The Dangers of Whiteness: An analysis of the representation of whiteness in GET OUT (2017)

Abstract

In this thesis I analyze the representation of whiteness in the film GET OUT (2017). Whiteness is often represented in the media as an invisible, neutral non-race or simply the human race. White people are seen as the norm, who are not defined by numerous stereotypes, like people of color, but through diverse and complex representations. I argue that GET OUT subverts this by making whiteness visible and portraying white people as a distinct social category. By carrying out a textual film analysis with a critical race theory approach, I examine how whiteness emerges as a social/political category in GET OUT and to what extent it is a reflection of a wider critique of whiteness as an invisible norm. The focus of my research is on language, characterization, narrative, mise-en-scene and cinematography. Through the use of the concepts colorblindness, racial fetishism, white privilege, ignorance and innocence, I aim to connect the film and its portrayal of whiteness to a broader debate surrounding whiteness and racism. In my first subquestion I analyze the language and characterization of the white people in the film. I argue that the white people in the film often use linguistic strategies and rhetoric to seem non-racist and uphold a certain innocence and ignorance on racial discourses. The second subquestion involves the textual analysis of the film, in which I examine narrative, mise-en-scene and cinematography. I argue that GET OUT represents a specific form of whiteness, namely an upper class whiteness, that stands even further away from an urban Blackness that is represented in the film. Moreover, I discuss the ways in which whiteness dominates Blackness in the film through different props. All in all, I argue that GET OUT represents an upper class whiteness, that is defined through a privilege and ignorance they acquired through their race as well as their class. One that uses their ignorance and innocence as a shield to appear non-racist, but consequently maintains contemporary racial power relations and therefore their privilege.