US: My thoughts on this controversial film
Unless you have been living under a rock, I am positive you have heard all the chatter about the new controversial horror film, “US,” directed by Jordan Peele. Millions have been rushing to the theaters since the movie officially came out on March 22nd. This movie followed behind Peele’s other insanely popular film “Get Out.” This left viewers with high expectations when announced he’d be directing a second. The question is, did he live up to those expectations? It seems most people are leaving the theaters scratching their heads in confusion. Leading them to search on google for all of the hidden meanings. I know I personally ran home and instantly binge watched a few YouTube videos to help myself comprehend what I just watched.
If you have not watched the movie, please exit my blog and come back when you do to avoid any spoilers.
The most dawning question is whether or not the film was good. People have been trying to place this picture in the good or bad category and I feel like that is honestly impossible. The word that I use to describe this movie is intriguing because it is simply just that. I don't believe that Peele created this horror story with the intentions of making a “good” film. I believe that he created this thriller in hopes to open up our eyes and make us use our minds for once.
When scrolling online, you will see a bunch of conspiracies. Jordan leaves a lot of room for interpretation and it is driving people crazy. There are a lot of hidden messages in this movie which is contributing to its popularity. When examining, you can see all of the little details that they put into it, even down to specific games in the background of the closet. I appreciate how much effort was put into this film and the differences that Peele is making by casting Blacks in leading roles. He is doing major things and that does not go unnoticed.
In regards to “US,” I do think that people are diving too deep and are overthinking things. I personally find the lack of information in the film annoying. It felt like things in this movie went from 0-100 really quickly. From my point of view, I honestly had no idea what was really happening throughout the entirety of the film. I do think that was partially the director’s intention. To keep things very vague so that viewers could have that “Ohhhh, wtf,” moment at the end. However, I felt distracted while watching the film because I was paying attention to little things that didn't matter in hopes to make sense of the film. For example, I noticed that Adelaide's father was probably an alcoholic but, that was useless information as the film progressed.
As I stated, there are a lot of theories circulating. People are stating that the tethered are a representation of other minorities in the US and simply the US as a whole. They are comparing it to the minorities in our country and how they are oppressed but, if they all stood together they could overcome the system. The other theory is comparing how US citizens are ungrateful for all that we have in comparison to third world countries. These are two theories that I believe are plausible. They make sense and definitely correlate with our society. The minorities in the US really aren't minorities. We are simply just oppressed and have been brainwashed into thinking we are a smaller group of people. I also agree that in the United States we look at the material things far more and do not appreciate all that we are blessed to have.
We all know that Adelaide was switched out but what about the son? This is one that I am on the fence about. Part of it makes sense but, then there are some holes in how that could be true. The son in the movie seems to be a little different, which is fine. However, there are things that suggest that he’s not the real Jason. The first thing is him getting locked in the closet and panicking. Zora stated something along the lines that he should of learned his lesson the summers before because the same thing happened. He also was using a bigger vocabulary and the family didn't know where he learned it from. However, I think all kids do that at some point so I don’t find that one to be overly credible. Adelaide is also extremely connected to her son in comparison to her daughter. She seems to only be worried about him and his well being throughout the film. They are saying this is because she knows this is her true son. The biggest thing in this theory is how Jason can't remember his magic trick. The tethered simply just copy everything that the above ground people do but they don't necessarily know how to do it. So, if he was a tethered he would remember the motion but, wouldn't know how to actually do the trick. They are saying that the real Jason was switched out when he burned his face the summer before because he more than likely had a an accident when playing with fire. That would make him not able to talk which would make the switch out effortless. While all of this did get me thinking, I am not sure how accurate all of this could be. Like for one, if the real Jason is now a tethered why is running around like a spider? The kid was different but I don't think he was that different.
There were a lot of things that did not make sense to me in this film. Like everyone has stated how in the world did the tethered get all of the red uniforms and scissors? Being that Peele thought about every other little detail in this film, you’d think he’d do a better job in perfecting that major detail. The other thing that does not make any sense to me is the tethered. They say in the film that they are restricted underground and copy everything that they above ground people do. Sooo, how did they have an uprising if they are to copy everything? I also don't understand how just because Adelaide went down under she instantly became a tethered? For example the dance recital. They both were dancing simultaneously but to me that doesn't make any sense because the above ground people were unaware of their underground doppelgangers. So how is that just because she switched places, she actually switched places? Wouldn't she still just be the real Adelaide with a soul just stuck in a creepy tunnel? I am not sure if I am explaining it well enough but the switch just is messy to me.
Overall this movie was decent. I think that it may be slightly over hyped in people's efforts to seem deep online. However, I believe that Peele wanted exactly that. I mean it is making his movies profitable and popular. He and his films have been all that people have been talking about since it came out. Mystery is a great marketing technique. This movie also really creeped me out because in the land of conspiracy theories this could actually happen. “This” being the government having clones of us underground and using fluoride to control us.
The tunnels under the US have been talked about for years and so has fluoride. Those are two things that we can know about but ultimately have no control over them. The trippy part to me is the clones. Many Americans don't know this because who reads terms and conditions when signing things. When submitting your DNA to find out your background, which is a scam in itself because they literally tell you that you are from earth, you are giving those people permission to do anything with your DNA. When you are sending off your DNA to them, it no longer is yours and they are allowed to do anything that they want. Including, selling it to the government so that they can make clones of you….Being that Jordan Peele is among the rich and powerful…..I feel like he is spilling some hot tea…
What are your thoughts on US? Do you have an conspiracy theories you’ve come up with? Let me know in the comments!
