The central theme of Jordan Peele’s Nope will be about “our addiction to spectacle,” the filmmaker revealed in an interview with Empire. The director also goes into how this will be about a healing relationship between a brother (Daniel Kaluuya) and a sister (Keke Palmer). He had made a name for himself by entertaining audiences across genres from comedy to horror while providing substantial food for thought about politics and social themes.
“I wanted to make a spectacle, something that would promote my favorite art form and my favorite way of watching that art form: the theatrical experience,” he said. “As I started writing the script, I started to dig into the nature of spectacle, our addiction to spectacle, and the insidious nature of attention. So that’s what it’s about. And it’s about a brother and sister and healing their relationship.”
Big ideas almost always start from a small seed. That theme for Jordan Peele’s Nope started with him wanting to make an “immersive experience” when presented with a UFO.
Between his work on Key & Peele, Get Out, Us, and more, the comedian turned horror master always tackles issues regarding race. In Us and Get Out, he had something to say about the Black experience in America. In the trailer, we see the first-ever film footage called the Muybridge clip, a clip showing a Black man riding a horse. We know who made it, but not the man riding the horse. That erasure will also get explored as a theme in Jordan Peele’s Nope.
“That erasure is part of what the lead characters in this movie are trying to correct. They’re trying to claim their rightful place as part of the spectacle. And what the film also deals with is the toxic nature of attention and the insidiousness of our human addiction to spectacle.”
Jordan Peele’s ‘Nope’ Tackles Themes of Spectacle and Claiming a Rightful Place
Previously, the filmmaker would poke fun at stereotypes, racism, police brutality, and more during his time on his sketch comedy show Key & Peele. When he made his big splash into the horror pool with Get Out, he explored white liberals’ unconscious racism. For Us, he looked at the class system and the duality that comes with it. The spectacle theme in Jordan Peele’s Nope follows his style of providing scares and thoughtful commentary.
Nope hits theaters on July 22nd. Kaluuya and Palmer will lead. It will also star Steven Yunn (The Walking Dead), Brandon Perea (The OA), Wrenn Schmidt (For All Man Kind), and Keith David.