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BOSSIP Recap And Twitter Reactions Of #UsFirst Screening
BOSSIP was fortunate enough to be in attendance last night for the very first screening of Jordan Peele‘s new horror masterpiece Us at SCAD Show here in Atlanta. We’re not going to spoil anything for y’all, but we wanted to share our thoughts on the event as well as the enthralled social media reactions.
First and foremost, Jordan, the folks at Monkeypaw Productions, Cashmere Agency, and all related parties did not even remotely attempt to obfuscate the fact that this screening was FUBU. The entire theater, with the exception of one gray-haired white man who appeared to be an employee, was Black. Everyone. Prior to the start of the film, it was explicitly announced that Black media, influencers, film fans, and celebrities would be the first people to view Us. We were the first to see ourselves, which is very on-brand for the film’s ethos. Even the official hashtag #UsFirst was overtly on-the-nose despite the fact that Peele had previously stated that Us is not about race. But who are we kidding? Everything is about race, especially last night. It was beautiful.
Again, without spoiling anything, the movie itself is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s subversive while still adhering to and nodding at horror trope tradition. Jordan Peele executes these directorial ideologies with the effortless technique of Gabby Douglas on the balance beam. The pacing demands your attention. The cinematography could produce an economy of iconic movie posters. If you were creeped out by the way Jordan used The Luniz classic “I Got 5 On It” in the trailer…just you wait. Some of your favorite songs will never be the same thanks to the insidious score and maniacal music supervision. The way light is used to make Black skin leap from the screen might make you shed the same tears that Lupita does in the trailer. It’s all done brilliantly.
Speaking of Lupita and brilliance, listen, ok, we all know that the Academy Awards can be full of it, but sometimes they get it right like they did with Get Out. If the Oscar folk thought that Get Out was worthy of their self-serving praise, then we can’t even imagine a world in which Lupita Amondi Nyong’o doesn’t get one of their lil’ gold trinkets for this performance. During National Women’s Month no less. Give her ALL of her things, create some more things, then give those to her as well. There aren’t enough superlatives. She’s THAT good as are M’Baku-turned-dork-dad Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss (OfFred was WILDIN’), and Tim Heidecker.
Screenings took place simultaneously nationwide in Austin, Texas at SXSW, Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles. BOSSIP, along with many of our Black media peers, got to see the movie at the same damn time and reactions from Twitter began rolling in immediately after the credits ran.
Flip the page to see more of the #UsFirst conversation.