Invisibility/Verisimilitude
The 2022 horror film titled Nope, directed by Jordan Peele, is characterized by invisibility/verisimilitude, character arc, and audio-visual story emphasis in a captivating manner. Regarding invisibility or verisimilitude, the film grounds the narrative on a recognizable setting using relatable characters and thus creates a sense of realism. The Haywood family’s occupation as horse wranglers in Agua Dulce, California, creates a tangible connection to the real world. The film adds to its depth by exploring daily lives and struggles. Further, recognizable landmarks such as Jupiter’s Claim and the Western theme park add to the film’s verisimilitude.
Character Arc
The film also showcases two significant character arcs for Emerald Haywood (EM) and Otis Haywood Jr. (OJ). At the film’s start, EM and OJ are embroiled in personal challenges where EM desires wealth and fame while OJ is depressed. However, their encounter with the Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) and witness of its destructive power leads to a shift in their priorities. Instead, they focus on documenting the UFO’s existence and protecting other people from its harm. The transformation in what motivated them and their personal goals is a clear representation of a character arc that adds to the depth and complexity of the journeys of EM and OJ.
Audio-Visual Story
Audio-visual storytelling also significantly ensures that the storyline’s tension and atmosphere are brought to the fore. The director uses sound and visuals to create a sense of suspense and dread. For example, the horse’s violent reactions, fluctuating electricity, and the presence of the UFOs all work to project a feeling of unease. Consequently, the director’s choice of audio and visual elements heightens the narrative’s emotional impact by immersing the audience in the story’s rapidly escalating tension.
Techniques to Provoke Fear in the Audience
The film Nope employs characters, settings, audio, and visual techniques to elicit fear and dread from the audience by creating an uncanny atmosphere and emphasizing extreme threats. One of the first things that the film does is to introduce the audience to the individuals facing extreme threats from the UFO and the predatory organism named Jean Jacket. The presence of the Jean Jacket, the UFO, and their destructive powers generates a sense of terror and horror. The characters’ vulnerabilities and the stakes involved intensify the fear and tension the audience feels.
The film setting also plays a crucial role in generating terror and fear among the audience. Specifically, the horse training facility, the Western theme park, and Agua Dulce, California, provide a familiar yet eerie backdrop. A sense of the uncanny is generated by juxtaposing the mundane with the ordinary. Further, the presence of the supernatural in recognizable locations enhances the feeling of strangeness and uneasiness.
The director also uses visual and auditory techniques to elicit fear and tension from the audience. For example, the film uses “offscreen space” where a threat is alleged rather than shown, leaving the audience to utilize their imagination. This technique builds anticipation and suspense, heightening fear that is further brought to the fore through “jump scares.” The director also utilizes sound effects to create dread and terror with significant effect. The ominous sounds from the UFO and reactions from the horse create an eerie atmosphere that intensifies the audience’s emotional response to the unsettling atmosphere.
Low-key lighting is also utilized to create shadows, enhance contrast, and obscure details. The special visual effects and makeup heighten the horror by creating a sense of dread. Finally, the director utilizes camera movements, grounding, and framing to evoke fear and unease. The quick pans and tracking shots disorient the audience and create a sense of tension.
Reactionary and Progressive Style Films
The horror film Nope leans more towards the reactionary rather than the progressive style. The film’s protagonists face extreme and irrational threats in the form of the Jean Jacket and the UFOs. Their primary goal from the film’s point of view is to protect themselves and those close to them from the identified threats. Consequently, they decide to document and sell their encounter with the UFO and the predator Jean Jacket, which showcases their concern for society. This storyline aligns with the characteristics of a reactionary narrative identified by Robin Wood, where he presents the protagonists and the environment as important and worthy of preservation.
Additionally, the film’s focus on the Haywood family as horse wranglers, the main protagonists, highlights a connection to their environment and a deeply rooted desire to maintain their way of life. This supports the notion that the film is reactionary rather than progressive. By documenting the UFOs, the characters in the film reinforce the idea of a reactionary narrative where protagonists confront and overcome threats to their existence. Thus, the film Nope, directed by Jordan Peele, is primarily reactionary in style.
Thematic Ideas
The thematic ideas in the film Nope include naturalism and Grand Guignol due to its portrayal of a world dominated by powerful and destructive forces with the power to impact human lives and fate. Naturalism is depicted by portraying characters with extreme and irrational threats. These large, uncontrollable, and powerful characters subject the main protagonists to fear and danger.
Despite the protagonist’s efforts, they can do little to influence the behavior of these monsters, which aligns with the naturalistic idea of the world being governed by mighty forces beyond human control. One scene in the film that exemplifies this theme is when the UFO arrives and abducts a horse. This scene showcases the characters’ helplessness in the face of the destructive force of the UFO.
The theme of Grand Guignol is highlighted through the film’s incorporation of horror and violence to emphasize the destructiveness of the forces facing the characters in the film. The description of the film mentions the grotesque nature of the UFO actions that spit out inorganic matter while devouring individuals. One scene in the film that exemplifies the Grand Guignol theme is where the UFO devours Jupe and the audience at Jupiter’s Claim. The gruesome nature of the scene has a shocking impact and emphasizes the destructive power of the UFO and its impact on humans.
Academic Article on the Horror Film Genre
The academic article chosen from the database is by Austin Collins. The article discusses Jordan Peele’s film, Nope, by exploring how well it blends horror film elements into the Western genre. Collins notes the importance of incorporating Peele’s film history and his work’s symbolism.
The author acknowledges the film’s central theme and notes humans’ fascination with the unknown as a key motivation for making the film. Further, he praises Peele’s combination of high-concept thinking with genre tropes, creating a thought-provoking and entertaining experience (Collins). By engaging with the article, I understood how Peele infuses multiple genres to create a unique cinematic experience. Further, the article broadens what I learned this week by showing how horror can be infused with other film genres to go beyond its traditional tropes and produce thought-provoking films.
Work Cited
Collins, Austin K. “Jordan Peele Invades the Western with ‘Nope,’ a Thrilling Salute to Spectacle.” Rolling Stone, Web.