Ashtyn Britt
Writer
abritt@lc.edu

For those of you who didn’t hear, Jordan Peele’s genius film Get Out was nominated for a Golden Globe! For the comedy category. Go ahead, read that again, because when I first heard it I had to double check that for myself. A comedy? Seriously? The social-thriller film that spoke large volumes about what it’s like to live as a person of color in today’s world, and you’ve got the nerve to call it a comedy? Who the heck decided that!?

For those of you who don’t know, Get Out is a social thriller about a man of color named Chris who goes to meet his Caucasian girlfriend’s family for a weekend, and quickly discovers her supposedly progressive parents have much darker intentions for Chris up their sleeve. He must then use his wits to try to escape with his life, or risk never being seen again. Now, does that sound like a movie you can get a good chuckle out of?

Get Out was most likely the best movie that came out in 2017, and should’ve been recognized as such. I would ask for the board for the Golden Globes to explain to me exactly why this movie wasn’t put in say, the drama category? Which may not be completely accurate either, but is still a significant amount closer than comedy!

To call it a drama is working with the limited categories the Golden Globes has, but to call it a comedy is an actual slap to the face for Jordan Peele and everyone involved in that movie. If you think of Get Out as funny, then you really missed the entire point of the movie.

“The real question is, what are you laughing at? … Are you disregarding what’s real about this project,” Jordan Peele had been quoted saying to a reporter when asked about his film’s comedy nomination. This would be my question as well.

Since hearing of this appalling news, I’ve watched the movie again with a few close friends. They all made themselves more than clear in agreement that this movie was brilliant, but most certainly not a comedy.

As if that weren’t enough, Jordan Peele also wasn’t nominated for best director or best screenplay for Get Out, which makes me even more infuriated. Even more, the other awards that a few of the actors for Get Out had been nominated for, also didn’t win.

For those of you who have also seen the movie, I’m willing to bet that the large majority of you would agree with me how the acting, directing, writing, characters, and plot were all done very well and deserved recognition. Not this way, though… Not this way.

Also, to the few people who have tried to claim this nomination justified because of a handful of jokes that had been made through the movie: If that is your standard, then not only is Get Out a comedy, but by a similar standard, Gone With The Wind should be considered a war film because they talk about the Civil War.

The racism the movie represents is not funny. It’s probably the most honest film I have seen, especially on that specific subject, in quite some time. Watching it not only made me appreciate all the deep running symbolism that Jordan Peele had integrated, but made me reflect about how society treats people of color. The feelings that the end of the movie bring up in the audience (I won’t spoil because you really should see the movie) was exactly the point of the movie.

It deserved so much better than this, and in 2018, I expected a lot better from the Golden Globes. Jordan Peele, I apologize on behalf of these clearly ignorant idiots for shaming your brilliant movie.

I would recommend you show your support by renting or buying the movie, spreading the word to promote it, and learning from the message that it’s trying to say. Also, hope with everything you’ve got that Get Out wins for best picture at the Oscars this year! The Oscars will air March 4, and I will be waiting very patiently for Jordan Peele to hopefully get the proper recognition that he honestly deserves.