Get Out, Race, and the Legacy of Colonial Power

 

“I am told by many of you that I must forgive and so I shall.” – Sherman Alexie, The Powwow at the End of the World

Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017) is more than a horror film. It’s a sharp critique of race, colonialism, and the illusion of inclusion. The real terror isn’t just what happens to Chris but what it exposes about America’s racial power structures. Using postcolonial theory, Homi Bhabha’s mimicry, and Toni Morrison’s concept of literary blackness, we can see how this film is a reflection of historical oppression repackaged for the modern era.

"I Can't Give You the Keys" – The Colonial Gaze in Get Out

Bhabha’s theory of mimicry explains how colonized people are expected to imitate the dominant culture while never being fully accepted. Get Out takes this idea further. The Armitages don’t just want Black bodies; they want to control them. Their Black servants act robotic, stripped of autonomy, and forced to perform an eerie version of Blackness for white comfort.

This is clear in Georgina’s chilling breakdown:

"No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no."

Her suppressed terror mirrors Zitkala-Ša’s experience in boarding school, where Native children were forced to assimilate. Just as Native identity was erased through cultural conditioning, the Armitages erase Black identity while keeping the physical features they fetishize.

"A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" – The Racial State and Commodification

María Lugones describes the racial state as a system that classifies people by race, determining their value in society. The Armitages embody this system, holding a literal auction for Chris’s body.

Chris is not seen as a full person but as a commodity, much like the speaker in Atlas by Sherwin Bitsui:

"Shaped like another reservation—another cancelled check."

The art dealer tells Chris, "I don’t care what color you are. I just want your eyes." This reflects a harsh truth. Blackness is only valuable when it serves white interests, whether in entertainment, sports, or, in this case, a twisted form of bodily theft.

"The Sunken Place" – Silencing the Subaltern

The Sunken Place is more than a horror trope. It represents Black voices being silenced. Chris can see and hear but cannot act, much like how Spivak’s subaltern is structurally prevented from speaking.

Toni Morrison describes literary Blackness as something that frames whiteness while remaining invisible. Chris, trapped in the Sunken Place, is there but unheard, much like how Black narratives in America are often overshadowed by white perspectives.

"I Would Have Voted for Obama a Third Time" – Horror as Social Commentary

Dean Armitage sees himself as progressive, yet he is still complicit in systemic racism. His comment about Obama is a perfect example of performative allyship, the idea that being "not racist" is enough.

Alexie’s Powwow at the End of the World critiques a similar illusion. Just as Indigenous people are expected to forgive history’s atrocities, Get Out exposes how racism persists under the guise of liberalism.

Written By: Amaris Prescott