Get Out: The Fear of White Spaces

Tuesday night with my the three loves of my life, in a theater filled with black folk, I saw the film Get Out by super genius Jordan Peele.

My head is still reeling. My heart still racing. Jordan has unearthed some very frightening and horrific truths about being black in white America. Everyday black people wake up to this extremely disconcerting reality, poised to play the game, wear the mask and act out the part in order to thrive in white spaces. Spaces that are not only poorly designed for diversity, but are often acutely hostile to that diversity or "otherness."

In this post I want to highlight some important themes about race in the film. I will also discuss the parallels between these themes, historical accounts of the black experience and my own. This is your official *Spoiler Alert.* If you have not already seen the film I urge you to do so immediately.

Microaggressions 

Definition: The everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.

Example: When someone comments on how "well spoken" you are as if it's unexpected or unheard of that black people (or people of color in general) have a strong command of the English language.

"In many cases, these hidden messages may invalidate the group identity or experiential reality of target persons, demean them on a personal or group level, communicate they are lesser human beings, suggest they do not belong with the majority group, threaten and intimidate, or relegate them to inferior status and treatment." - From Psychology Today

Examples From The Movie:

1. Rose dismisses Chris' concern about her parents not being aware that he is black.
• Rose invalidates his lived experiences with race and the fears associated with being a black man dating a white woman.
• Historically, black men and boys have been persecuted and killed based on accusations about their interactions with white women. (See Emmett Till and the Scottsboro Boys.) The reverberations of those incidents carry on today.
2. Chris is asked for his driver's license after Rose hits a deer even though he was a passenger in the incident.
• The assumption is because he's black he's somehow at fault/suspicious. We are all oh so aware of how black men are treated by police in this country and they are 3 times more likely to die from police use of force.
3. One of the party goers at the Armitage place asks Chris if the "African-American experience is an advantage or disadvantage." Oh boy.

"You are sometimes expected to be the barometer of racism. If there is a conscience in the workplace, you are it. You carry the burden of calling out discrimination when you see/experience it with the risk of retaliation. [This] can be anything from being overlooked for a promotion, to losing your job altogether for creating a “hostile” environment. If/when you don’t call out racism, you [experience] emotional turmoil and guilt, feeling like a sell out for not standing up for yourself or others." - From Crunk Feminist Collective

 At some point a black person (or any POC: person/people of color) will inevitably be asked to speak for their entire race. Spoiler alert: That's an extremely asinine thing to ask a POC. The experiences of people of color are unique to each individual and furthermore if you want to learn something read a book. We are not Encyclopedia Britannica.

Personal Real Life Example:

If I had a dollar for every time a white person (or a man) called me "sassy,"

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiih.

That classification almost always follows an instance in which I assert myself or plainly reject whatever nonsense or BS they're throwing. What I'm not about to do is tip toe around your mess or passively attempt to correct you. You come for me, bess believe I'm coming for you. Why is standing up for myself immediately attributed to "sass?" How about I love and respect myself and I demand the same respect from you. Chile, please.

Isolation and Conformity

Isolation is the cornerstone of white spaces. As soon as a person of color enters the space they, intentionally or unintentionally, are labeled as other. The most common occurrence is in the workplace. A major problem with lack of diversity in any space is that it causes isolation and in turn feelings of inauthenticity.

"More than 35% of African-Americans and Hispanics, as well as 45% of Asians, say they 'need to compromise their authenticity' to conform to their company's standards of demeanor or style. Forty percent of African-Americans -- and a third of people of color overall -- feel like outsiders in their corporate culture, compared with 26% of Caucasians."- Report from the Center for Talent Innovation

Why? It probably has something to do with the lack of diversity in their places of work. People of color are hiding parts of themselves in order to navigate white spaces. The assumption is that it's easier, more logical. Don't rock the boat. Just pack yourself away. Adjust your own "temperature" rather than changing the thermostat for everybody.  The truth of the matter is, it's extremely burdensome. It's already hard feeling all alone, but to have to conform to a white space, one that can be hostile, dismissive, insensitive or clueless? Girl boo. You don't need that sh*t in your life.

