Horror Movie Test Flashcards
A horror film is a movie that
seeks to elicit a physiological reaction
Horror films often aim to evoke the viewers’
nightmares, fears, revulsions, and terror of the unknown.
Plots of the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an
evil force, event, or personage into the everyday world.
Within the horror genre, there has been a stereotyping of…
These films tend to have a predominantly…
The horror genre, in particular, holds…
minorities and people of colour, especially in American films.
white cast and audience and cast minorities as violent, and as ‘monsters’ and ‘villains.’
the power play with aspects of violence in intriguing and symbolic ways.
Stories in horror films are very central to…
The films often cater to the fears of…
Many horror films stem from a…
white culture and lifestyle.
white people, drawing upon their fantasies.
figure or event interfering with an ideal or precious lifestyle, threatening to take away the comfort of the protagonists.
In horror films made by/created for minorities…
Many of these films explore not only the horror of…
realism acts as the source of fear, rearing from current issues faced by minorities and using it cinematically.
being a minority and the struggles but also deal with the added danger of being a woman.
3 KEY THEMES AND PLOT STRUCTURES OF THE HORROR GENRE
- First to Die Trope: Often, the minority in the film has a small role and is killed fairly early on in the film.
- Magical Negro: Usually, an older African American character, the Magical Negro informs the protagonist of the realities of the horror they face and acts as a guide. Usually, this character is often also killed at some point so as to give the protagonist more of a cause to defeat ‘the evil.’
- Magical Aboriginal Figure: Similar to the Magical Negro in its racial pigeonholing, however, is often portrayed as a shaman or medicine man, which enforces the idea of Native American cultures being a thing of the past.
THE DUVERNAY TEST
The “DuVernay Test” is the race equivalent of the Bechdel Test. It aims to point out the lack of people of colour in Hollywood movies through a measure of their importance to a particular movie or the lack of a gratuitous link to white actors.
Poster of Black & White
Poster of Ink Background
Get Out Poster Analysis
The reaction of the man in the first poster is one of complete horror, but the man isn’t running away. He is bound to a chair, gripping it tightly while looking up at something terrifying. This suggests to the audience that the movie includes themes of psychological and physical torture, keeping the man in place while mentally and potentially physically tormenting him.
Both images in the background and/or text use the contrast black and white imagery to highlight the racial division showcased in the movie.
The second poster has a mirrored ink splash used in the background. These ink splashes are used in psychiatry by a psychologists to determine the headspace and personality of a patient by asking the patient what they see in the ink splash. The answer can then be used to help the psychologist understand the mind of their patient, notably things like their fears, desires, and life perspectives.
When Chris goes into “the sunken place” the use of camera angles that make him look
small
While Rosie and Chris are talking about what happened to Logan, there are cuts to the rest of the part playing bingo, Rosie’s dad who is showing numbers with a picture of Chris (they are..
auctioning him off with Bingo)
Georgina and all the servants use “whiter” language
ie. “snitch?” “tattletale”
Chris meets another black man (Logan) and he also responds weirdly, he does not fist bump him, he
shakes his hand
When Chris meets Rosie’s family’s friends they all make weirdly related comments to race - “Is it true? Is it better”
“black is in fashion” etc
The realization that Rose was in on it - She finds the keys and goes “You know I can’t give you these keys right babe?”
She finds the keys and goes
“You know I can’t give you these keys right babe?
It a mostly linear structure but the beginning scene does connect to the end of the movie and creates a full circle moment - The guy being kidnapped wa
s “Logan”
Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany - Jesse Owens (Black sprinter) won the gold medal in front of Hitler, the person Jesse Owens beat was Rose’s grandfather which is why he
takes over the black body and does exercises outside
Georgina spills Chris’s tea, and Missy is rude to her - this could have been
the actual Black lady’s way of acting out or warning Chris
Donald Trump the president was a racist at the time the movie was made so it was good that the movie was well-received and encouraged
more movies to be told and received
Get Out Alternative Ending
Was supposed to end with a police officer seeing Chris trying to choke Rose and being arrested for the murder of her whole family
Chris tells Rod that he does not want to prove himself “he’s done
Audiences were deflated by this ending and already understood the social issue
This is why the ending was changed, because the audience still feels the fear when the police car arrives, but it ends on a happier note
Why did Peele choose to include the deer in the film?
Peele chose to include the deer for what it symbolizes…
Deer as a whole - represents Black people by the way Dean Armitage speaks about eradicating them
“You know what I say? I say one down, a couple hundred thousand to go. I don’t mean to get on my high horse, but I’m telling you, I do not like the deer. I’m sick of it; they’re taking over”
Ironic - Chris uses the deer head, the symbol for Black folk, as a weapon to escape and kill the Armitages
The dead deer from when he was detained - a symbol of ancestors watching over him, giving him guidance and strength
The deer lying on the side of the road and the one used as a weapon - represented Chris’ mother
Which is why Chris was so intrigued by the deer Rose hit - reminded him of his mother being hit by that car and left to die in the street.
- Propels him to look at the animal dying but serves as a warning of his own potential destiny if he keeps travelling down this path
What is the significance of the deer to the plot?
Get Out’s Deer Connects To Chris’ Past Trauma
In the first act - A deer jumps out in front of the car Rose is driving, leaving it fighting for it’s life on the side of the road
This deeply affects Chris but does not seem to bother Rose
It is Chris’ mother trying to warn him
When Chris is hypnotized by Missy - Chris reveals his mother was killed in a hit-and-run when he was younger which he blames himself for as he did not call for help quick enough
The deer represents Chris’ mother, why the event affects him
When Chris is escaping - Chris uses the stuffed deer to kill the Armitages and free himself
This is Chris’ mother helping to save him
What is the audience supposed to learn from the deer?
How the Armitage Family Sees Black People
When Chris and Rose tell Dean about how they hit a deer - he praises Rose for hitting the deer, goes on to rant about the entire species and how they ruin the local neighbourhoods, explaining how eradicating them would be of great service to the community
Prepares the audience for what is yet to come - deer as a symbol for black people
How they are perceived to ruin neighbourhoods, how unassimilated they are and how they need to be locked up (or worse) for everyone’s safety
.
When the Armitages Appropriate Black Bodies - Black bodies are used by the Armitages for the convenience of wealthy white society
Justified as being for the greater good or “as a service to the community”
The audience sees how Dean’s tangent is not just referring to the deer, but whom it represents to him in the form of black bodies
What is the historical significance of the deer?
“Buck” meaning Male Deer as a Racial Slur
In post-Civil War America - “Black Buck” was a racist slur in for black men who refused to bow to white authority and lusted after white women
The deer mounted on the wall of the recreation room is male, known as a buck, shown by its antlers
This buck was hunted by Dean
In the Armitage Home - Dean was a hunter, and procured many exotic souvenirs during his travels abroad
Each were from black culture - black appropriation
Dean’s favourite bits of blackness were given new life as decorative trophies (Nduaguba, 2017).
The Black men and women Rose has dated - also hunted and immortalized as trophies like the Buck hanging on the wall
The “Buck” is Chris with historical roots to post-Civil War America