Corinna Kelley
Contributing Writer
Horror movies serve not only to scare but to warn. Hidden in metaphors and symbols, films about zombies and psycho killers exist outside the realm of their own obviosity. Horror often reflects upon society and its pitfalls. A contemporary issue is the rise of a desensitized, money-hungry generation driven by an insatiable desire for fame, fueled by media consumption culture. This obsession for glory often leads individuals to create spectacles — making every action bigger than the last — at the expense of their own humanity. In the 2022 movie “Nope,” Jordan Peele uses specific symbols — such as the horses, to draw comparison, and the elusive alien entity, embodying the dangers of spectacle — to critique the exploitation and taming of Black identities in Hollywood, highlighting the pervasive impact of “capture culture.”
The 130 minute film includes several themes and hidden storylines within its arc. The movie opens on the two second clip of the first ever motion video: a Black jockey riding his horse. In a pitch to Hollywood executives, Em – the main character’s more palatable sister – notes that Eadweard Muybridge, who shot those images, is well known in the industry, while the jockey was lost to history. Black erasure in Hollywood has been a prominent issue throughout history, alienating an entire race. At the very beginning of the film the main character, OJ, is working for his father’s company Haywood’s Hollywood Horses. In a scene of him attempting to “sell” his horse to a team of executives and actors for their upcoming film, OJ is brushed aside in all the hubbub of the set. It’s then that OJ’s relationship with Lucky, the first named horse of the film, is revealed, and the comparison between the two becomes obvious; it is only when the horse gets overstimulated and kicks an actor that both the horse and OJ receive an ounce of attention.
Throughout the film, OJ, being a quiet and calculated man, is often overstepped due to his lack of assertiveness. The Hollywood scene often ignores those who don’t make an impact, viewing OJ as a shameful substitute for the once-great Mr. Haywood and his horses. Peele’s motives for OJ’s character is illuminated through the portrayal of animals representing Black erasure. Creatures, such as Lucky and Gordy the monkey, are shown to be exploited continually for monetary intents. For instance, washed up child-actor Jupe uses OJ’s horses to feed the alien — an attempt to control its animalism— to produce a spectacle for his waning audience. This leads to the central dichotomy being based upon the idea of monetizing the unknown by exploiting an unaware creature. The central plot of the movie follows OJ and Em going to extreme lengths to obtain the “impossible shot” of this alien creature. Adding to Jupe’s own attempts of controlling the uncontrollable, you see a societal pattern to exploit others without giving them credit or humanity, one that dates back to the first moving picture.
The film exposes the consequences of a spectacle. A spectacle is an eye-catching public display or performance. The movie’s premise centers on two siblings determined to capture the “impossible shot” of the unknown. Later in the film, Holst, a well-known filmmaker, joined this mission with them. He soon realizes however that “we don’t deserve the impossible” and sacrifices himself to the alien for a chance at greatness. Holst remains a reminder to those watching the film that the quest of spectacle can soon turn to vile obsession.
Jordan Peele’s “Nope” raised questions about the alien’s symbolism and its role in the film’s themes and plots. Theories have claimed multitudes, ranging from those that claim the alien represents Hollywood to those that claim it represents nothing, it’s simply an alien.
Seeing the alien as a symbol of Hollywood, one can point to the scene of “Jean Jacket” (the alien) spitting keys and gore over the Haywood’s house. In simple terms, this can represent the Hollywood-famous notion of abusing and discarding its members. This allegory can be further examined when looking at Jupe’s character in the film. Jupe was a child actor, famous for Kid Sheriff and Gordy’s Home. However, after Gordy kills most of the cast, we can assume Jupe was left out of a job for years. His start as a child actor left him yearning for more, making his search for the alien a desperate bid to reclaim his previous fame. This exploitation of child actors is nothing new in Hollywood, from Jennette McCurdy to Ke Huy Quan, who both suffered from their early stage days. For Ke Huy Quan, whose fame arose from “The Goonies,” a fear developed that he had “nothing more to offer.” He, representing many, believed that because work didn’t come easily, he wasn’t important, leaving him to desire recognition again. The alien serves as a metaphor for these animalistic tactics used by Hollywood to exploit its vulnerable members.
Jordan Peele’s “Nope” is a suspenseful, at times humorous, film that cleverly uses symbolism to explore Hollywood’s exploitation of Black excellence and the dangers of spectacle. Through the enigmatic alien, Peele challenges viewers to confront the unsettling realities of representation in the industry and the consequences of commodifying spectacle.