Few directors have also held the title of actor, writer, and producer. Even fewer can say their directorial debut was award-winning and a cultural phenomenon. Amongst these rare talented filmmakers stands Jordan Peele. Peele is the first Black screenwriter to win an Oscar for best original screenplay, and once said he "stopped writing (Get Out) about 20 times because I thought it was impossible."

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Peele has since gifted viewers with multiple award-winning films, and shows, and has changed the way many interpret horror, sci-fi, and even comedy. The director combines his experience in comedy, his knowledge of pop culture, and his love of cinema in every work he is involved with, and the payoff is met with nearly unanimous praise. In a short time, Peele has revolutionized the way cinema is viewed and created.

10 Value In Comedic Timing

The zombies locking their car door from the Key and Peele skit

Peele's breakout role was on MADtv, but it wasn't until he created a sketch comedy show Key and Peele with fellow alumni Keegan-Michael Key that he came to truly be recognized for his talents. With 18 Emmy nominations, the show was critically acclaimed for how it approached racial and cultural issues in satirical ways.

Key and Peele would lay the groundwork for Peele's future projects with sketches like "Racist Zombies" becoming viral sensations. The idea of racial inequality and society being the true horror is a recurring theme in many of Peele's projects, but the sketch took the concept literally as zombies avoided the two Black men in suburban America.

9 Imitation Is The Finest Form Of Flattery

Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier Guess Whos Coming to Dinner

Many cinephiles were quick to point out the similarities in themes between Peele's Get Out and 1967's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Both films are about a Black man meeting his white partner's family, and the social interactions and uncomfortable formalities that come along with it.

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Peele's movie gives a common narrative a satirical spin by making the racism much less subtle, showing the experience from a Black perspective and highlighting microaggressions. Peele's proximity to white socialites, and growing up with his white mother gave him the ability to turn this seemingly simple everyday concept into waking nightmare-style horror that audiences can understand regardless of their upbringing.

8 Melding Genres To Subvert Expectations

Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, and Steven Yeun in Nope.

Horror movies that lean too much into comedy are regarded as campy, and while comic book movies deliver jokes to cut the tension, no one has mastered this false sense of security like Jordan Peele. The first true instance of this was in Us when N.W.A's "F*** The Police" played during an otherwise horrific scene, giving viewers a chance to laugh before the brutality ensued.

Viewers may believe everyone's safe in a Peele film like Nope due to their comedic approach to the film's antagonist, leaving room for a more emotional reaction. Peele spends interviews reminding audiences how similar comedy and horror are "They're more like conjoined twins than sisters," he said while touring for Get Out.

7 The Unmatched Use Of Sound Design And Soundtracks

Lupita, Winston and son from Jordan Peele's Us

One of the easiest ways to illicit a reaction from a viewer is with sound, music, or even silence. Jordan Peele blends horror elements with real-world music to create a feeling of distorted familiarity in a way that is unmatched in cinema.

Often, the music in the universe of Peele's movies is being played for the characters as well as the audience, making true silence even more unnerving. It is rare that there is an obvious warning signal that still envelopes fear in all who hear it, but Peele elaborated on this trope with the record player and van in Nope, which are each directly affected by the film's antagonist in different ways.

6 Symbolism And Easter Eggs Begging To Be Broken Down

Us Hands Across America

When using historical events like Hands Across America (used in Us) or songs like Flanagan and Allen's "Run Rabbit Run" (used in Get Out), it's clear that everything happens for a reason. Every choice Peele makes is intentional, and there are common threads in all of his work to make the meaning behind these occurrences clearer, like the connection between subhuman treatment and animals shown in all of his works.

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Symbolism is a staple of all cinema, but few creators use references to create connections with the viewers as well as Peele does. Seemingly out-of-place backstories or throwaway lines are always delivered with such conviction that Peele's work may require a second or third watch to truly understand the meaning behind it.

5 The Past Is In the Present

The cast of Lovecraft Country

Peele's directorial debut Get Out gave many audiences an uneasy feeling of America's past when its main character, Chris Washington (played by Daniel Kaluuya), was being sized up at a dinner party, referencing the way slaves were put up for auction and judged by potential slave owners.

Peele also was an executive director on Misha Green's Lovecraft Country, which covered race and sexuality in the 1950s. Peele's ability to have art imitate life, and showcase history repeating itself may make some viewers take a second look at the world around them.

4 Black Horror Without Black Trauma

Daniel Kaluuya raising his hands at the end of Get Out

Horror films that feature Black characters often throw them away, use them as fodder, or show graphic depictions of police brutality and hate crimes in an attempt to seem realistic. Black audiences have long expressed disinterest in these one-note stories, and, except for the Blaxploitation era, the film industry treats Black leads as "risk-taking."

Audiences everywhere let out a sigh of relief when the main character in Get Out is greeted by the cops and doesn't get arrested or worse. An alternate ending was tested among audiences and described as "a punch in the gut." This one change showed Black stories could be told, be realistic, and not have to depict real-life cultural fears and traumas.

3 Enough Realism To Truly Suspend Disbelief

The UFO chasing Daniel Kaluuya in Nope

Suburban brain transplants, a secret world of doppelgängers, and aliens may seem like things that only exist in Peele's reboot of The Twilight Zone, but the director has mastered the suspension of disbelief in cinema to make these things seem real. The suspension of disbelief is a key element of filmmaking, and with the continuing trend of cinematic universes and heavy reliance on CGI, audiences often see through the cracks.

Peele's projects heavily rely on real-world experiences and horrors that many viewers have had to experience firsthand, grounding the film's universe and making the other problems seem like a walk in the park.

2 Revival Of The Social Thriller Genre

Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield, Get Out

First coming to light in the 1970s, the social thriller (or social horror) was a trend in cinema that used horror as a way to commentate on real-life issues. Social thrillers commonly focus on the concept of racism and oppression, or the current political climate. Jordan Peele has put this genre back on the map with his breakout film Get Out.

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While Get Out focused on racial inequalities and racism, the films to follow showcased people mistreating one another for issues involving class or wanting a sense of control over other beings altogether. These reoccurring themes in Peele's original works, as well as projects he's produced, have made audiences everywhere privy to the genre and the real-life problems it comments on.

1 The Black Experience Is The American Experience

Daniel Kaluuya riding horseback in an orange hoodie, with a dessert in the background as seen in the film Nope

Larger film studios have only recently attempted to showcase the Black experience in America, and they more often than not fall short without true lived experience behind it, leaving Black viewers disillusioned and leading everyone else to feel distant from the narrative. By putting Black characters front and center, and by adding a range of realism, comedy, and fear, Peele's stories become relatable to all viewers.

The ability to relate is a critical element in filmmaking, and Peele shows the industry that thoughtful and emotional storytelling involving Black characters can be done well and in the real world without needing to be the focal point of the story, like with the plots of Nope or Us. Relating to a story told through a Black lens can lead to important conversations in filmmaking.

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