(Contains Spoilers)

I was scrolling on the subreddit when a post caught my attention. It said “Cinema is dead, convince me otherwise”. My response to the post was “Nope”. But the post intrigued many thoughts which compelled me to revisit the film today. Hence, to write about it.

Sometimes we take things for granted about cinema. As a matter of fact it changes gradually with intermediate intervention of technology. One thing about Cinema has changed due to technology is the social aspect of it. Cinema used to be communal, today most of the cinema viewing experience has become personal on highly personalised and so called smart devices. We are waiting for more disruption and eruptions to see.

So, Nope is an important film in this context. It starts with the mention of a gift in the hands of the chimp. We share our DNA with the chimps. Have we turned our eyes towards violence with the gift of technology we have? Will we ever depart from the animalistic instincts we look down upon?

Jordan Peele has this amazing style of storytelling. His story stands strong with unusual incidents with unusual coincidences. There is a shoe standing straight right in the middle of the frame, while human nature at the left interacts with the animalistic nature on the right. Who is standing in who’s shoes? And what is worth the applause? What do we collectively put value into? Are the big questions presented further. Interestingly, the right side of our brain is the creative brain and the left is logical. The occurrence of Jordan’s craft taunts the social fabric and the balance between civilisation and beautification of our society. Parity or Inclusiveness? Chimpanzee dresses like an urban man, and human lying still like a hunted animal. Surrealismo.

This beginning of the film sets the premise for the audience. In many ways Jordan Peele is a master of establishing his own grammar and rules for his stories. He brings the audience a journey to bite into the content until barebones of the subject are visible. Which denotes the references from Eadweard Muybridge’s moving images as the inception of Cinema. We have come a long way to seek answers in intangible and finding meanings between the lines. Roads we have built on the pathways of the past.