The Golden Globes believes that racism is funny. The annual award ceremony announced submissions and decided to categorize Jordan Peele’s racially-charged thriller Get Out as a comedy.
While actor Lil Rel brings a bit of comic relief to the film, Get Out is a psychological thriller/horror that serves as an allegory of how Blacks are treated by liberal Whites in majority White spaces. The same Whites who will vote for Obama and listen to rap music will find ways to use subtle racism and microaggression against Blacks.
The genius of Get Out is that racism isn’t viewed in terms of bigots who use the N-word and seek to openly oppress Black people. It reveals how racism is more horrific when it comes in subtle forms.
Examples of subtle racism and microaggression include asking a Black woman to touch her natural hair, telling a Black person that they don’t act “Black,” excluding Blacks from social groups at school or work, ignoring the suggestions or thoughts of Black colleagues, pointing out physical features and stereotypes of Blacks, and denying Blacks opportunities while making excuses for the decisions.
In turn, Blacks who exist in all-White or predominantly White spaces face constant forms of subtle racism and micro-aggression until they conform. In exchange for finally being accepted in majority White spaces, Blacks are forced to disregard their heritage while eschewing their identity.
But the committee at the Golden Globes failed to see any of this when viewing Get Out. White privilege is the act of seeing racism in your face and somehow believing that it’s unrealistic or funny. The people at the Golden Globes missed the entire point.
Peele responded to Golden Globes’ slight by tweeting, “Get Out is a documentary.”
