SPOILER DISCUSSION

1.The “tethered” jump scare at the 80-minute mark is wonderfully set-up. Peele frames the supposed cadaver of one of the Tyler twins in prominent view of the Wilson family. We’re conditioned to its presence from an overhead shot and then a master shot which reinforces the position of the bodies. When Adelaide goes into the house later, the absence of the tethered is immediately obvious which generates a palpable unease which is then rewarded with violent confrontation.

2.Philosopher Slavoj Zizek offers a view of violence that recognizes it as operating within three orders: subjective, systemic and symbolic. Subjective violence is characterized by visible violence that can be attributed to an agent. Within the film, this violence is the violence done by the characters to one another as they seek to kill their doppelganger. System violence is a consequence economic and political systems and is represented in the film via the allusions to class and colonialism based schisms ^[1] ] Zizek, S. (2008). The Tyrant’s Bloody Nose . In Violence. introduction, Picador..

The final order of violence, symbolic, is based on the imposition of meaning and is related to “form”. This violence is that which underpins and makes meaningful the idea of “subjective” violence. This violence, being formal, is expressed at first via the grammar of the film itself. The cut from the past Adelaide screaming in terror, to the “future” Adelaide confers upon her a continued identity – that of Adelaide, our protagonist. Despite being “two” individuals, the edit disguises the shift in subject hood, and utilizes the Kuleshov effect itself as a form of violence. The former Adelaide is thus relegated to the periphery until the film (re)introduces her as the “antagonist” Red. Her identity as the film’s villain is contingent on this (mis)understanding of the edit which “tethers” subjecthood” onto her Other, flipping their positions as protagonist and antagonist. This feels very much in the vein of Hitchcock’s Psycho – the primacy of the protagonist is not guaranteed and a violence which threatens to usurp that position lingers at every point; every edit (“tethering”) contains within the possibility of changing positions.

3.The tethered represent their “topside” counterparts without the symbols that give the latter group a grounding which makes their desires and subsequent actions coherent. Despite taking the same actions, the tethered look ridiculous because the symbolic context (in the above image, the presence of the carnival and its festivities) isn’t present to generate a frame by which to interpret the actions. This is what I believe to be what Red’s mentions as the “soul” that was unable to replicated – symbolic recognition.

From this context, the tethered Wilson family is the same as their counterpart sans the socialization and restrictions generated by a symbolic order conferring recognition and generating a sense of authority. This is why the overprotective patriarch who attempts to “protect” his family in the form of Gabe becomes the uninhibited patriarchal protector in the form of Abraham. Zora, who exhibits general teen malaise, going so far as to trap her brother in a closet for a perceived indiscretion, becomes the demented and unhinged Umbrae. Jason, the only member of the family to wear a mask and who’s still learning to navigate his role, is the closest to his shadow, Pluto, who mimics his topside half despite being eerier.

Red’s line that the family is “Americans” is not just humorous but acts as a scathing reminder that the repressed shadow is part and parcel with the light of the persona (to use Jungian framing). The brighter the light, the darker the shadow cast. ^[2]SueM. (2015, August 27). What is America’s Shadow? Jungian Center for the Spiritual Sciences. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://jungiancenter.org/what-is-americas-shadow/. This may also explain why the Tyler’s doubles are so much more severe and brutal with their counterparts, executing them immediately instead of playing around and trying to comprehend their Others like the tethered Wilsons did. It’s not like the tethered Wilson’s lacked the opportunity or ability to kill their other halves as much as they prioritized other things first. The wealthy white family is more recognized by the symbolic framework as subject, more emphatically represents the “American dream”, and is thus more easily destroyed by its nightmare. The inability to reckon this image with its darker side requires a compensation that lends to destruction. The Wilsons, try as they might, cannot ever fully find themselves accepted by this order (callback to the boat discourse on the beach).

4. It’s the struggle to become symbolically recognized as a subject that drives both Adelaide and Red’s respective decisions; the former is afraid of being relegated again (even if she doesn’t know consciously this is why she’s so afraid of the confrontation with Red) and the latter understands the hardships that come with being cast aside and now wants her time in the sun.

The duo’s paralleled journeys and respective fates even play out along the reversed arcs. The young Adelaide enters the funhouse while it’s raining in the background, during the night, and is chained by her shadow in the secret underground facility. The moniker of “Adelaide” is transferred and she “becomes” Red. Then when Red finally meets her double again years later, she forces the latter to chain herself so that the battle can start again. Adelaide enters the same funhouse and the sun shines outside while the tethered have lined themselves up along the beach, this time aboveground instead of in the bunker.

The juxtaposition in weather also matches the nursery rhyme that Red hummed as a child: “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” The rhyme chronicles the tale of a spider who climbs up, is washed away by rain, dries in the sun, and attempts the same journey again. The question of who is allowed to “be” the spider is the question being asked.

