Welcome to the “Sunken Place”. In Get Out by Jordan Peele, one thing I…
By: Hannah Yurkin
Tags: Jordan Peele, Racial Justice, Get Out, Simulacrum, White Supremacy

Welcome to the “Sunken Place”

Intro: Get Out and the Sunken Place

Chris in the “sunken place”

Get Out, by Jordan Peele, tells the story of Chris, a Black man in a relationship with his White girlfriend, Rose Armitage. In the beginning of the movie, there is this eerie feeling that something is wrong about the family and their Black staff. For example, Rose’s mother, Missy, tries to hypnotize Chris to get him to stop smoking and Rose’s brother, Jeremy, is very aggressive towards him. The Black people also act suspiciously, crying while smiling and outing Chris for wanting to see other Black people around the house. He soon comes to realize that the Black people working there have had their bodies taken over by the White family and the cult that follows them. Chris must escape the Armitage estate before he becomes the next victim.

One thing I found really interesting was the idea of the “sunken place”: somewhere in the mind from which one cannot return unless the person sending one there releases their victim. In the movie, this is a place where the White family sends their Black victims so they can control their bodies. When Chris is alone with Missy Armitage, she sends Chris to the “sunken place”. He is trapped there only able to flail about and try to scream. The “sunken place” seems to represent the system of White supremacy in which we all live and the oppression BIPOC or Black Indigenous People of Color, undergo in America in particular (however in relation to the movie, this paper will focus on the oppression of Black people). Between the appropriation of Black bodies and the smothering of their voices, White people in the movie as well as outside of it hold the power, just as Missy is supposed to be the only person able to free Chris.

What do you mean White Supremacy is an Illusion?

Before we get into this, I want to make it clear that I am not saying that White supremacy isn’t real or isn’t a danger to society. In fact, I am arguing the opposite; White supremacy is a very real thing but only because we have made it real.

In his essay, “Simulacra and Simulations”, Baudrillard describes the hyperreal as, “a play of illusions and phantasmas” (Baudrillard 5). He gives the example of Disneyland, saying it exists, “in order to hide that it is the ‘real’ country, all of ‘real’ America that is Disneyland” (Baudrillard 6). In relation to Get Out, it can be said that the idea of White supremacy is its own hyperreality in that it is something made by White people, but does not truly exist. White supremacy is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “The belief or theory that white people are superior to other peoples, and should therefore have greater power authority, or status. Also: a social system based on or perpetuating the political economic, and cultural dominance of white people” (OED). It is a social construct, one that is not founded on by any evidence and yet is prevalent in our country. As Baudrillard says, the hyperreal is “more real than nature” (Baudrillard 7). White people have the same importance as every other race. However, when the simulacrum of White supremacy is put into place, White people have the clear advantage. I think that while in the movie the “sunken place” was the part that wasn’t real, I’d like to argue that White Supremacy is the simulation we as a society are stuck in and the “sunken place” is a real result of that.

It is a social construct, one that is not founded on by any evidence and yet is prevalent in our country.

What is Simulacrum?

The idea of the simulacra is a bit difficult to grasp at first, which is why I would first like to go into exactly what it is. As mentioned above it is an illusion, but it goes a bit further than that, especially with the idea of White Supremacy. The simulacrum comes about in five stages, saying first it is a “reflection of a profound reality”, then it “masks and denatures a profound reality”. Next it “masks the absence of a profound reality”. Penultimately, it “has no relation to reality” and finally “is its own pure simulacrum” (Baudrillard 4). However, I am going to hone in on the last two: it has no relation to reality and then becomes its own simulacrum. This basically means that the illusion is so well done, so integrated into society, that it is no longer an illusion, but it is its own thing that stands on its own. There is no need to compare it to reality because now it is reality. This is how White supremacy works: it is so warped from reality that it has no relation to it and then it becomes the reality.

This basically means that the illusion is so well done, so integrated into society, that it is no longer an illusion, but it is its own thing that stands on its own.

