place where he has no say. White liberals create a whole performance of acting as if they are listening, but are they really? Are they genuinely concerned for the minority groups in America? 

Photograph from https://modernismmodernity.org/media/image/“-sunken-place”-get-out
Universal Pictures

3. Encounter with Police

Photograph from http://titania86-fishmuffins.blogspot.com/2017/03/get-out.html
Universal Pictures

Rose performs another version of white “wokeness”, claiming to be aware of laws and African American rights. In the beginning of the film, Rose gets pulled over by a police officer after coming close to hitting a deer on the road. Even though Chris wasn’t the one driving, the officer asks for his ID. Chris pulls out his ID without question, since African Americans have been taught to follow police orders, since they know it’s not worth the fuss of being another dead black man for something so simple. Rose replies by saying “Like hell, he’s not showing you ID, he wasn’t driving!” Rose’s statement shows her boldness in announcing her wokeness. She portrays herself as a socially conscious woman, standing up for her African American boyfriend. Peele touches upon both recent events of police brutality and white wokeness through one simple encounter. 

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In these three scenes, Peele shows how racism is portrayed in the United States today—not through hateful actions, but through subtle word play. This shows the haunted nature of racism, that the racism of the past has taken on a new form in the 21^st century.  The theory of haunting is described as the way that abusive systems of power make an impact in everyday life, even when they are supposedly over and done with. Racism continues to linger in our society, and can cause consequences for the future.

Peele wrote Get Out to comment on Obama and Trump’s presidency, where he believed that America was living in a “post-racial lie”.  Many thought that racism has been cured solely because the United States had its first African American president. Very wrong assumption. The film was also a form of awareness as Trump was introduced into the White House, to bring to light white liberal hypocrisy and the racism in the US government, from new immigration laws and events of police brutality that plague America today. 

Peele raises a call to action through a not-so-traditional horror film that talks about the social construct of racism. The real horror of the film is that it is the reality of many African Americans today. The solution is to first recognize the problem: you tweeting about or suddenly participating in Black Lives Matter events doesn’t fix racial inequality. In another article on Get Out, the writer proposes, “I need to listen first, then listen more, and probably even more again before I jump into some action to fight racism.” Does your own concern for racial equality come with the right intentions? It is important to listen and learn from the African American community, then take your own steps to join the fight against racism. But listen not only to yourself, but also to others. As an election looms closer and closer, the decisions we make as a society can affect the future. Listen closely to what these liberal democrats have to say. Are there feasible solutions to the problems being set forth? Or is it another act of white wokeness?