Ex-Jehovah's Witness to Scholar

As late as 1947, the Awake January 8 page 27 described the practice of excommunication as an unscriptural, pagan practice, using Hebrews 10: 26-31 to show it should be left to God to judge individuals.

The essential materials that a Potter needs for its finished object are clay, water, and a pottery wheel. Clay can be formed, with the assistance of other elements, into virtually anything: bricks, dishware, musical instruments, pipers, paper, and many other things. This flexibility of clay makes it one of earth's most important building materials.  When watching the film "Get Out", I could not help but notice the similarities between pottery and racism. Jordan Peele did a wonderful job in continuing the conversation about racism that is so ever prevalent in our society by utilizing the metaphor of the Sunken Place. 

When watching the film "Get Out," I could not help but notice some subtle themes. For example, Chris while experiencing microaggressions was expected to suppress (i.e., sacrifice) his feelings and to keep the peace and ultimately for whites to inhabit his body. After watching the film, I begin to reflect on what exactly accounts for such a sacrificial character that is apparent in the black community. The Bible in Jeremiah chapter 10:23 states, "man has no power of guiding his steps" (BBE). In the same book chapter 17:9 Jeremiah says, "The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate..."(NWT). Now, this is not a theological debate over the intended meaning of these verses. However, what is clear from these scriptures, and a common theme in the Bible overall, is that God's blesses those who listen to his word and reprimands, punishes, and even kills those who are disobedient or seek their direction in life. In fact, God makes it clear, for example to the Israelites, "…I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the curse; and you must choose life so that you may live…by loving Jehovah your God, by listening to his voice, and by sticking to him. Thus, choosing life is tantamount to listening (being obedient), sticking by God (being loyal), and loving him which also means hating the things he hates. 

Although these messages are found in the Bible, can we not all agree that such subtle messages are found in our larger society. On some level, we are all taught to respect and not question/challenge authority, that listening is equated with being a good citizen. That loyalty is equated with patriotism. Further, we are expected to be uncompromising in our submissiveness to work, religion, and government. All these messages in my opinion, on some level, keep us from living up to our full potential. It stifles us from pursuing our passions, dreams, and aspirations. We are often told to sacrifice ourselves, our endeavors for the benefit of work, religion, and nation. What's strange; however, is that these institutions which socialize us to be selfless and self-sacrificing are the very ones who stand to benefit from such devotion and sacrifice. The question then becomes, are these institutions teaching a philosophy for the betterment of humanity or is such teaching for the benefit and maintenance of their interests? As I see it, usually the very ones preaching the philosophy to be obedient and self-sacrificing fail themselves to be such. In fact, these very ones who make the rules are often the ones who transgressed in the most insidious way. 

The purpose of the Sunken Place is to facilitate the control over another ultimately. In the film, "Get Out," the mechanism of the Sunken Place was used to inhabit Black bodies. The key to entering the Sunken Place lies in the magic (hypnosis) of Missy Armitage, a white female psychiatrist. Once in the Sunken Place, Chris felt powerlessness as he lacked agency over his body and mind.  In our contemporary society, a similar mechanism of control that robs individuals of their agency is a phenomenon known as mass incarceration. According to Joy Moses, a contributor for the Washington Post, the criminal justice system attempts to get US (Black America) to believe that it was our perceived failures in life, not systematic racism, that explains our so-called lazy, uneducated, lack of family/community ties, uncivilized, immoral behaviors. But of course, all of this is a lie. Black America is rich in culture, education, resilience, perseverance, values, and morality. After all, did we genocide Native Americas? Did we kidnap, murder, rape, and separate millions of people and brought them to "the land of the free" to become slaves? Like Chris' character, instead of allowing others to define who we are we out to be proud of what we have overcome as a people. 

We all to some extent are conditioned to suppress our feelings. In many situations in life, we contain our inner voice and defer judgment to those whom we view as an authority figure: political leaders, professors, psychologist, or clergy/religion. The Milgram Experiment exemplifies this notion by demonstrating how vulnerable individuals are to those in positions of power. Milgram was interested in the relationship between authority and personal conscience. The study concludes that "ordinary people" are more than likely to obey authorities figures by following their orders even if those orders involve harming or worse killing other innocent human beings. In the film "Get Out," Chris' character is the personification of one who suppresses and defers his rather good judgment to authority figures, i.e., the Armitage family and their white guest. Although there are no orders to kill, he does; however, rationalize behavior by the Armitage family that is apparently life threating to him. 

The feelings that Chris suppress are the result of being a receipt of microaggressions. Microaggressions are "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority" (google). Here are some examples you may recall: (Dean Armitage) "If I could, I would have voted for Obama for a third term, best President hands down"; Jeremy Armitage say's to Chris, "with your frame and genetic makeup, if you really push your body…you be a f****** beast"; Hiroki Tanaka (the only Asian in the movie), "Do you find that being African American is more advantage or disadvantage in the modern world"; Lisa Deets (middle age white women who squeeze Chris' bicep) says, "So, is it true? Is it better?" Lisa is asking Rose is black sex better. 

Art has the ability to make what is seemingly invisible, visible to others. To unlock our perceptive powers where we can recognize, understand, and act on the things hidden in plain sight. In our contemporary society what remains unseen for many is the prevalence of systematic racism. Jordan Peele, writer and director of the film "Get Out," presents systematic racism in a way that allows audiences to reanalyze race and racism by use of a metaphor, "The Sunken Place." This article will analyze the symbolism found in the sunken place to understand its symbolic meaning. First, what is the Sunken Place?

The Sunken Place denotes an abode where an individual has been robbed of their sense of agency. It is a symbolic and literal representation of a process that suppresses the freeform of others. Thus, the Sunken Place is used by Armitage's as a means to gain mastery over Chris' body and mind. Although there is a key to accessing the Sunken Place, it was Missy Armitage (portrayed by a white female psychiatrist) who gave the authorization to send Chris there, against his will. When sent to this abode, Chris' physical body was essentially paralyzed. He subsequently experienced an out-of-body experience as he moved through an endless room of space and time, falling into an abyss of infinite dark matter. Once in the Sunken Place, sinking into a lower level of darkness exemplifies Chris' powerlessness while also denoting his subjugation and loss of agency. Thus, it can be discerned that the purpose of the Sunken Place is to aid in the control over another ultimately. But why gain control over Chris' body or Walter, Georgina, and Andre, the other black characters, who were robbed of their agency indefinitely? 

In the film, we see the purpose of the Sunken Place was to facilitate the Armitage's desire to steal and inhabit black bodies as a result of their perceived physical superiority. This notion is confirmed around 18 minutes in the film where Dean Armitage gives Chris a tour of his home. Dean mentions that his father lost to Jessie Owens in the 1936 Olympics, a defeat that his father "almost got over." This defeat then becomes the catalyze for the Armitage's desire to covet black bodies.