What Does This Have to do With Get Out?

Chris Goes To The “Sunken Place”

In his article, “Escaping the Logic(s) of White Supremacy: The Practice of Oppositional Thought”, Mitchell Kosters explains the “breadth” of the simulacrum of White Supremacy best when he says “white supremacy is not unitary, but composed of multiple fluid networks of relationships” (Kosters 212). It is extremely multifaceted, reaching from education to government and health care to social norms. Examples of these include segregation, the Jim Crow laws of the 1960s and the wage gap that disproportionately affects Black women, the sterilization of Black people, and the ways in which White people appropriate Black culture. It is so deeply ingrained into our everyday lives that we have forgotten what the world outside of the simulacrum looks like; It has become the reality. White people are treated better than Black people in all aspects of society. They are greater than, from a hierarchal standpoint, and always have the advantage. It’s just the world we live in and most White people seem to accept it.

It is so deeply ingrained into our everyday lives that we have forgotten what the world outside of the simulacrum looks like; It has become the reality.

This is where the “sunken place” comes in. As seen in the clip, Missy hypnotizes Chris and sends him to the “sunken place”. She is the only one who can get him out. Jordan Peele defines the “sunken place” as “(It) means we’re marginalized. No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us”. It is the oppression of Black people put into the idea of an internal prison, one that can’t really be escaped. At least, not alone (I will go into this later). The “sunken place” the Armitage’s trap Chris is in is a product of White supremacy: it represents the oppression of Black people in America and it is obvious that, while Chris is trapped there, he is being oppressed by the system that the White people have created. Missy Armitage represents White supremacy in the system. Not only does she trap him in this place where he cannot be heard, but she also seems to find joy in it when she smiles in the clip. This can be related to America as a whole. Black people are trapped by White supremacy while White people appropriate them and strip away what they can until their rights and freedoms are gone. Some even embrace the idea of White supremacy, committing hate crimes and intentional microaggressions.

So How is White Supremacy a Simulacrum?

There are a few ways the simulacrum of White Supremacy works. The most conspicuous way has to do with Kosters’ idea of it working through “multiple fluid networks”. White supremacy has infiltrated itself into every part of society; one cannot escape it. In fact, to be American in general, one must accept the fact that White Supremacy is the way of life. There is no end to it; as stated previously it is in education systems (segregation), government (Jim Crow and anti-immigration laws), law enforcement (police brutality), and even and perhaps most horrifically, health care (the algorithmic bias against Black people). The societal norm is that White people are better than Black people and even though the idea of it isn’t true, here in America it is.

White supremacy has infiltrated itself into every part of society; one cannot escape it

Cultural appropriation is another way the simulacrum has infiltrated society. It’s when someone takes a part of a minority’s culture and use it for their own purposes or even exploit it. Erich Hatala Matthes describes it in his essay, “Cultural Appropriation and Oppression”, as an action “of silencing, exploitation, misrepresentation, or offense”. He goes on to explain that “what ultimately makes particular instances of cultural appropriation wrongful, and thus what grounds objections to them, is the way in which they manifest and/or exacerbate inequality and marginalization” (Matthes). This “silencing” appropriation causes is related to the “sunken place” in that it is part of what makes it so hard for White people to hear the screams of Black people. While the White appropriators are making Black culture popular and their own thing, such as locks and AAVE, the Black people these things belong to are being punished for them. Black children in public schools are sent home for their hairstyles and corrected for the language they use.

