CinemaLit: Get Out (2017) 124 min -- ONSITE at Mechanics' Institute | Mechanics' Institute

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CinemaLit: Get Out (2017) 124 min -- ONSITE at Mechanics' Institute
June 2022 CinemaLit: – Black Lives/Black Directors LIVE

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June 24 - Get Out, 2017, 124 minutes, directed by Jordan Peele, starring Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams

Jordan Peele's basic concept for Get Out is both simple and brilliant. Why not wed the horror genre with American racism? But he takes it further. Get Out abandons the cinematic stereotype of the redneck Southern sheriff as all-purpose symbol of bigotry and hate, to focus instead on the insidious veiled racism of New York state upper class white liberals. The result is suspenseful squirm-in-your-seat moviemaking at its best. (Image used with permission of Universal Pictures)

 

CinemaLit is honored to welcome British-born and raised attorney and film critic Omar Moore as guest host for the June 24 screening and discussion of Get Out. Omar Moore is the founder of the film essay website The Popcorn Reel where his movie reviews and interviews can also be found. He talks about film on the new The Popcorn Reel Podcast and on The Popcorn Reel YouTube Channel. Omar is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics' Circle and a former contributing film critic for the PBS television program "Roger Ebert Presents at the Movies." He is the host of The Politicrat, a daily podcast that focuses on contemporary politics and history and has its own merchandise store. He can be read in numerous places including Medium. Omar can also be found tweeting about film, politics and more on Twitter: @thepopcornreel 

 

CinemaLit June 2022 – Black Lives/Black Directors

June at CinemaLit presents films made by black directors telling the stories of black lives. Two – Harriet (2019) and Selma (2014) - are bold depictions of watershed moments in American history. Two more – Do the Right Thing (1989) and Get Out (2017) – are visceral examinations of race and racism in America.

Director Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1961. She began her career as a child actress on TV, later moving into films. She appeared in Spike Lee's School Daze (1988) and Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991) before making her big screen directorial debut with the acclaimed Eve's Bayou (1997). She alternated directing assignments with teaching at UCLA, USC, Columbia, Yale, and MIT, and is currently Associate Arts Professor at New York University. Harriet (2019) represents a major step in her career. The resulting film made a tidy profit and earned multiple award nominations.

Ava DuVernay (Selma) was born and raised in and around Los Angeles, graduating from UCLA with a double major in English literature and African-American Studies. She came to direct Selma (2014) through varied experience in journalism, public relations, and documentary filmmaking. The release of Selma saw her career move into high gear, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director. She has since made 13th (2016), a shattering documentary on the history of mass incarceration of African Americans since 1865. With awards coming her way and a number of film and television projects on the horizon, her career as director, producer, and screenwriter thrives.

Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing) has been making thought provoking films on race, class, justice, crime and punishment, poverty, and politics for nearly forty years. He is both the writer and director of Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), 4 Little Girls (1997), and 25th Hour (2002). His Malcolm X (1992) is an epic account of the life and times of the slain civil rights leader. He has received an Honorary Academy Award and a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for his 2018 film BlacKkKlansman.

Jordan Peele (Get Out) was born in New York City in 1979 and raised on the Upper West Side. After attending Sarah Lawrence College for two years, he found his first calling in television comedy on Mad TV, Key & Peele, and Fargo. His success on television led to his directorial debut with Get Out, which proved to be a sleeper smash hit. He has since produced Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018) and produced, directed, and wrote Us (2019). With his deft skills at comedy, drama, and horror, Peele has carved a unique place among contemporary filmmakers. His next foray into horror, Nope, is set for release in July.

 

Matthew Kennedy, CinemaLit’s curator, has written biographies of Marie Dressler, Joan Blondell, and Edmund Goulding. His book Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s, was the basis of a film series on Turner Classic Movies.

I don't have a favorite film,” Matthew says. "I find that my relationships to films, actors, genres, and directors change as I change over the years. Some don't hold up. Some look more profound, as though I've caught up with their artistry. I feel that way about Garbo, Cary Grant, director John Cassavetes, and others."

Classic films have historical context, something only time can provide,” Matt observes. “They become these great cultural artifacts, so revealing of tastes, attitudes, and assumptions.”

 

Programming in "Civil Rights, Artistic Diversity, Historical Reckoning: Exploring the Film, Literature, and Lives of Marginalized Communities" has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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