Jordan Peele doesn’t shy away from the weird and the existential, but what exactly was he trying to say withNope? When Peele first blazed into the world of comedy in 2008, it was obvious thatMadTVwas only the first stop on his path to success. However, he reached superstar status much quicker than anyone could’ve anticipated withKey & Peele. He and fellowMadTValum Keegan-Michael Key created the popular Comedy Central sketch show to give fans a taste of their many creative skills. Among them, Peele got to flex his ability to fuse horror with socially-conscious messages.
Like the infamous skit in which the main characters realize that being Black in a racist neighborhood actually comes in handy when their neighbors start turning into flesh-eating zombies. In many ways, his 2017hit horror movieGet Outwas an extension of what he’d already shown audiences he could do. Still, it marked his first foray into directing a star-studded movie that blends the horrors of racism, body displacement, and people who smile too much while secretly being evil. His next step? Aliens, cowboys, and childhood trauma.
RELATED:IsNopeA Horror Movie?
What isNopeabout?
Nopefollows OJ Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) as the siblings attempt to unravel the extraterrestrial mystery literally haunting their family’s farm. The two come from a long line of Black people who’ve trained horses for use within the entertainment industry. When their opportunities start drying up, an alien encounter that kills their father OJ Sr. (Keith David) turns out to be exactly what they need to turn their finances around. . . or at least it seems that way. Most people would be terrified at the idea of a giant spaceship lurking around in the darkness.
The Haywood siblings ofNope, however, bravely put their fear aside to focus on the financial potential of getting what they call an “Oprah Shot” – live footage of something right out of a sci-fi movie. Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) is the tech sales representative whose help they reluctantly accept after he proves to be quite useful during their first night of investigation. Meanwhile, theme park owner Ricky Park is basically using the UFO as a DIY form of exposure therapy. The former child star was forever traumatized when the chimp he’d been working with went on a rampage and beat most of his co-workers to death right in front of him. As these stories converge toward a riveting conclusion, the audience gets the sense that something much more sinister is at work.
How doesNopeend?
Earlier inNope, Emerald tells Angel about how she was supposed to train the young horse Jean Jacket before the responsibility was given to her older brother instead. She has a flashback to OJ Jr. pointing two fingers at his eyes and then pointing them at her as she watches longingly from an upstairs window of their childhood home. It’s his way of letting her know that she’s truly seen by someone who acknowledges her ambitions rather than completely ignores them. Later on, the UFO they’ve been trying to capture in an “Oprah Shot” has revealed its true form to bean elaborately-detailed space predator.
The goal of the siblings is still capturing the extraterrestrial beast on film, it’s just evolved into also trying not to be eaten alive in the process. Emerald finally gets her chance to shine as she takes control of the terrifying situation at hand. OJ Jr. repeats the hand gesture from their childhood right before Emerald falls into a flawless Akira Slide. After much blood sweat and tears, she finally manages to get the long-awaited “Oprah Shot”.Nopeends after the hungry creature gets its final meal before exploding and, like its previous victims, falling to the ground in pieces.
What is Jordan Peele trying to say withNope’s story?
On its face,Nopeis about the shared consequences of one man’s attempts to tame the untamable – a space predator and his own PTSD. Ricky makes the alien creature a main attraction by feeding it horses, which arguably puts the neighboring horse ranch in danger. Who could’ve seen that coming?Jordan Peele goes even deeperand explains thatNopeis a cautionary tale about spectacle and exploitation. The award-winning director cites rubbernecking – drivers slowing down to “sneak a peak at [an] awful spectacle – as the movie’s inspiration. He further explains thatNopeis “about exploitation. It’s about feelings of rage.”
Wild animals – like Gordy the chimp, the horses, and the alien creature – are exploited for their entertainment value. Hardly anyone is thinking about how treating them like spectacles might go wrong. OJ Jr. tries to bring some awareness to this fact while he and Lucky are on a movie set only for the horse to nearly kick someone’s head off after being badly spooked by its own reflection. It’s unclear if any similar attempts were made before Gordy turned his own TV set into a bloodbath. But what happens when no one is around to speak up for the alien creature in the sky? According toNope, alien plushies followed by a bizarre series of violent events.
The ending ofNopeisn’t as ambiguous as that ofJordan Peele’s controversialUs. Instead of leaving audiences reeling in confusion,Nopevery succinctly ends with the victory of its protagonists.Usstill garnered critical acclaim for how it tackled the story of a family battling demons that had literally manifested into mirror versions of themselves. More fans just appreciated that the ending ofNopefelt final. Ironic, considering howPeele is teasing a sequelwith the potential of creating an MCU-like larger universe.Nopeshows viewers who to root for and gives them an ending worthy of a cheerful celebration.
At the same time, the storytelling process is engaging, and the plot unfolds satisfyingly over time. The overall message ofNopeis clear: even handlers with good intentions can’t stop a spiraling situation when not everyone is on board with treating wild animals with respect. Even the movie’s high note is pretty disturbing when one thinks about it deeply enough. The alien creature was literally minding its own business before getting caught up in the human need to exploit that which is seen as untamed. They aren’t given a chance to nope out of being treated like a spectacle and it shows.
