In Peele’s film, he conveys a sense of human confusion toward “non-behaving” non-human entities, like the Chimp, Gordy, the alien ship-shaped threat, and even O.J.’s horse, Lucky. In a firm about spectacle, Peele does a marvelous job of shaping our stance on this non-human and human conflict.
Regarding real-world intrupretations, OJ’s character referances, Oj Simpson, the Oj case was a humongous spectacle in tv history at the time. They both rode a bronco (untrained horse). Oj was on trial for double murder, and Gordy killed two people brutally. The UFO site was a reference to the government cover-up stating it was just floating balloons. Even, Jupe mistakes his “bad miracle” of surviving the Gordy attack as being “chosen” as he whispers to himself before he attempts to begin his show. — This is to say, Peele wants the viewer to understand that predators should not be tamed, and that “the world doesn’t deserve the unexplainable” (Antlers) meaning that attempting to put make everything a show, a fasade, or a spectacle will lead to bad miracles happening.
To dive deeper into Jupe’s character, who was most interesting to me. He has this secret room in his office, which he charges money to view and reflects on this deeply traumatizing past– yet, instead of sinking into dispair, looking for a way to understand Gordy, or ratifying his morals– he allows this incident to fuel his ego. Marking himself as chosen. In the moment of the murder, he is more focused on the shoe of the deceased co-star rather than the human-like expressions of relief paired with taking off the birthday hat and a sigh of relief by Gordy. He, even as an adult, didn’t take into consideration the trauma Gordy was facing all those years of being a spectacle for humans, all he knew was that Gordy didn’t hurt him and was relatively calm by the time he got to him, making him believe that he had something special that could tame a wild animal. That’s why he treats the alien like a spectacle for profit because he never truly learned a lesson from that tragedy. Concerning Atler’s quote, the “unexplainable” was the shoe that saved Jupe’s life, but he simply proved Antler’s point by turning this “miracle” into profit, Jupe didn’t deserve it. And I guess humans don’t deserve it? This ego depth leads him to be killed.
Outstanding question: Peele mentions the significance of the shoe, stating: “[its] a moment of where we check out of a trauma.” I want to know more about this. How does this relate to the actual Travis Chimp incident?
Hi Ajah, I appreciate that you bring up the detailed point of the meaning on that shoe. I think in order to understand why the shoe is significantly important, we might need to dig into different themes and connotations the director wants to present.
Besides the conventions that contribute to genre mixing, the most prominent accomplishment of Nope may be its innovation on its social functions, embodying social reflections in a horror film, which few people would expect. It first discusses the attitude of human beings when facing a spectacle by demonstrating diverse groups of people’s responses and their separate consequences. Jupe tries to control the spectacle, taking charge of it to gain more commercial profits, and finally killed by it; Antler dedicates himself to the spectacle and art and sacrificed for his pursuit, becoming the martyr of this spectacle-chasing industry because consumers always demand for more spectacles to watch; OJ and Em, the ones that refuse to chase for spectacle and stare at it, finally survive. When Pop was still alive, he spoke to OJ: “Ghost is out there”, and OJ responds “I guess some animals ain’t fit to be trained” corresponds to what happened later in the plot: the family understands to respect the nature instead of holding everything under control, taming everything to personal belonging just like Jupe thinks. In this case of shoe, the director satirizes that people’s attention is always on the unusual spectacle (the shoe), rather than the real tragedy (the Gordy’s brutal killing).
Moreover, I think a deeper meaning of this social reflection may have an anti-Hollywood purpose. The plot of film companies continuing using the accident to create peripheral goods to gain more profit after Gordy’s killing is a sarcasm used to satirize contemporary media and entertainment companies such as Diysney’s way of amassing wealth without limits and morality, as well as showing incoherence and ignorance of the consumers who always demand more striking spectacles, led by the nose of capital. It also infers that excessive capitalist involvement leads to tragedy. In addition to this, OJ and Em want to clear the name of their great-great-great-grandfather, so that color and ethnicity are no longer the reason for the industry to forget is also criticizing the film industry for erasing the contributions of black men. It is such an innovation that the director can use film itself to challenge and judge and question as well as reflect the film industry as a whole.
Much of the narrative and the critical devices used in progressing the overall story had key references to pop culture. Gordy’s parallels to Travis the Chimp, O.J.’s similarities to O.J. Simpson, and Lucky are used to reference the famous Bronco and the UFO site’s reference to government cover-ups. Those are certainly interesting references and examples used throughout the film and were crucial to establishing the core themes of spectacle. While I agree that these references enhanced the quality and depth of the overall film, I still have questions regarding what you mean by “human” and “non-human” conflict and how this relates to exploitation and spectacle.
I agree with your analysis of Jordan Peele’s film and its portrayal of human confusion regarding non-human entities. I liked how Peele skillfully explores the dynamics between humans and these entities, highlighting our tendency to turn them into spectacles or profit sources. Jupe’s character reflects this by capitalizing on his traumatic past instead of looking for understanding or compassion. The reference to O.J. Simpson’s case as a real-world interpretation adds a layer of depth to the film’s commentary on the consequences of making everything a spectacle. Peele’s mention of the shoe is intriguing and could relate the Travis Chimp incident to shedding light on how people cope with traumatic events by fixating on certain details rather than confronting the larger issues.
Ajah, I think this was a great and very thought-provoking post. I like the connections you drew between the film and real-life references. In particular, I hadn’t thought about the correlation between OJ Simpson killing two people and Gordy doing the same. Also, similar to you, I was very intrigued by the shoe in the Gordy scene. When I watched it, its presence obviously felt very out of place. There was so much chaos – blood everywhere, entire set trashed and ripped apart, people screaming – but when Jupe looks at the shoe, everything becomes silent. I think it added to the horror and out-of-this-world aura of the entire film, making the alien presence scarier and everything related to it more ominous and mysterious. My one critique about it though would be that throughout the movie, I assumed Gordy was somehow brainwashed/tricked by aliens into killing the humans, as we saw other animals (OJ’s horses) seemingly go crazy, and after finishing the film and reflecting on it, I still can’t quite put my finger on why exactly the Gordy scene was included/what it contributes to the film.