Jordan Peele and Keke Palmer open up about the trap of ‘elevated films’

In the months before the debut Jordan Peele’s Nope, trying to figure out what the hell the movie was about became a kind of event unto itself as the director’s fans pored over trailers, posters, and interviews, feverishly trying to suss out just how the movie might shock them. Going into the movie was a thrilling experience for many. Nope It was the movie’s premise that made it so thrilling. However, it was obvious by the end. NopeIt was released in theaters and its advertisements almost immediately began telegraphing its story. This was both because people were already seeing it and because that’s increasingly how studios have chosenTheir products and services to the public Projects in the last few years.

Peele and Nope star Keke Palmer are of multiple minds when it comes to how much information trailers give away nowadays and the power that we’ve given to the idea of being spoiled. When I met the pair, however, it was before Nope’s Blu-ray and DVD release this week, they explained how they see striking the balance between secrecy and tantalizing theatergoers with juicy details as a necessary (if a bit tricky) part of making the moviegoing experience magical. 

“It’s a tough needle to thread because I do feel like there is a benefit to people being able to walk into a film knowing nothing if you like that sort of thing,” Peele said. “But I happen to know that a lot of people do kind of like to know what they’re going to see at the same time. That’s part of the contract that gets you to go to a theater — you know what you’re watching.”

In the weeks, and months that followed Nope’s release, the conversations around the movie shifted in a pronounced way as more people saw it for themselves and were able to look back on the hype surrounding it with a deeper understanding of what they were seeing. What at first appeared to be just an image of Steven Yeun’s character Ricky Park wearing a cowboy hat became a brilliant encapsulation of some of Nope’s bigger themes once audiences got the chance to see Jupiter’s Claim, and Peele said that it’s been fascinating to see the movie and its ideas continue to “blossom” in people’s minds since its release.

What’s been infinitely fascinating to Peele, though, is “this conception that I’m coming with a ‘message’” with his films, an idea stemming from how his previous work has Explored the intricacies and racism of anti-Black racismThe thorniness and complexity of American exceptionalism as an idea. Peele stated that his stories are always rooted within specific, personal observations. He also resisted the idea of putting a prestige label on movies because they were nuanced.

“I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to make ‘elevated’ films,” Peele said. “I think that’s a trap that I don’t quite appreciate because I, you know, I like making fucked-up films. I like making weird movies that I’m really just not supposed to make — and sometimes challenge people on the other side of things as well.”

Palmer’s witnessed firsthand how the discourse around Peele’s body of work occasionally takes a hostile turn when people get to discussing what he’s trying to say or what particular shots mean. Her perspective is that Peele often gets a lot more flack from people who work through their emotions.

“The thing about your films is that the observations are so impactful that I think they double people over,” Palmer laughed. “And it’s us that come to the theater like, ‘I want to be able to take this observation and know what to do with it.’ [That feeling] challenges me; it puts me to the task because I know when Jordan puts his movies together and does his artistry, it’s based off of something that he felt.”

As keyed into Peele’s feelings and creative headspace as Palmer obviously was during Nope’s production, her turn as Emerald Haywood in the film has also led to a resurgence of interest in the 29-year-old actor herself, who’s been booked and busy for the better part of the past 20 years. Though Palmer’s anything but a newcomer, a not insignificant portion of her fans have seemed new to her — and We are eager to see what she does in the cast like Marvel’s upcoming X-Men project(s)Rogue.

In a time when trolls are treating complaining about the presence of Black women in genre fiction like it’s their job, it’s been fascinating to see a fandom rallying around Palmer — and so organically. Palmer said that the entire experience of it has meant so much to her in particular because she’s been in the industry for so long.

“The fact that I can continue to grow and get more eyes and get more fans and more people to be along on the Keke Palmer journey, and also see the different evolutions of my career,” Palmer laughed. “Because who I was as a kid and what people expected of me as a kid is totally different from what people expect of me now. My artistry has evolved, and to see people also respond to that is just… it’s just a fun feeling.”