Trauma In The Film 'Get Out'

Trauma is a nuanced and interpersonal phenomenon that occurs when a traumatic event is experienced. Whether it be firsthand or by a loved one, trauma significantly impacts the way you perceive yourself and your surroundings. There are various mechanisms people use to grapple with such events, commonly referred to as ‘trauma response’. Released in 2017, Jordan Peele’s breakthrough film, ‘Get Out,’ unmasks modern-day racism through clever cinematic storytelling, telling the story of a traumatised individual. The protagonist, Chris Washington, is at the centre of this narrative, traumatised both by childhood loss and his experiences as a black man in America. Using a trauma-specific psychoanalytical lens I will attempt to prove my hypothesis,

Freud defines suppression as the ‘conscious process of pushing unwanted, anxiety-provoking thoughts, memories, emotions, fantasies and desires down.’ Suppression is similar to repression in the sense that both involve the hiding of thoughts and feelings, however suppression is different in that it is a conscious decision rather than an unconscious one. This goes hand-in-hand with the race-based traumatic stress theory, documented originally by Robert T. Carter, who believed that people of colour experience racist discriminaton as a traumatic experience and often mimicked symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Carter writes that ‘Race-based traumatic stress injury can be a consequence of emotional pain that a person may feel after encounters with racism.’ Being black, Chris is encountered with racism which alters the way he communicates greatly. Throughout the film Chris experiences many suggested symptoms of race-based traumatic stress, particularly hypervigilance and anxiety. He asks Rose if her family knows he’s black, a fact she seemingly hadn’t considered important, communicating his fear of being ‘chased off the lawn with a shotgun.’ Having likely experienced such violence previously, he is hypervigilant in regards to his safety in comparison to Rose, who doesn’t even consider the possibility of aggression. Because Rose shuts his worries down, he suppresses these fears in order to cope with them. He also suppresses his opinions to avoid conflict with white people, accepting the offhanded comments such as the blatantly inappropriate reference to his sexuality made by Lisa- ‘Is it true? Is it better?’ This is a clear sign of race-based trauma, having learned to keep his mouth shut at the expense of white people’s comfort. This is typical of Carter’s research because feelings of anxiety are a common symptom of Race-based traumatic stress, which can lead to