Thomas Derr

[SPOILER ALERT] ‘Nope’, directed by Jordan Peele, highlights a lot of issues that are prevalent in modern America. He calls out the greed of performer types and the arrogance of people who believe that there is something about them that makes them intrinsically better than those they interact with. All of this is done through the lens of an alien ‘invasion’ horror movie. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this movie, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. With all that, I want to properly discuss the themes that are used within the story, namely, the power of greed. It is refreshing to once again see greed used as a negative aspect of humanity, though disappointing to see that it applied to everyone except the main characters. The final act is full of people paying the price for their shot at big money. Steven Yuen’s character gets himself, his family, and a crowd of onlookers eaten by ‘Jean Jacket’ due to his arrogance, pride, and greed. He only wanted to grow his own name after being a popular child actor who had fallen into obscurity after an onset accident involving a chimp. He has clearly been traumatized since this event but instead of getting help, relishes in the event that was his last real taste of fame. All of his actions throughout the film are his attempts at getting back into the public eye. He even has a room built into his office in preparation for future tours. Right as the final showdown is about to begin, a man in a silver helmet working for TMZ shows up, trying to get the money shot that will make him the most money (he is trying to figure out what has happened to the aforementioned people that went missing along with Steven Yuen. His arrogance and greed catch up with him, as he is also killed and eaten by the monster that is terrorizing our protagonists. After this, Antlers (cameraman aiding our heroes) has been chasing the ’perfect shot’ his entire career. He finally sees his opportunity at the end of the film, and while he does get his shot, he does it while deliberately putting himself and the team in harm’s way, resulting in his own death. The selfishness of greed and pride is on full display as characters are killed for their mistakes. That is until you begin to realize the greatest flaw of the movie. Every character is a part of this event for selfish reasons. All of them are flawed individuals, accurately reflecting real life of course. The problem is, we are supposed to root for our heroes simply because they are heroes. Yes, they are trying to save the ranch that has been in their family for years, but this is not mentioned past the opening of the movie that you forget it, instead focusing on how they are trying to capture the UFO on camera just so that they can regain notoriety. You have to wrestle with whether all of this eventual bloodshed is ever worth it. Their pursuit is the same of that as Steven Yuen’s character, but only one is viewed as wrong by the audience. Is fame really worth it? Is the money really worth it? These are the questions I think we should be asking after this movie. What are the pursuits that we should be chasing after? Certainly not fame or money. These are things that will pass in the blink of an eye, just ask Steven Yuen’s character. One second he was a giant star, the next he is running an amusement park.