Get Out Breathes Life Into The Dying World of Horror

***Warning - Spoilers ahead!***

Bursting at the seams with visual metaphors, double entrendres and thought-provoking concepts, it’s no wonder Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out smashed the box office. Just weeks after its U.S release, the film has secured Peele’s place in cinematic history - making him the first black debut writer/director to bring in over $100 million at the box office.

Get Out is a unique horror/social commentary film that successfully makes topical racial points while staying true to both the horror genre and Peele’s comedy roots. It follows young black photographer Chris Washington [Daniel Kaluuya] as he visits the family of his white girlfriend Rose Armitage [Allison Williams] for the first time. He is expectedly nervous about the situation, but has no idea of the real terror that is in store for him.

Throughout his stay at the elaborate countryside mansion he notices oddities surrounding him, particularly the unusual way the family’s black house staff act. Despite Rose’s father’s insistence that he and his peers are liberal – note their rehearsed spiel about wishing they could vote for Obama for a third term – he is bombarded with inappropriate racial questions. Is he stronger because he is black? Is he better endowed? Does he feel that being black is in fashion? Eventually, he discovers these questions are foreshadowing for a far more gruesome secret plan the family have for him. He later discovers that the Armitage family run a business that puts the brains of dying or ill white people into the bodies of healthy young black men and women.

The film is laden with clever and subtle references to modern racism. The secret operation of the Armitages is a comment on white society’s idolisation of black culture within mainstream media. It examines how white America often desires the physical attributes of black bodies, without truly taking an understanding of the societal issues people of colour face. Through its use of a blind character who wants to undergo the procedure while staying adamant that he is not racist like the others, Get Out shows how cultural “colour blindness” still contributes to systematic oppression. Even if you were to miss the references, the film is entertaining, offering terrifyingly tense horror sequences and perfectly timed comic relief. The modern takes on race in America are intelligent and quiet, but they are all the film needs to drive home the point.

After a spectacularly gory finale featuring death by deer antler stabbing and graphic brain surgery gone wrong, Chris comes out on top and escapes the family home. One of the finest moments in the film is when he avoids hypnotisation by removing the stuffing from a couch and putting it in his ears. That’s right – a black character survives by literally picking cotton.

Get Out manages to bring traditional horror into the modern age while offering a contemporary take on social and political issues. The film will no doubt be remembered as a telling reflection of the times we live in, as well as a tense horror masterpiece that breathes new life into the genre.

J.K Rowling's Not-So-Magical Political Commentary

What springs to mind when you think of J.K. Rowling? Her international success as an author, her contributions to modern pop culture, her millionaire status? Her political commentary…perhaps not. There’s a reason Rowling’s years in the spotlight haven’t seen her deemed the political voice of a generation – and if you take one look at her Twitter account, you’ll understand why. Rowling’s hot takes on the UK’s upcoming general election are more fantastical than her magical wizarding world.

Most are familiar with Rowling’s heart wrenching journey to success. A victim of domestic violence, she raised her daughter single-handedly while battling depression, earning just £69 a week from unemployment allowance. She wrote the Harry Potter books in coffee shops around Edinburgh to escape the freezing conditions of her flat, and ultimately caught the eye of publishers with her now-iconic tales of witches and wizards.

Having lived through such struggle, you’d expect J.K. Rowling to empathise with those currently in a similar situation. With 1,182,954 people resorting to food banks and an estimated thousands of welfare-related deaths last year, you’d imagine Rowling would be fervently anti-Conservative. As a domestic violence victim, perhaps reports that two thirds of women’s refuge centres are facing closure due to Tory cuts would lead her to campaign for Labour this time around. Apparently not. Just days after the announcement of a snap general election, Rowling took to Twitter stating: “Election 2017: what should you do if you support Labour but can'tstand Jeremy Corbyn?”

That question can be answered in two words – vote Labour. It’s that simple.

This isn’t the first-time Rowling has blasted Corbyn to her 10 million Twitter followers though. When he was first elected as party leader, she called his supporters “utterly deluded”and deemed him “unelectable”. While polls and right wing media outlets have consistently claimed that Jeremy Corbyn can’t be Prime Minister, the irony is that Rowling has outright stated multiple times that she wants a Labour government. By constantly repeating anti-Corbyn sentiments, she is feeding the Conservative campaign. It’s more illogical than a seventeen-year-old school-boy being told to lead an army against the evilest wizard in the world, and winning because he has a magical scar.

If Rowling thinks Corbyn is unelectable, she should campaign for him. With her huge social media following and never-ending media attention, she could have some genuine influence. However, she’s instead choosing to continue her Twitter campaign of hatred against a man who wants the same things she does, meanwhile helping the Conservatives secure what could be one of their biggest wins in recent history.

With mere weeks to go until the election, what exactly does Rowling think she’s going to achieve by berating the leader of the party she actually supports? Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking the UK offers anything but a two-party system. There’s no real alternative to Labour. The Liberal Democrats’ campaign is likely to be effected by leader Tim Farron’s alleged belief that homosexual relationships are sinful, not that they could ever achieve a majority anyway. Rowling tweeted a link to an article showing how to tactically vote against the Conservatives without voting for Labour, which may lead to some gains for smaller parties, but ultimately will split the left’s voting and allow a Tory majority.

For somebody who agrees with Labour’s values and policies, holding a grudge against their leader in the run up to such an important election is plain irresponsible. Maybe developing such an elaborate fantasy world for 20 years has messed with Rowling’s perception of reality. Maybe she thinks everything is as black and white as a fight between good and evil. Maybe she thinks we’re not electing MPs for Westminster, but the Ministry of Magic. I’m sorry Joanne, but Dumbledore isn’t going to fly down on a Hippogriff on election day to prevent Brexit and five more years of austerity measures.

As a child of the Harry Potter generation, I grew up loving everything J.K. Rowling stood for. When I got older, her personal story inspired me. She was a victim of harsh Tory policies for years, but despite all odds overcame it by using the power of her imagination and writing prowess. Seeing her using her platform now, to feed the right-wing narrative that Corbyn can never win, seems reckless and ugly.

The NHS, women, refugees, the disabled, the poor, the young and the elderly, will suffer further cuts and consequences under another Tory government. J.K. Rowling can claim to support those effected by austerity all she likes, but actions speak louder than words. I suppose she doesn’t have to worry too much about the effects of Tory policy anymore though. Ah, to be a millionaire.