Symbolic Meaning of the Sunken Place
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.
Exploiting, occupying, and controlling black bodies is a common theme both historically and contemporary in the United States. Slavery, Jim Crow, and the Prison Industrial Complex relied on, and continue to build, on the Sunken Place for the maintenance and successful continuity of such oppressive systems. In a post-racial era that professes egalitarianism, the Sunken Place is essential because it masterly illustrates, through unconventional methods, a phenomenon- white supremacy-that remains hidden in our society. The symbolism represented by such a metaphor serves in continuing the conversation about racism, that is so ever prevalent in our society, with hopes of creating positive social change through art.