We are taught that it isn't within our right to behave authentically because our norm isn't "the norm," that we can't change the temperature to our liking. That's complete BS. You have a right to occupy those spaces without compromising your identity and the more diverse a place becomes the more we have to moderate the temperature for the benefit of the whole.

Examples From the Movie:

1. Chris at the dinner table with Rose and her family. 
• It starts out innocent enough with the main focus initially around Rose and her pubescent mishaps. The flames of discomfort soon arrive, however, once brother Jeremy says that with Chris' "genetic make-up and physic he could be a beast" at MMA fighting. The assumption is that because he's black he magically has all the necessary traits and physical characteristics to excel at the sport. Black men have always been stereotyped as naturally athletic while everyone else (read: white men) "had to work hard" to achieve the same level of athleticism. Poor dears.
• Since Chris is alone and no one is there to call out Jeremy's crap, he conforms to his environment by not pointing out the insult. If he takes on the responsibility of calling it out he'll be rocking the boat. This goes against his very character. It is extremely apparent throughout the film that Chris has been taught to deescalate and comply in racist situations, i.e. adjusting his temperature. So the slight goes unpunished and Chris is left with a bitter taste in his mouth. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
2. Chris on display throughout the big party.
• The literal poking and prodding by that random white lady, the overwhelming spotlight imposed by the father, Dean, when he shows off Chris and introduces him to like 10 people at once, and the party goers hyper-awareness of Chris' presence/whereabouts, especially when he goes upstairs to call Rod (super creepy).
• This attention undoubtedly exacerbates Chris' feelings of isolation. Again no one comes to his rescue. Rose is useless and hardly serves as a buffer or defense (But she was so quick to get buck with that police officer. Mmm.). Chris continues to conform to his environment. He ignores or brushes off each of these slights. It's clear he's just trying to make it through the ordeal without causing further attention or harm to himself.

Personal Real Life Example:
Most of the isolation I experienced occurred in undergrad and grad school. (Though if I continue on my current career trajectory I'm sure the workplace will outpace school.) My first and most hurtful experience with isolation was in my Journalism 425 class. This was a block class from 1pm to 5pm. During that time we basically put together a newscast to be aired on our local university channel.

Now the year before that I had one Jour buddy that I would talk to and consult with all the time for class. Let's call her Tina. So me and Tina were pretty cool and even though she wasn't black I was thankful for our "classroom friendship." So the following year in 425 my little world shatters. Tina is in the class but so is her best friend Lynne. I was effectively (say it with me) "kicked to the curb." I literally had no one to talk to from 1pm-5pm on those days. I was surrounded by people (mostly white, I think there was like one other Asian girl) but still so very much alone. Let's not even talk about how Tina and Lynne, best of friends, were giggling and laughing all in my little salty face. That was definitely sh*tsville for me. I remember dreading that class so much and feeling equally drained, lonely and depressed afterward.

That was mostly a reoccurring theme throughout my collegiate career. Not every class was like that but when it was, it was. In grad school this isolation was compounded by the feeling that no one could actually hear me speaking. I would say things and no one would react but then someone else would say the exact same thing and its laughs all round. That is the most nerve racking, insulting thing ever. I never felt safe enough or brave enough to call it out though. I just kept my mouth shut like Chris.

Paranoia and Ill Ease
This theme is the most insidious. It is so hard not to become suspicious about the way you are treated by the world. Everyday you hear about another injustice, another hate crime, another homegrown terrorist, another damning statistic about your prospects as a black person due to things that are completely out of your control.

You come to a point where you begin to question everything. Your mind is always drawing parallels between your personal experiences and the experiences of the larger minority group. All of this is in an effort to protect yourself though; to keep individuals or companies from taking advantage of you. But having to be aware, "woke" and questioning constantly can lead to feelings of paranoia.

