November 15, 2017bcnn1wp

Golden Globes Says ‘Get Out’ Will Compete in Comedy/Musical Category; Director Jordan Peele Says It’s a Documentary

What’s so funny about racism?

That’s the question a number of people are asking after learning that Get Out, which grossed at least $242 million this past year, will compete in the comedy/musical category at the 2018 Golden Globes. The film, which was billed a horror film, is about a black man who visits his white girlfriend’s home only to find that the family uses racist science and racist justifications to do horrific things to black people. The only funny thing about Get Out is Lil Rel’s comedic performance as the best friend who urges the lead character to leave the situation.

In fact, Rel spoke out on the issue via Twitter, initially saying that “… if I can be honest this is weird to me… Their [sic] is nothing funny about racism… Was it that unrealistic lol.” Later on he followed up that tweet by saying that the film includes comedy and horror. Meanwhile, creator and director Jordan Peele (and new creative lead of the upcoming CBS Twilight Zone reboot) took to Twitter to say it is a documentary.

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The satirical film certainly has funny moments but for a lot of black people –myself included– parts of it rang eerily, awkwardly close to snippets of real-life events. I know a number of people who only watched the film once, saying that it hit too close to home for comfort. I personally put it into that category of horror films that take place in deep, dense woods, away from civilization and out of reach of any cell phone tower. Those movies strike a chord because we know those atrocities are possible or have already happened.

Get Out strikes a scary note in that regard, especially in these times of a renewed interest in social justice and a resurgence of the historical record as it pertains to using black bodies –without permission– to advance medical science and discoveries. After all, the Hottentot Venus was on display for her private parts, Henrietta Lacks cancer cells were taken and replicated without her permission and black men were unknowingly (to them) injected with syphilis for the Tuskegee Experiment, or Tuskegee Study. None of that was funny. And all of it happened. All of it atrocious.

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SOURCE: Forbes, Adrienne Gibbs