NOPE, Exploitation and Erasure | A Video Essay
2I made this video for my African Studies class and figured I upload it to YouTube since it is similar in quality to content I enjoy making anyway.
In this video I talk about the newest Jordan Peele movie Nope, and the message it has about the exploitation and erasure of African Americans in the film production industry.
REFERENCES:
Brody, Richard. “‘Nope’ Is One of the Great Movies about Moviemaking.” The New Yorker, 25 July 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/nope-is-one-of-the-great-movies-about-moviemaking.
Jones, Anthony. “Nope's Weird Scorpion King Movie Connection Explained.” ScreenRant, 25 July 2022, https://screenrant.com/nope-scorpion-king-connection-explained/.
“Nope - behind the Scenes.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl8gU8jhxnQ.
“Richard Brody on the Movies That Should've Been Nominated for Best Picture | the New Yorker.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Mar. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BeZgYbwYz0&t=153s.
Vadala, Nick. “Philadelphia's Weird Connection to Jordan Peele's 'Nope'.” Https://Www.inquirer.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 July 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/movies/nope-explained-jordan-peele-eadweard-muybridge-philadelphia-20220722.html.
SCRIPT:
Nope is a neo-western sci-fi thriller that came out last year, 2022 at the time of recording. Nope is written and directed by Jordan Peele, his most recent work following Get Out and Us.
The film stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings who work on the family horse ranch, descendents of the unknown real world jockey from Plate 626. We see this theme reflected throughout the film, as we are frequently reminded that their family has gone mostly unrecognized throughout film history. They begin to start struggling financially since they can’t find work, as real horses are being replaced by special effects.
This problem is reflective of a larger issue in the industry, in how replaceable the individuals who work off-screen can be. The family ranch, Haywood Hollywood Horses, was largely involved with the film The Scorpion King, but at the last minute they were replaced by camels, once again erasing the family’s chance at making history, leaving behind only a bright orange sweater, a reminder of what could have been.
Peele predominantly cast black actors so his narratives can touch on instances of the black experience, with Nope focusing on the impact of exploitation and erasure in the film industry.
Brody is an American critic who has written for The New Yorker since 1999, inspired to study film after seeing French films while studying at Princeton. He was knighted by the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to French cinema in America.
Brody claimed Nope as one of the greatest movies about movie making, a science fiction western that embodies the moral implications of cinematic representation and exploitation, and the identity of filming the action that is off-screen.
- The history of cinema and its intersection with the experience of Black Americans.
- Black people in the American West, the unwelcome among the unwelcome, in the heart of the Wild West, Hollywood.
- The responsibility, the guilt, the danger, and the ethical compromise of the cinematic gaze.
- Moral implications of cinematic representation and exploitation