I have always been a fan of horror films and in college, I filled my course list with film criticism classes that introduced me to several different styles and sub-genres of horror. Needless to say, I was hooked. I can spend countless hours watching everything from Nosferatu to Nightmare on Elm St and I will never get tired of it. 

The aspect of the horror genre that appeals to me the most is the social commentary embedded between the jump scares and buckets of blood.

According to Aristotle’s Poetics the drama serves a necessary communal purpose by providing catharsis or emotional purging, while the satire or comedy serves to criticize established institutions, and the modern rise of the horror genre seems to function as a combination of both.

Examples of honest and human fears manifesting into ghoulish creatures that lurk in the shadows can be found in novels like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and in cult-classic films like Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.

In addition, the Cold War fostered the fear of nuclear fall-out that gave rise to a slew of giant insects and mutated swamp monsters stalking the silver screen. And the “me generation” of Mall Rats in the 80s produced films like Poltergeist, which illuminated the desire for a perfect nuclear family and capitalism ruled. This inevitably led to the angry slasher flicks of the 90s, like Scream and I know What You Did Last Summer.Therefore, in theory, it makes sense that Jordan Peele would conjure up images of isolation and a loss of control of the current social horror surrounding this generation’s fear of ideology. Clay Cane, for CNN, states that “Get Out perfectly captures the fears mainstream, white, middle America holds of liberalism and the browning of America. It also captures the fears that liberals and brown America hold of mainstream, white, middle America. Mark my words, social horror is the new trend.”

Get Out has already made history by reaching 100 million at the Box Office, and I am looking forward to more work by Jordan Peele.

Resources:

Aristotle, and Julius Pollux. Aristotle’s Poetics, or, Discourses Concerning Tragic and Epic Imitation. London, Printed for J. Dodsley … and Messrs. Richardson and Urquhart …, 1775.

Clay15, Caden. “Why Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ Just Made History.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Mar. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/03/14/opinions/jordan-peele-makes-movie-history-with-get-out-cane/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2017.