You shake off most things, as Chris tended to do in the film. But there are others that get under your skin. The things you can never really know for sure: Am I, as a black woman, seriously considered for opportunities of advancement at work? Does my doctor not take my pain or my illness seriously because I'm black? Did that cab pass me up because I'm black? Am I treated poorly at work because I'm black?

It has happened to others before. It could happen to you, but how do you know for sure? The answer is, for the more covert occurrences, you don't.

Examples From the Movie:

1. Mr. Armitage asks Chris if he would consider hypnosis as a means to cure his smoking habit. This would be performed by Mrs. Armitage the family psychiatrist. 
• Honey, did you see the look on my mans face! Uh Un. None of that patna. That ill-ease between black men and the healthcare/medical industry is historically justified. See the Tuskegee Syphilis Study where they withheld treatment from black men with syphilis in order to study its affect on the body. If you want to go deeper read about Henrietta Lacks. 
• Also we just met, nawl you can't play in my head. But even after Chris rejects the offer Mrs. Armitage hypnotizes him anyway later that night. 
• Who would do such a thing? IDK but it's enough to make a black man in a white space question some motives and intentions.
2.  Jeremy attempting to spar with Chris at the dinner table
• So after he gives his "black man, strong body, good fighter" spiel Jeremy starts talking about Jujitsu. Apparently he knows a thing or two and whats to "show" Chris, who immediately shuts that idea down. If that ain't the most suspect of suspects. Upon their first meeting Jeremy is basically trying to kick Chris' ass.
• Why would any decent human being want to put you in a head lock upon your first encounter without provocation? IDK but it sho'll has to give a black man in a white space cause for pause. 
3. The cell phone beef with Georgina
• Okay, this might be a reach because Georgina is physically black. However, she's really Grandma Armitage living as a host in a black body so I say she's fair game to critique. Georgina's confrontation with Chris over unplugging his phone is a very hostile interaction. Homie kept stepping to him like she was about to do something. Also I've noticed through my numerous interactions with white folk, they have this incredible talent for condescension. This is where the literal words they speak are polite and courteous but you can feel the cuss words underneath. Like they could be apologizing to you and it feel like an insult. Ya'll know what I'm talking about? That was Georgina's whole vibe all up and through this scene.
• Why is Georgie talking to him out the side of her neck? Why does she fail to perform normal social cues, i.e. talk to Chris with sense and respect his personal space? IDK but it makes a black man wonder why he's being treated this way.

Personal Real Life Example:

I worked as a cashier in downtown LA in a small cafe last year. The cafe was inside a corporate building and only served the employees of that building. There were several different kinds of POC represented but it was still overwhelmingly white. Now I know that people in the food service industry get treated like crap regardless of their skin color, it's a thankless job. However, you come to notice and compare how one group treats you versus another. The black people (mostly women) at my job were generally happy to see me. When I was first hired they explicitly told me they were glad they hired a black woman. They always chatted me up, smiled and joked with me. (It's amazing and disheartening how overjoyed POC get when seeing people like them in corporate spaces.)

Additionally, there was one Egyptian woman and ~4 white men who were purposefully and intentionally nice to me. They were just good people. Comparing that treatment with what I received from everyone else? Honey it was like night and day. Most people got on every last one of my 100 billion nerves. For some people there was just always a problem, like always.

Why can't I receive the level of amiability I get from black women from other races of people? I have observed that some incidents that occur between white people never happen when I'm interacting with black folk. I never feel like I'm being judged or mistreated for my blackness among black people but when I'm in white spaces that thought is always nudging me in the back of my mind. I am aware that a lot of factors are at play in every situation but that doesn't stop the thought that my blackness functions as an inhibitor.

Whew! That's it. I'm done. I'm tired.

So what do you think about Get Out? Do you agree or disagree with anything that I have presented here? Let me know in the comments below.