Rushil Week 15 - Get Out
Hopefully, you all know the movie Get Out. If you don’t, it’s a thriller about a man and his girlfriend visiting her parents. At first, the man assumes the family’s awkwardness stems from their interracial relationship, but as the vacation continues, a series of disturbing secrets are revealed. The family works together to lure African Americans into their home, transferring the brain of a white family member into their body, and therefore transferring consciousness. Watching the movie felt like a complete freak show, but I also began to wonder if this was realistically possible. The idea of transferring one’s consciousness into another seems far-fetched, but from a scientific perspective, it’s theoretically possible.
According to this article published in Variety, Italian surgeons were successful in “grafting the head of one chimpanzee onto another’s body.” A similar experiment was performed in Mount Sinai with a mouse. Jordan Peele, the director of the movie, indulged in lengthy research before creating the movie. The surgery transplants every part of the brain, except for one piece “connected to the central nervous system.” He found that the brain could actually “‘heal itself’” from the trauma of such a grand transplant. Shockingly, the procedure isn’t the weirdest part. What makes this possible is hypnosis, which subdues patients most effectively. In previous surgeries, such as heart transplants, recipients reported developing habits of the donors. Based on this article, the research done has shown that memory can possibly transfer to the recipients. In the movie, memories of the African Americans kick in upon the flash of a light. However, in real life, the donor’s memories will most likely completely override the recipient's memory. But if you paid attention, one piece of the brain remains intact, connected to the central nervous system. Consequently, the possibility of both persons’ memories converging exists. So, while clearly unethical, putting one person’s brain into another could work. Hopefully, we’ll never have to find out.
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| Image from Google |
Hello Rushil, yes, I did watch Get Out, and even though it was such a long time ago, something about the movie’s concept and style stuck with me. Something about it was so unsettling, especially with the idea that people are not able to control themselves and their bodies. This is one of the reasons why I never wish to indulge in any state of mind-altering materials. This was an aspect in Get On and a possible side effect of transferring your brain that I find especially concerning, because if you have a different brain or different parts of your brain then is that really you? It brings up a hypothetical that I have heard before. If transportation was possible, but it was the result of separating and recombining every single atom in your body. Then is that transported you the real you or just a copy. Our memories, of course, play a big role in this. Are you the same person even without your memories? Does your personality stay consistent or as you somebody new? A blank canvas to be molded. It is hard to conceptualize but also bioengineering and technology increases these are concerns that we may have to think about.
ReplyDeleteRushil, I have distant memories of this movie but I do remember watching it. I've always wondered about if something freaky like this could be possible. The thought of kidney transplants already make me squeamish but heads? Now that's scary. I would actually like to see if it would be possible but this is also highly illegal and violent. However, this head transplant sorta reminds me of those people who put their dead bodies in pods to be reawakened later. It seems sort of a last ditch effort to survive. However, this topic gives a lot to speculate about. If these two people are different ages, what age would they be after the transfer? Their bodies would be either younger or older than their heads. Overall, this blog was insightful and made me think quite a bit. I'm now confused wondering how something like this could be possible.
ReplyDeleteHey Rushil. First of all, I have watched Get Out and it is actually in my top 3 movies of all time that I have watched. I just love all of Jordan Peele's work, he is an incredible producer and director. Anyways, I also find the concept of the movie really fascinating. The idea that someone can transfer their brain, meaning their thoughts, mannerism, and most importantly memories into someone's head and then control their body is interesting but also a little unsettling. The idea of having someone else's memories etched into your body seems so off. Also, the fact that the old "carrier" of the body would still have their memories creates this interesting dilemma. Whose memories would take over the brain? Would their memories coexist? The entire movie creates these questions about memory that make memory an even more fascinating topic. Overall, I really liked your blog on a movie that I enjoyed, it helped me see the movie differently while also posing more interesting questions on memory.
ReplyDeleteHi Rushil! I have been revisiting Jordan Peele’s masterpiece in film class and I cannot miss opportunities to talk about how good it is. I spent a lot of time thinking about the care and detail that went into every frame of this film. From the acting, to the color coding, to the symbolism, but I never considered the behind the scenes work that goes into writing a script like this. Your research was well summarized and helped me consider different parts of the creative process.
ReplyDeleteI’ve watched many soap operas about brain transplants, but I never thought such horrors were possible. It makes me think of the Ship of Theseus.I mean, we do kidney transplants and heart transplants, I suppose the possibility is not too far stretched. Thanks for sharing!
Hello Rushil! I watched this film a couple years ago with my friends when we went through a phase of only watching horror movies. However, I vividly remember this one because the idea of "converging memories" was something that I kept thinking about. If we all see the world through our own eyes, what would it be like to adjoin our memories with someone else's? My best friend and I often retell our favorite memories and yet still find differences between our perspectives and the way we remember things. Experiments like those done in Italy and Mount Sinai make me feel uncomfortable due to its inherent unethical process of what may feel like torture, living in another's body. As Emaan says, medically necessary transplants may be ethically justifiable, but normalizing borderline torture sounds quite scary. This was a well thought out review, thank you!
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