Thoughts on ‘Us’ & A Terrifying America

Spoilers follow! Don’t be mad if you haven’t seen the movie and you read this!

I went to see Jordan Peele’s previous foray into inclusive horror, “Get Out,” twice in theaters and I watched the version with the alternative ending with my sister at home. I thought about that experience with his work and what he had done before going to see “Us” last weekend with a predominately Black audience for a few reasons.

I prefer psychological thrillers and horror to blood and guts — but all of it freaks me out, honestly. Still, I love that Peele’s brilliance extends a tradition of Black filmmakers “defying odds” by setting box office records (I can almost see ignorant Hollywood executives exclaiming, “First Black Panther, now this?!”) and I appreciate especially the commitment to centering dark-skinned and brown-skinned Black-looking people as regular Americans who are as flawed and ordinary or extraordinary as any other person, which brings us to “Us.”

One of my closest friends and I went to see “Us” in Harlem because Black People. We are Black women who always have something smart to say, especially when we are inspired by a juicy, meaty film about Black folks. I was looking forward to this experience almost as much for the conversation we would have about it afterwards as the actual experience.