5 Tips For White Folks, As They Engage Jordan Peele’s Get Out. (No Spoilers)
Get Out is brilliant, and lingering. I am still unpacking all that I consumed in a 130 minutes.
And, I am noticing that white folks are excited for this film. The type of excitement that everyone readies themselves for when they await being entertained- and this waiting to be simply entertained bothers me, a lot.
I need white folks to be a little more apprehensive, and concerned about what the film says about white people. I need them to go into this viewing with an honest and risky self-assessment plan, as they navigate this brilliant work.
Maybe, the below will help.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg, really.
1. You’re white, and it’s talking about you. Listen up. This is not a mere cinematic experience for you; don’t just track the violence the characters (you) cause, pay special attention to the nuances of how white violence is created, nurtured, protected, and eventually becomes the truth.
2. Pay attention to what you laugh at, and what angers you. Hell, pay attention to how emotions are expressed in your sure to be predominant white theaters.
3. Track how consent works, in regards to the Black body.
4. Track how microagressions (or just racism) has a cumulative impact on the receiver (Black people).
5. As you exit the film, pondering what just happened. Ask yourself, “At the core, am I much different from the white people in this film?”
Good luck in your viewing. Make sure to tell your friends and family to see this film.
Give Get Out your coins!
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This is the work of Cody Charles; claiming my work does not make me selfish or ego-driven, instead radical and in solidarity with the folk who came before me and have been betrayed by history books and storytellers. Historically, their words have been stolen and reworked without consent. This is the work of Cody Charles. Please discuss, share, and cite properly.
Bio:
the aspiring urban blogger @PhaedraParks speaks of- Cody Charles is the author of Black Joy, We Deserve It, The Night The Moonlight Caught My Eye: Not a Review but a Testimony on the Film Moonlight, Radical Friendship Contract: 10 Expectations for Loving People Fully, 10 Common Things Well-Intentioned Allies Do That Are Actually Counterproductive, A Letter to Black Greeks Who Happen to be Black and Queer, Higher Ed Hates Me, and What Growing Up Black And Poor Taught Me About Resiliency. Join him for more conversation on Twitter (@_codykeith_) and Facebook (Follow Cody Charles). Please visit his blog, Reclaiming Anger, to learn more about him.