Yet, the thriller t-shirt that the girl’s both end up wearing, the “11th” prize that’s selected, demonstrates that both sides represent a fractured subject, neither of which can be fully replaced. In the “Thriller” music video, Michael Jackson becomes a werecat, leads a group of zombies in a dance, and then returns to normal before revealing his werecat eyes are still present (these events take place within a series of changing “realities” begging the question of what Michael’s identity really is). Likewise, Red and Adelaide are both persons who have inhabited the symbolic role of “Adelaide” and it no longer “belongs” to either of them. It’s a mask to be worn and accepted having been filled in by both sides.

5.Consequently, because the tethered are focused on achieving a symbolic recognition, they do not care about receiving material goods that arise as a result of that recognition in lieu of the same. Gabe tries to offer up his valuables when he first meets his tethered family; he believes his obsession with material gains and improvements in wealth would track to this Other family and serve as a bartering chip. However, because the tethered are not part of the same symbolic circuit that makes such items “valuable” to begin with, they do not wish to take them.

This recognition of the “true” source of value leads to items of the bourgeoise American Dream being transformed into tools of violence. The boat, the baseball bat, the golf club, the geode display, the flare gun, and the car become tools to commit murder and are utilized by the Wilson family in their attempts to eradicate the tethered Other. In an ironic twist, the tools which represent the class divide become responsible for a “literal” class divide in the form of eradication.

6.In the context of weapons used, it’s telling that Adelaide is the only one to use both “tethered” and “aboveground” weapons against those she faces off against. She kills one of the tethered Tyler twins using the golden shears of the tethered. When she fights Red underground, she first impales her Other with the same fireplace poker used previously to free her from her chains and then uses those very same chains to choke and break Red’s neck.

7.Given the ultimate nature of the battle between Adelaide and Red, that of becoming a recognized subject, it’s telling that the former is the only character to show a sense of empathy to the denizens of the Other order. When Umbrae eventually passes, Adelaide reaches out and tries to soothe her not-daughter’s pains all while the young woman tries to reach out to inflict violence as a response.

Later on, Adelaide acts more desperately in regards to Pluto, trying with all her might to get the young boy to move forward and accept her embrace. She reacts with genuine sadness upon seeing him mimic Jason and enter the flames behind. In sharp contrast, while she reaches out to her not-son, Red quickly makes the decision to kidnap Jason.

There’s a tragic undertone built into these encounters, and they raise the question of why Adelaide is acting in this fashion; does she see her own tethered history within Umbrae and Pluto or does she recognize the image of her children, their Others, within them and is reacting to that connection as a gesture of a symbolic motherhood?

When she murders Red, the answer to this question seems to imply the latter option. It’s the symbolic idea of these being “her” kids that generates action. Red, who reminds her of the shared/”tethered” history between the two, has to be eliminated for broaching on the domain of symbolic recognition.

8.Speaking of the final battle, Peele nicely sets up the ending just like the prologue. A character named “Adelaide” enters the maze of mirrors. Unlike “her” younger self, she breaks the mechanical bird that jumps out at her – violence operates in lieu of pure fear. While her younger self was “replaced” by a rabbit in response to a fearful response, the older incarnation follows the “rabbit” down – like Alice, she’s going to Wonderland.

However, now Adelaide knows something she didn’t- there’s a place even further down within the attraction. She heads down the escalators and ends up in the same classroom shown in the prologue; this time the rabbit cages are empty and she’s “taken” their place. In front of the classroom setting, Red waits, like a teacher waiting to give a lesson.

It’s at this point, that Red relays the history of the duo’s confrontation and the nature of her plan. Peele nicely uses a split diopter shot (one of the best shots in the film) here to emphasize the split subjectivity in play, as both sides of “Adelaide” are made to finally confront one another. She wants to re-enact the “Hands Across America” campaign and transform it into an eternal event, a signal that can no longer be ignored ^[3] Zizek, S. (2008). “A Blood-Dimmed Tide is Loosed” . In Violence. essay, Picador..

The original “Hands Across America” event was the perfect example of the “highest form of ideology” ^[4] Zizek, S. (2008). SOS Violence . In Violence. essay, Picador.. People spent their own money in the form of donations and then took place in a line to bring attention to the issues plaguing poorer Americans, a purely performative gesture. The money raised had to be partially used to help pay for the costs of hosting such an event. ^[5]Adams, C. (2016, May 31). May 25, 1986: Millions participate in hands across america. CBS News. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from … Continue reading. Thus, the event meant to raise money and awareness for the poor became a piece of performative action by the non-poor whose funds were used to pay for the spectacle more so than raising funds capable of solving the issue to begin with. The same capitalist symbolic order which generated the problem is thus able to congratulate itself for recognizing the same while doing nothing meaningful to change itself.

In this sense, Red’s ultimate plan is the perfect signal – a call for the construction of a new symbolic framework that generates its meaning from the protest, the re-enactment of the same performative gesture, as a sublime image that must be recognized. This time, the persons standing in the line are the poor themselves, demanding a recognition instead of being stood in for by their proxy wealthy analogs. This time, the “price” to pay to join the line is the “death” of the wealthy Other, the “Other” recognized by the capitalist system. There are no “overhead” costs or other payments that can sap the help that such a gesture can lend to.

