"Us" — A Disappointment Or A Subtle Masterpiece? | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Was Jordan Peele's 'Us'  A Disappointment Or A Subtle Cinematic Masterpiece On Class And Privilege?

Jordan Peele's "Us" might have disappointed me, but it sheds light on an important issue and deserves a watch.

14
Was Jordan Peele's 'Us'  A Disappointment Or A Subtle Cinematic Masterpiece On Class And Privilege?

In This Article:

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

I really enjoyed Jordan Peele's film "Get Out" from 2017. It had a great story and twist, addressed important themes, and was properly scary. As a fan of "Get Out," I walked into Peele's film "Us" last Friday night with high expectations. Everyone was talking about how outstanding the film was and I expected to enjoy the film as much I enjoyed "Get Out."

However, I was disappointed.

I thought that the twist in the film was obvious from the very beginning of the movie and I was anticipating it the whole time. I also feel that the film could have had more build-up in revealing the monstrous doubles. It felt like the movie had just begun when the family of doppelgangers arose from the underground to battle the privileged above-ground family. Then, the family essentially spends the rest of the film trying to defeat their accursed duplicates.

The story behind the doppelgangers that live underground was not built upon much either. I thought that their story was going to be more than it was. The reason behind the doubles was simply that the government created doubles of people above-ground and then cast them aside forgotten.

Also, I feel like there were some unnecessary elements to the film that were not explained at all.

The rabbits are a central image of the film, but they did not turn out to mean much at all. I noticed Adelaide's daughter at the beginning of the film had a shirt with an image of a rabbit on it and the rabbits are in the opening scenes of the movie. Yet, all they amount to is the food of the underground slaves.

Any message that the audience can gain from "Us" can only be derived from deep reflection on the film or from studying the theories of others.

Theories I read after watching the film viewed "Us" as a film about social class and privilege. The underground slaves are meant to represent the lower American class. Adelaide, the main female character, and her family are meant to represent the middle class. The white, rich friends of Adelaide and her family are meant to represent the upper, wealthy class.

The underground slaves had to rise up and rebel or else they would remain suffering forever.

The twist of the film is that when Adelaide met her double as a young girl, her and the double switched places. So the Adelaide that the audience has seen the entire film is actually the true Adelaide's underground double. She took Adelaide's life in the above-ground world and learned how to fit in with others.

This is meant to demonstrate that when given the opportunity, the lower class could achieve as much as the middle and upper classes. Adelaide's double gained a pretty good life because she had the opportunity to rise up above her original station in life.

I appreciate this message, but I wish it was a little bit more obvious in the film, although I am normally a fan of subtlety.

I also deeply appreciated the final battle scene between Adelaide and her doppelganger. The shots cutting from the two dancing to the two battling looked really good and were perfectly in time with the music of the film. I loved it. Lupita Nyong'o also did a phenomenal job playing both Adelaide and her double.

So, although I was a little disappointed by "Us," I think overall it relayed an important message and had some good moments cinematically.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

4773
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

303380
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments