Get Out was one of the most profitable and critically-acclaimed films of 2017, delighting audiences everywhere with its balance of social satire and horror. The film, Jordan Peele's directorial debut, is a strong contender to pick up some awards at the 2018 Golden Globes, and Entertainment Weekly reported on Tuesday that the film's production company Blumhouse would submit Get Out to the comedy/musical category of the 2018 Golden Globe Awards.
Both Entertainment Weekly and Vulture have argued that Blumhouse is attempting to boost the film's chances of securing awards — the drama categories are seen as more competitive for nominations than comedy/musical. However, some are feeling strange about a film like Get Out, which deals with such provocative and contemporary racial tensions, being placed in comedy category.
Lil Rel Howery, who starred in Get Out as Rod and provided much of the film's comic relief, seemed unsettled in tweet posted on Tuesday evening. "Their is nothing funny about racism," he wrote.
As a comedy, Get Out could compete against films like The Big Sick, The Disaster Artist, I, Tonya, and Lady Bird.
On Wednesday morning, Jordan Peele chimed in with what seems to be a response to the report: "Get Out is a documentary." His tweet could be an acknowledgement both of how his film does not fit comfortably into a single genre, and of how the raw social wounds that the film explores specifically affects its black viewers.
On Wednesday November 15 at 10:31 a.m., this post was updated to include a tweet from Jordan Peele.