A postmodern study of Jordan Peele’s psychological horror films Get Out and Us

Abstract

Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) are two recent unconventional psychological horror films. These two films do not incorporate typical horror tropes like jump scares, ghosts, or mindless killings. These two are about human beings, specifically black people. Both films incorporate historical events, distort reality, and jump back and forth in time. These qualities of Get Out and Us resonate with the characteristics of postmodernism. This thesis aims to show that Get Out and Us are two postmodern horror films that are helping to keep the horror genre fresh and alive. This thesis also uses theories of postmodern critics like Linda Hutcheon, Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, and Barry Lewis.