West, James;
(2019)
Get Out (of the White House): The Trump administration and YouTube horror parody as social commentary.
In: McCollum, V, (ed.)
Make America Hate Again: Trump-Era Horror and the Politics of Fear.
(pp. 152-163).
Routledge: London, UK.
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Abstract
Less than two months into the presidency of Donald Trump, popular comedy website Funny or Die released a parody trailer for the highly acclaimed 2017 horror film Get Out. While the basic plot remained the same – a white woman introducing her black partner to her parents for the first time – the setup was provided with “one crucial, stomach-churning twist.” The sinister Armitage clan who served as the antagonists in Jordan Peele’s directorial debut had been replaced by the Trump family. News and entertainment outlets such as Slate quickly voiced their support, noting that “it’s more than a little scary how perfectly Ivanka, Melania, Donald, Jr. and co. fit into the movies roles.” Get Out (of the White House) was among a wave of parody horror trailers featuring Trump to be created in the aftermath of his victory in the 2016 presidential campaign. While many of these videos provided little more than ad hominem attacks, the best offered incisive social commentary as well as an effective critique of Trump’s rise to power. This chapter explores the impact of Get Out (of the White House), situating such trailers within the history of the horror parody delineated by scholars such as Tony Magistrale and William Paul. Furthermore, it argues that the trailer’s popularity can be understood as part of a broader trend by comedians, protestors, and political commenters to utilise horror parody as a way of both critiquing and resisting the Trump presidency.
| Type: | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Title: | Get Out (of the White House): The Trump administration and YouTube horror parody as social commentary |
| ISBN-13: | 9781351016513 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.4324/9781351016513 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351016513 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Arts and Sciences (BASc) |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10166079 |
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