Get Out of The Party: Double Consciousness and Intersectionality on Black Body in All-White Party
originally written for SOC 902: Hollywood and Society at X University
Get Out (2017) by Jordan Peele is a cinematic masterpiece that exquisitely illustrates the ruse of white liberalism in race relations with the Black protagonist, Chris Washington. The film explores a simple premise of a white girl, Rose, bringing her Black boyfriend to her white suburban family, the Armitage. Chris then unknowingly becomes a part of an annual family party that is predominantly occupied by White people. Unbeknownst to Chris, the party is a decoy for an auction of Chris’ body, similar to a slave auction. The party scene impeccably exhibits double consciousness through Chris's effort to navigate a teeming space with white gazes that heavily objectify him. Chris's interactions during the party scene will be further dissected through double consciousness theory and intersectionality lens.
Jordan Peele has produced a classic film challenging typical Black racialized tropes. Chris is going to meet Rose’s parents, Dean and Missy Armitage, for the first time. However, Rose fails to mention to her parents that Chris is Black. Rose tries to convince Chris that her family is not racist by saying that her dad “would have voted for Obama for a third term” (07:56). Dean then repeats this statement when he meets Chris by commending Obama's works as a president. This liberal statement similarly resembles the deflection that white people often use when accused of being racist. They would divert their racialized tendency against other races and ethnicities by saying, "I am not racist; I have a friend from 'that race.'" Race is socially constructed by the belief that humans can be divided into groups based on physical and cultural traits. This racial ideology lies in white or European superiority during the colonization and slavery era in America (Golash-Boza). The same theoretical framework articulates the idea of racism. Golash-Boza describes racism as both the ideology that suggests innate hierarchical practice on people's population with physical differences through micro and macrolevel behaviours against the inferior races (131). Racism against ‘inferior’ races can happen in various forms from individual to institutional level, even though there is no socioeconomics or cultural justification in the racial divide (Balfour).
Once Chris and Rose have arrived at the Armitage estate, they are unwillingly invited to an annual party that would consist of a majority of old, rich, white people. Chris then has to endure numerous uncomfortable interactions with the Armitage and their friends, which resemble real Black people’s interactions with most white people. When Rose introduces Chris, the party's guests display a suspiciously large interest in Chris's Blackness and body. One guest inappropriately touches Chris's arm without his consent and askes Rose if "is it better", referring to Chris' genitalia (43:36). Another guest comments that “Black is in fashion” (43:47) as if Black people are merely commodities. Chris replies with nothing and excuses himself to take some pictures. What had been depicted in the party scene on Get Out is categorized as microaggression, indirect or subtle discrimination of a marginalized group. Microaggression hides in seemingly harmless comments that are often framed as casual ignorance. The power of microaggression by white people lies in plausible deniability to dehumanize one's identity, that can be used against the victim by making them look nonsensical (Romano).
The exchanges between the party guests and Chris may seem ordinary and casual for clueless eyes, but such inappropriate behaviours are examples of microaggressions. It is evident through Chris's politeness and compliance that he has learned how to maneuver and endure casual racist interactions (Romano). Chris sees himself through the lens of others or, as Du Bois explained, 'double consciousness.' Du Bois first introduced double consciousness in his book 'The Souls of Black Folk.' He claimed that Black people are gifted with second sight after slavery in America, a land where Black folks “yield no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world” (Du Bois). It can be an atrocious occurrence to balance not only one's self-awareness but also see oneself from a perspective where your racial identity is concomitant with contempt and pity.
The concept of double consciousness then is connected with intersectionality by Lawrie Balfour. Balfour stated that the extreme distinction and attention between ‘whiteness’ and ‘blackness’ dismisses the complexity of both racial identities and experiences. The black-white line is the most prevalent despite other racial and ethnic identities in the United States (Balfour). The rejection of one’s compound identity denies the concept of intersectionality. Kimberle Crenshaw first developed the idea of intersectionality in 1991. She stated that people exist at multiple axes of identity and that "race, class, and gender oppression are produced in tandem" (Golash-Boza). Intersectionality challenges essentialism, where one’s existence only falls under one perspective. The guests of the Armitage party deny Chris from his intersectionality. The inappropriate touching and insensitive comments about his Blackness have reduced Chris to a common Black male stereotype of hyper-masculinity. The party attendees' disconcerting interactions with Chris consequently present “the commodification of the black body” (Henry). Ultimately, it is revealed that the garden party is a deception for the attendees to assess Chris's physicality, like a specimen, for the auction block that happens later in the movie (Romano).
Get Out may be a fictional horror movie; however, the double consciousness that Chris has experienced in the party reflects well in reality. Whenever Black people are in a space with most white people, they are often dehumanized and reduced to a single stereotype, rejecting them from intersectionality. Eventually, it is revealed that Chris is seen as a specimen for a deceitful operation that Armitage has been doing. The tolerant and liberal characteristics of the Armitage are just a decoy to gain Chris's trust. Get Out successfully delivers a magnificent narrative and utilizes "common horror tropes to reveal truths about how pernicious racism is in the world" (Romano). Racism is still a prevalent issue globally, and we may able to resist it by being conscious and mindful in our interactions with other racialized communities.
References
Balfour, Lawrie. “‘A Most Disagreeable Mirror.’” Political Theory, vol. 26, no. 3, June 1998, pp. 346–369, 10.1177/0090591798026003004. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
Boyd, Melba Joyce. "Double Entendre and Double Consciousness in the Cinematic Construct of 'Get Out'." Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire, vol. 18, no. 3, 2018, p. 36+. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A595143363/LitRC?u=rpu_main&sid=LitRC&xid=f55faf65. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
Du Bois, W. E. B. “The Souls of Black Folk.” Gutenberg.Org, 29 Jan. 2008, www.gutenberg.org/files/408/408-h/408-h.htm. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
Get Out. Directed by Jordan Peele, Universal Pictures, 2017.
Golash-Boza, Tanya. “A Critical and Comprehensive Sociological Theory of Race and Racism.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, vol. 2, no. 2, 23 Feb. 2016, pp. 129–141, 10.1177/2332649216632242.
Henry, Kevin Lawrence. “A Review of Get Out: On White Terror and the Black Body.” Equity & Excellence in Education, vol. 50, no. 3, 3 July 2017, pp. 333–335, 10.1080/10665684.2017.1336952. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
Romano, Aja. “How Get Out Deconstructs Racism for White People.” Vox, 7 Mar. 2017, www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/7/14759756/get-out-benevolent-racism-white-feminism. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.