An Undervalued Theme of “Nope”
Peele speaks up for the voiceless
As a homebody, it takes a special movie to get me into the theater. As a fan of not-horror, it takes a really special horror movie to get me into the theater. There is only one who can accomplish that: Jordan Peele.
I’ve enjoyed Key and Peele. As a cat lover, seeing Keanu was a given. When the trailers for Get Out arrived, I was intrigued. Despite being easily scared and disturbed, I gave Get Out a chance. I was not disappointed. Since then, I’ve recommended Get Out to anyone who will listen.
Peele’s next movie, Us, also landed on my must-see list. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as Get Out, I found it to be another worthwhile view. It had a bit more of a horror vibe, which may be the reason I was a little less enthused.
I recently saw Nope. Once again, high expectations were met, and more. After I returned home, I stumbled upon an article from Time that suggested four potential messaging themes from the movie. The authors also hypothesized that maybe Nope doesn’t have a message, and we should just appreciate it for the wonderful summer flick that it is.
I found it interesting none of those options matched the theme I most connected with in the movie. It was a theme I found obvious — but then, my background isn’t typical.
Until February of this year, I worked as an ambassador animal zookeeper, performing public presentations with a variety of animals. I identified deeply with OJ’s character. Our situations weren’t exactly the same — he worked with domestic animals in the entertainment business, and I with wild animals in education. Still, we both had to understand our animals, train them, care for them, and advocate for them in the presence of people who were not animal-savvy.
This is why I find an undervalued theme of Nope to be showing respect to animals.
Warning: Spoilers for Nope follow
The bad
The Bible verse at the beginning of the movie primes us to be aware of “spectacles.” Certainly, Gordy the chimpanzee and the alien in Jupe’s newest live show were presented as such. Jupe even calls the alien “an absolute spectacle.” But when we view these animals as spectacles for our entertainment, without respect for the wants or needs of the animal, only tragedy can result.
Gordy’s good behavior is taken for granted. When birthday balloons pop during the filming of his show, he reacts in fear, which tips into aggression. Nearly everyone on set, Gordy included, is killed in the aftermath. When Jupe creates his live alien show, he trusts the alien will eat the horse. He doesn’t bother to question the instincts of this extraterrestrial species. This results in him placing dozens of eyes upon an animal that sees eye contact as a threat.
One might wonder why Jupe, a survivor of a horrific incident with a powerful animal, would dare to risk the same situation again. If we take a closer look at Jupe’s experience with Gordy, we can see his last experience with the chimpanzee was one of trust, not threat. Gordy, having calmed down from his rampage, was seeking comfort. His first attempt was to try to wake one of the humans he’d already killed. When she didn’t respond, he showed a moment of sadness. Gordy then saw Jupe and reached out to him, literally, by extending his hand in a fist bump — seconds before he was shot and killed.
When Gordy reached out to Jupe, Jupe experienced the powerful feeling that comes from a bond of trust between human and animal. Unfortunately for Jupe, that feeling was not tempered with respect for the animal. Respect would have led him to learn more about animals, and to put the animal first. Failing to do so was a fatal mistake for Jupe.
The good
We see the opposite of this with OJ. Clearly, OJ has a strong bond with Lucky. OJ respects Lucky and prioritizes his needs. When he knows he will ride Lucky while they film the alien, he doesn’t just trust Lucky to be OK with the situation. He prepares the horse by waving flags and other brightly colored fabrics around him. In this way, he can ride Lucky through a field of inflatable tube men without spooking him. He even attaches a string of flags to the horse as a defense against the alien.
We see OJ fail to stand up for Lucky once, near the beginning of the movie. OJ struggles to keep the commercial film crew away from the rear of Lucky to avoid spooking him and causing a dangerous kick. He asks for a brief break, but the crew ignores his request because the humans are ready to go. Lacking confidence, OJ doesn’t stick up for Lucky (and himself). We see OJ struggles to be assertive, as his late father likely was in charge of the humans while OJ could focus on the horse.
Between this unease and the distraction of his father’s recent death, OJ misses a crew member approaching too close to Lucky. The crew member holds a reflective object near the horse’s head. This is an unexpected and scary object for Lucky. Lucky spooks, causing a dangerous situation. To OJ’s credit, he still takes his part of the responsibility for this error. Lucky counted on OJ to keep him safe and OJ failed, although none of it would have happened had the crew member shown respect by asking if it was OK to approach Lucky.
The future?
In Get Out and Us, Jordan Peele speaks up for those whose voices are often ignored. Nope continues that tradition by showing the danger of failing to respect animals and what can be achieved when respect is given. Of course, we’ve come a long way from the days of movies like Every Which Way But Loose. Most people today would speak out against a chimpanzee or other ape being in a show like Gordy’s Home! Yet, a new movie is coming out with a live capuchin monkey — Lincoln Park Zoo does a wonderful job discussing the harm of this on a recent Facebook post. And people will still approach a wild animal like Freya the walrus, thinking her comfort in being close to humans and boats makes her friendly and safe. Like Gordy, Freya paid the ultimate price for humans failing to show her respect by keeping their distance.
In a world where people think nothing of trying to pet wild bison or put an octopus on their face for a selfie, we need people to think more about the needs and wants of animals. We share our planet with animals, domestic and wild, in human care and in their native habitats. Jordan Peele’s Nope takes the otherworldly and brings it back home.
And so, the voiceless are given a voice.
