In a joint interview with Jordan, who directs the horror movie, the 28-year-old actress shares how the flick is a multi-faceted story featuring multiple stereotypes.
- Jul 21, 2022
AceShowbiz - Keke Palmer says Jordan Peele's new horror film "Nope" is a "social commentary." While discussing the scary flick that is helmed by the former "Keele and Peele" funnyman, the 28-year-old actress dished that it is a multi-faceted story that contains stereotypes "that don't usually exist together."
"It gives me chills," Keke told GQ Hype of the movie, which also includes the acting talent of Daniel Kaluuyam in a joint interview with Jordan. "We all know the archetypes: the jester, the orphan, the hero, the list goes on. But what does it look like when you put all the ones that don't usually exist together?"
She further elaborated, "This is really a character driven piece about two siblings. But at the same time, it's a social commentary, outre film that's saying a bigger message - and also a blockbuster, something that is commercial."
Jordan himself was influenced to write the movie during 2020 when the world was "going through so much," such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He also mentioned the Black Lives Matter movement that was sparked by the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
"We were going through so much. So much of what this world was experiencing was this overload of spectacle, and kind of a low point of our addiction to spectacle," the 43-year-old filmmaker said.
Jordan, who also helmed "Get Out" and "Us", spoke about his dedication to alternatives to "the Black perspective" across the genre. He said, "I've been somebody who's dedicated so much time to try and reintroduce what the Black perspective can be in a horror film. That puts me in very dark places in my imagination and we were in a very dark place and are [still] in a very dark place…. It became a very important thing to figure out how to bring joy into it because, well, I felt like I've hit the other things."
Additionally, Jordan touched upon the "importance" of making a Black-focused UFO movie that commands mainstream appeal. He explained, "We got to do that big original blockbuster movie, and that in itself is part of what the movie's about. It's about taking up that space. It's about existing. It's about acknowledging the people who were erased in the journey to get here."
The full story of "Jordan Peele and Keke Palmer Look to the Sky" by Gerrick Kennedy can be read on GQ.com.
