English 1201: Final Project by Harrison Moran

The Illusion of Progress

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:15:17 UTC

Get Out exposes how racism can hide behind a mask of “liberal progress.” The Armitage family seems accepting, but they’re actually exploiting Black bodies. This links to Seeing White Part 13, where white people benefit from systems of privilege while denying racism exists. Both show that racism isn’t just hate, it’s control masked as kindness.

Brainwashing and Control

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:18:09 UTC

In Get Out, the Armitages use hypnosis and surgery to control Black bodies—modern twists on old racial science. This reflects what Seeing White Part 8 reveals about Samuel Morton’s skull studies: how pseudoscience was used to prove white superiority. Jordan Peele shows how those ideas never disappeared, they just evolved into new forms of violence.

White Spaces Aren’t Always Safe Spaces

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:20:46 UTC

In Get Out, the party scene feels off and everyone’s too nice, too interested in Chris’s body. This connects to A Racial Cleansing in America (Seeing White Part 9), where silence and exclusion hid violent pasts. Peele reminds us that white-dominated spaces can be dangerous, even when they’re quiet or “welcoming.”

The Sunken Place as Historical Erasure

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:24:09 UTC

The Sunken Place in Get Out isn’t just a metaphor for powerlessness, it reminds us of how Black voices have been silenced throughout history. This connects with Maynard & Simpson’s letter, where colonial systems and prisons strip people of power. Chris’s immobilization represents how systems erase Black presence while using Black people for white benefit.

Entitlement to the Body and the Land

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:25:56 UTC

In Get Out, white characters feel entitled to control Black bodies, just as 19th-century Americans felt entitled to seize land under Manifest Destiny (Greenberg). Both reflect a mindset that justifies domination as “natural.” Peele shows that this colonizing logic didn’t end with borders, it lives on through people claiming ownership of others actions.

Whiteness as a Social Invention

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:27:30 UTC

Get Out shows how whiteness isn’t just about skin, it’s a constructed identity used for power. Norton explains how whiteness was invented in colonial America to divide and control. The Armitages don’t just want Black features, they want to be superior while keeping the system intact. Whiteness here is a mask for domination.

Freedom for Who?

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:29:09 UTC

The Armitages pretend to value freedom but literally steal it from Black people. Heike explains how the Founding Fathers are mythologized as champions of liberty, while many owned slaves. Get Out asks us to question who “freedom” was really built for, and how that myth still shapes racial power today.

The Auction Block Reimagined

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:31:20 UTC

The “bingo auction” in Get Out isn’t just creepy, it’s a modern version of the slave auction block. Just like racial science once justified who was “fit” or “useful” (Seeing White, Part 8), the Armitages treat Black bodies as commodities. Peele shows how racism changes, but the power dynamic stays the same.

Breaking the System from Within

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:43:22 UTC

In Get Out, Chris fights back using the very thing meant to imprison him, cotton. It’s a powerful reversal of slavery’s legacy. In Maynard & Simpson’s reading, liberation means resisting systems related to land theft and colonization. Get Out imagines what happens when the oppressed turn tools of domination into tools of escape.

“I Would’ve Voted for Obama a Third Time”

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:45:47 UTC

Dean’s line isn’t progressive....it’s a smokescreen. In Get Out, white characters use fake support to hide their exploitation. This again reflects Seeing White Part 13 with how many white Americans deny racism while still benefiting from it. Peele shows how good intentions mean nothing without confronting the systems behind them.

The Sunken Place Is Everywhere

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:47:49 UTC

The Sunken Place isn’t just in Chris’s mind, it represents the feeling of being ignored and trapped in everyday life. It reflects how society silences Black voices while keeping control. This connects to Norton’s point: whiteness is built to keep some people in power and others without it.

You’re Always Being Watched

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:50:43 UTC

In Get Out, Chris is constantly being watched, measured, and sized up. It’s not just awkward—it’s predatory. This reflects how surveillance has been used in history to control marginalized groups. From slave patrols to modern profiling, as seen in Maynard & Simpson, watching becomes a way of managing people and restricting their freedom.

The Price of Fitting In

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:53:16 UTC

Chris tries to be polite, to blend in....but it comes at a cost. Get Out explores how assimilation often means giving up pieces of yourself. This connects with Maynard & Simpson, who argue that real freedom can’t exist within systems built to erase identity; Belonging shouldn’t require silence or sacrifice.

What’s Forgotten Still Lives On

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 20:59:50 UTC

Georgina and Walter’s bodies remain in the movie, but their identities were taken over and buried. Get Out shows how erasing memory is part of control. This is similar to Seeing White Part 9, where towns erased racist histories to avoid accountability. Peele reminds us that forgetting isn’t healing. It’s another way systems preserve power, by pretending the past is gone.

Earned or Inherited?

moranharrison2022 — 2025-05-07 21:03:57 UTC

Get Out challenges the idea that success comes from hard work alone. Chris is smart and talented, but none of that protects him. Seeing White Part 13 breaks down how whiteness gave unearned advantages for generations. Peele shows us that the idea of hard work guaranteeing respect is a myth when the system is rigged, and those in power decide who “deserves” opportunity.