This symbolic battle, nicely maps into Jung’s ideas of the “persona” and the “shadow”, the former being represented by the symbolic order generated by capitalism and the latter being represented by the “tethered” remains of the same. The persona, the outward mask that the ego puts on to operate in the social domain, is “out in public.” The shadow is a “subpersonality who wants what the persona will not allow.” ^[6]Stein, M. (2006). The Revealed and the Concealed in Relations with Others . In Jung’s map of the soul: An introduction. essay, Open Court. Red wishes to stage an enantiodromia within this order, where the “shadow” and “persona” flip, the poor and marginalized take the place of the wealthy and recognized.

All these elements come together as the “last dance” begins and Red and Adelaide battle one another for the moniker of “Adelaide” – the sign capable of being recognized. Peele heightens the moment via a wonderful, eerie, string-based cover of “5 on It”. The first time the song plays, its to bring the Wilson family together and bring about a sense of harmony. The second time it plays, it plays within the Tyler household as their digital assistant blares the song after the group’s violent battle at said abode – this time a recognition of conflict. The final time it plays is now; this time it’s done non-diegetically and without the lyrics. The “fair share” the song talks about doesn’t need to be mentioned as its being fought for.

Peele cuts between the past and the present, between Red and Adelaide, when they shared a dance performance, one in a lighted stage and one in the view of dark shadows, and as they engage in their final dance with one another. The kinetic back and forth constantly references this battle between shadow and persona and for recognition. In the present, the characters eventually end up in silhouette, as the “spotlight” is up for grabs so to speak – identity is at a crossroads.

However, Red eventually succumbs to her Other and “loses” the battle. Right before she passes, she begins to whistle “The Itsy- Bitsy Spider” one last time, a callback to the duo’s initial encounter and incontrovertible evidence that she was the “persona” in the past. Adelaide snaps and refuses to let this “proof” be recognize, snapping her other’s neck with none other than the chains that Red had her put on earlier, chains just like the ones she used to trap her Other in the past when she subsumed the moniker of “Adelaide” for herself.

Yet, try as she might, Adelaide cannot run from her past, and her shadow lingers, now partially absorbed back in. Peele makes as much clear by dying her white clothing red with the blood of those she’s slain, clearly marking her incorporation of the shadow. There’s even a clear reference to Jack Torrance’s hobbling from Kubrick’s The Shining, an allusion which is all the more compelling given that Jack’s character goes through his own “possession” from the past.

Now, Adelaide is certain of her past and knows the source of her trauma; she’s become “tainted with immorality” but has attained a “greater degree of wholeness”. ^[7]Ibid

Yet, the ending complicates this acceptance as Adelaide choosese engage in a form of “fetishistic disavowal”. ^[8] Zizek, S. (2008). Fear Thy Neighbor as Thyself . In Violence. essay, Picador. She knows the “truth” but refuses to “fully assume the consequence of this knowledge” so that she can “continue acting” as though she has and will always be “Adelaide”.

Jason, the most perceptive character in the film who saw the initial “tethered” forming the sublime image, had the most direct connection with his shadow in Pluto and was able to synchronize with the latter, and witnessed his mother’s act of brutal savagery recognize that the social order is contingent on playing one’s part. He puts on the mask, the “persona” and stares ahead.

But the camera, pans on over from the family who rides in an ambulance, to the symbol of revolution, the “realizes” Hands Across America gesture, and suggests that the chaos generated by it cannot be compartmentalized or pushed away. There’s a question of whether or not the same attitude embraced by Adelaide can be taken on by everyone else.

Peele seems to give his answer with the image of the ambulance. Earlier in the film, the ambulance is used as the prop to keep a room open, to allow one to pass from the “light” side to the “dark” side. When the ambulance is removed, the door is shut and someone from the “light” side has to open it again – a form of “recognition”. Instead of moving towards the art, the real-life instantiation of the ambulance moves far away – a gesture of ignorance; the door closes.

In fact, it’s Gabe’s comments at the 95-minute mark which give the best hint of how things are going to go: he describes the chain, the symbol of resistance, as “fucked up performance art” refusing to legitimize it as anything than a nuisance to be dealt with. With the helicopters looming around at the end, it seems that media outlets would run with the same. The shadow may be partially incorporated, but the extent of who is considered “American” has still not been expanded. Thus, Us, a title which references both the U.S (.A) and an in-group compared to a potential “them” rings true in a depression fashion.

The answer to this issue is also given in the open. The initial substitution between Red and Adelaide was an initial act of enantiodromia and demonstrated that the shadow, the relegated, could be just as social, as “proper”, as “American” as anyone else if granted recognition by the symbolic order. Red says as much when she asks why her Other could not have “taken” both. It’s this decision to withhold that causes violence.