Jean Jacket from Jordan Peele’s NOPE is nothing like anything we have seen or could even imagine; quite literally an out-of-this-world kaiju creature. It is worth noting, however, that Jordan Peele consulted a plethora of scientific experts, such as marine biologist Kelsi Rutledge, to create the creature.
Rutledge used many existing marine animals as inspiration for Peele’s creative vision. The general saucer shape is inspired by sand dollars, it’s camouflage from cuttlefish, unfurling from bigfin squids, and it’s square shaped eyes from octopuses. Rutledge even grounded the creature in taxonomical nomenclature by giving it a name: Occulonimbus edoequus, meaning “hidden dark cloud stallion eater.”
So why does a mythical, otherworldly character need to be so grounded within earth’s limits? It is to be noted that such real-life elements are not blatantly associated with Jean Jacket within the confines of the film’s narration (OJ, for example, doesn’t say “it looks like a sand dollar” or anything of the sort). It is, however, interesting how real life elements come together to make something so strange that a human mind free from any grounded influences could not make something stranger. I think this speaks to human nature and psychology. Historically, familiar mythical creatures did not come straight from imagination, but the misinterpretation of real life animal remains. Dragons, serpents, and cyclopses all originate from strange fossil remains. Hybrid creatures, or chimeras (which Jean Jacket arguably is) have existed for millennia. I think it says something interesting about human nature: our thoughts in a vacuum are surprisingly grounded in reality, but when confronted and inspired by reality itself, they go to unimaginable places. It humorously reminds me of the idea that crazy things happen in movies, but some things in movies are so crazy, they have to be inspired by reality.
As interesting to think about as all of this is, I think it is also interesting to think about fact that Jean Jacket, a creature Peele intentionally wants to be ambiguous, has “lore.” Just reflecting on my own actions, I curiously went online after the movie to learn more about Jean Jacket, found all of this information, and found like minded people who were as interested in Jean Jacket as I was. I even found this creative depiction of Jean Jacket-like creatures created by @monstatron, inciting a Jean Jacket fandom.
Why do we try to make sense of Jean Jacket at all? Why does Jean Jacket even have a scientific name? I think that subliminally, Peele’s understanding of human nature allows him to manipulate audience’s understanding of the creature inside and outside of the theatre. People want to make sense of what is not meant to be understood, and will look for ways to re-enforce a stable point of understanding. I also think that it speaks to the creation of fandom and how ambiguity allows the audience to fill in the gaps.
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