Horror Blackademics: The Get Out (2017) Syllabus

Written By Ashlee Blackwell
I'll be in the movie mania that was/is still Get Out for a very long time. I had my initial response soon after my first screening and sung its praises of being an all around great film. Literally, a piece of cinema that is almost perfect. And the follow up from other writers that have celebrated and highlighted other facets of symbolism in relationship to the dynamics of race as well as what Get Out woefully underdevelops has been necessary to the conversation.

Crystal Boson, PhD is the woman responsible for creating a syllabus inspired by Jordan Peele's 2017 shockwave. A film that brilliantly tackles the nuances and fine threads of racial discrimination that often aren't addressed with care, Get Out uses them to tell a darker, more overt, genre-fied tale about the outcomes of them.

Dr. Boson has a BA and MA in English along with a PhD in American Studies. Her horror related presentations and work include the following:

"Masculinity, Vampire Culture, and a Culture of Violence”

“You Unzip Your Body and They Slide Right In: Hoodoo, Possession and Gender Performance”

“New Ways for Old Words: Retelling Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo as a Hoodoo and Post-Postmodern Text”

“Keepin’ it Real: Authenticity, Voodoo and Popular Culture”

“Speaking with a Fire-Tongue: The Soucouyant as a Vocal Subaltern”

“Conjuring Respectability: Marie Laveau(s) as Vocal Subalterns”

“Hoodoo and the American Imaginary”

“The Magic is in the Hole”: Predatourism, Hoodoo, and Voodoo Donuts.

"'Can you Blush?'- Teaching the Undead of Colour" in The Vampire Goes To College: Essays on Teaching with the Undead

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Dr. Boson is currently developing an actual "course" on Get Out with videos, guest speakers, and a discussion board. This introductory creation "focuses intently on the conversations surrounding White violence, the consumption of Black Bodies, and the erasure of Black Women that the movie elicits."

Part One: This Shit Ain't New covers the history of racial violence by white women, the stereotypes surrounding pain and strength in Black people, and experimentation on Black bodies.

 Part Two: But I Got Questions digs into Get Out's underserved and erasure of Black women as well as some of the immediate (white) responses to the film.

All of the further details and readings are below:

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In addition, I wanted to add more resources to any discussion or inklings for current and future educators or those simply looking to enhance their insight on the film. Get Out will certainly spawn so many differing courses and pedagogical approaches that reach just about every division of the Liberal Arts canon. A breakdown:

F.U.B.U.

Get the Fuck Outta Here: A Dialogue on Jordan Peele’s GET OUT Law Ware and Robert Jones, Jr.


Check Your (White) Privilege




Ashlee Blackwell
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