According to Brooke Dianne-Mae Hughes, one of the major highlights of the movie is the impact of colorblindness, or the idea that one’s race doesn’t affect how they are perceived. The issue with this is exemplified in Jim, the blind white man that likes photography. He tells Chris, “Some people want to change– some people want to be stronger, faster, cooler. But don’t, please, don’t lump me into that. I couldn’t give a shit what color you are: what I want is deeper. I want your eyes, man. I want those things you see through.” (Hughes 62). He is saying here that Chris’ race doesn’t factor into what he wants from him. However, this simply is inaccurate. What makes Chris so vulnerable and such a great victim to him is the fact that he’s Black and therefore at a disadvantage. Jim has all of the tools necessary to get by in life, being a white man. When Chris disappears, people might look for him but it most likely wouldn’t make national news like the death of Jim would. Hughes further explains this by saying, “Jim, as empowered white body, has the power to determine what bodies possess the right to autonomy or which ones should be commoditized” She goes on to say that “This logic is the formulation of much of the government of the United States in which white bodies control the narratives of individual rights and submission to these systems of power is not only expected, but also celebrated” (Hughes 63). We see examples of this in Get Out, when the White family members get together at the party to assess Chris’ talents and assets. It also can be seen in our world, implied with the statues and various commemorations to Confederate generals. This is a great example because it is celebrating not only the generals but their values and accomplishments i.e. the enslavement and submission of Black people. This makes the idea of the “sunken place” a bit more complex. It doesn’t seem to be solely about the oppression of Black people by racists, like I once thought. It has to do with White people in general. The existence of the illusion that is White Supremacy is what keeps Black people in the “sunken place”. That is what keeps them silent as they scream.

White supremacy is not a real thing, in the sense that White people have never been better than other races due to their race only.

With all of this in mind, I want to go back to the idea of the simulacrum that is White supremacy. The oppression of Black people is a trap, much like the “sunken place”, but it is also an illusion. This oppression is a product of the idea that White people are better than Black people based solely on their race. In the movie, Chris is stuck in the “sunken place”, unable to move or speak; he is falling in an endless abyss that cannot be escaped. This is a very literal example of a simulacrum, a place that is so far removed from reality that it becomes one of its own. The “sunken place’ may not be a real place one can go to, but nevertheless, Chris ends up stuck there. This is how I see society. White supremacy is not a real thing, in the sense that White people have never been better than other races due to their race only. However here we are: Black people are being brutalized and murdered by police, cannot always get proper healthcare, are disproportionately criminalized, and until 56 years ago were not allowed to even exist in White spaces (restaurants, schools, churches, etc.) without facing severe consequences. Because of this simulacrum, Black people are constantly in a state of falling, of sinking.

Conclusion: So What Do We Do?

Finally, I think it is important to recognize the ways in which everyone can escape this simulacrum. In Get Out, Chris is saved with the help of his friend, Rod Williams. They work together to kill Rose and be free of the “sunken place” for good. This is what I think needs to happen in reality. We need to work together to fight the idea of White supremacy, fight against the illusion, and restore the real reality; people of all races are equal to each other. In order for this to happen, we must first identify the simulacrum. Then we must actively rebel against it. White people, myself included, have inherent racial bias and it is important to not only be critical of that but to also correct it. We must also lift up Black voices to help free them of the “sunken place”. While it is obvious, as seen with the movie, that Black people are more than capable of freeing themselves, it is important to remember that White people created this simulacrum and together we must remedy it.

Works Cited

Baudrillard, Jean. “The Precession of the Simulacra” Simulacra and Simulations. Translated by Sheila Faria Glaser, 1983.

Hughes, Brooke D. Our Sunken Place: “Post-Racial” America in Jordan Peele’s 0RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2 Get Out1RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2, State University of New York at Buffalo, Ann Arbor, 2018. ProQuest, http://login.library.coastal.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/our-sunken-place-post-racial-america-jordan/docview/2057280222/se-2?accountid=26722.

Kosters, Mitchell. “Escaping the Logic(s) of White Supremacy: The Practice of Oppositional Thought.” #Charlottesville: White Supremacy, Populism, and Resistance, edited by Christopher Howard-Woods et al., OR Books, 2018, pp. 212–216. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv62hg0j.28. Accessed 7 Dec. 2020.

Matthes, E.H. Cultural appropriation and oppression. Philos Stud 176, 1003–1013 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-018-1224-2