First thing is first,  SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT!  
If you have not seen Get Out...  Get out!  Go away!  Do not read any further than this...  Please!  I am going to discuss my thoughts on a film that YOU NEED TO GO SEE!  

It is so so relevant and just oh so good!  So Go!  GETTTTTT OUUUUUTTTTT OF HERE!

If you have seen the movie...  Scroll on my lovelies!  

Okay... *Cracks knuckles* Here we go! Here is my play by play of the movie and my thoughts! SHEESH!

First and foremost, Get Out, is a film written and directed by comedian Jordan Peele of the comedic duo Key and Peele.

The story follows the romance of Chris Washngton and Rose Armitage , Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams, as they head to a New York suburb for Chris to meet Rose's Parents, played by Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener. This film felt a lot like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner among so many other films! Claps to playing to so many themes and to Jordan Peele's fantastic execution... OKAY OKAY! HERE WE GO!

As the film's opening credits roll, we get a nice tour of Chris's apartment and his photography (mostly shots in black and white... a theme that Peele uses throughout the film). I went crazy, because Peele chose Childish Gambino's song Redbone as the song choice for this opening sequence. And the lyrics "Stay Woke" really felt like a BRILLIANT choice to set the tone of this film... GAH! SO GOOD! I wanted to clap right away when I heard this song but saw the future of my fellow audience members giving me death glares and decided to refrain...

Anyways! We then receive most of the tone of the couple's relationship as they prepare for this trip. Chris shows some inhibitions as he asks Rose, "Did you tell your parents I'm black?" She attempts to comfort him as she explains their 'liberal' ways, "My dad would've voted for Obama a third term, if he got the chance". Peele's writing for even this conversation is just SO SMART! GOSH! Okay, I'll try not to drool all over Peele this entire blog post...

And they set on to the road. Through their car ride, we are introduced to a brilliant character, Chris's cousin, Rod played by the charming Lil Rel Howery. They exchange words of comradery and his cousin jokes that the trip out to the middle of nowhere seems like a trap. Then we are hit with our first scare! A Deer bolts across the road, lays a dent to the front of the car, and Rose brings the car to a skidding stop. They try to gather themselves and exit the car to investigate. Chris finds the deer and the camera then zooms into his face to show his emotion. He seems to enter a state of hypnosis as he stares into the dying deer's eyes. Fast Forward, we then experience another brilliantly freaking-written scene when a cop is brought to the accident for a police report. The cop assholeishly asks for Chris's ID and Rose defends him by saying that he wasn't the one to drive in the first place. (The bitch just didn't want his ID to be in the police reports for when they kidnap his body... Oh shit wait. I haven't gotten there yet. WHOOPS!)

They arrive at the house, we meet the parents, and we meet Georgina (Betty Gabriel) and Walter (Marcus Henderson) who appear to be slaves in this suburb... Let's just call it like it is! These two characters, so brilliantly acted, were so weird!!! Rose's brother (Caleb Landry Jones), another weirdo, shows up later and has an excruciating/uncomfortable conversation with Chris about Jiu Jitsu at the dinner table. During Dinner, it is revealed that Chris's mom died when he was young and he still holds some insecurities about the death. He also discusses his smoking habit and how he is trying to quit. Rose's parents show their disapproval of this habit and encourage him to try hypnosis, a practice that Rose's mom is very skilled at.

Oh! I almost forgot, we find out in the initial tour of the house that Rose's Grandpa was an Olympic athlete that lost to a Black athlete in the past. Remember that!

Moving on. Later that night, Chris goes out for a smoke and witnesses some more strange behavior from Georgina and Walter (CHARGING AT CHRIS!... Or running like he's in the olympics??? Oh Peele, you bastard! So smart.). Chris nervously heads back into the house and is stopped by Rose's mother in the living room. He sits down, she tricks him into hypnosis, and this is the part of the film where I said, "awwww shit!" Chris sinks into his chair and is then pulled into a dark abyss. Peele's beautiful imagery of "the sunken place" can be interpreted in so many ways, but I love how it shows Chris reaching for a reality that seems taken away from him. To me, powerful stuff....

He wakes up to what he rationalizes as a nightmare. The nightmare, however, has just begun. Neighbors of the Armitage family arrive in black cars, wearing all black, and come to what seems like a casual dinner party. We are then introduced to Chris's role model, a blind art guy Jim Hudson (Stephen Root), and Logan King (LaKeith Stanfield), another black guest of this community. Chris recognizes King from somewhere but can't put his finger on it, is this the reason why he attempts to take a picture of him? In doing so, the flash causes King's character to bleed from the nose and charge at Chris delivering the title line, "GET OUT!" Ugh! So good!

Then a sequence is shown where it seems that Chris is being auctioned off to the Neighbors. And Mr. Jim Hudson winning the bid. But what for?

Later that night, Chris is shaken up and sends his cousin Rod a picture of Logan King in attempt to find out how he knows King. And in his discussion with Rose about the day's events, he convinces Rose to escape back to his home in New York City. As they both rush downstairs, they are met with the rest of the family blocking their escape. Rose then reveals that she was a part of this kidnap the entire time. Before Chris can attempt anything else, Mama Armitage snaps him into hypnosis, his body drops and he loses all control once again... Into the "sunken place".

Chris's awesome TSA agent cousin, Rod, then starts to get suspicious as he attempts to call Chris's phone to have no answer. He then remembers the picture Chris sent of Logan King. Upon doing some research, Rod reveals that King has been missing for awhile! Rod freaks out and tries to receive help to rescue Chris from these "white people trying to make black people into sex slaves" hahaha! Lil Rel provides a great balance of humor to this suspenseful film.

Back at the Armitage household, Chris is strapped to a chair and is placed in front of a deer and a TV set. This is where we learn that Rose's grandpa has been kidnapping black people for quite some time. They believe that black folks have far more superior genes and want to exchange their old bodies for black ones. So they kidnap these black bodies, and Rose's dad performs a surgery where they somehow are placed in those bodies. Rose's Grandma = Georgina, Rose's Grandpa = Walter. Flashback to the auction that took place, Chris is to embody the conscious mind of Jim Hudson, the art dealer.

This is where the film just goes haywire, and I love it! Chris's character LITERALLY PICKS COTTON out of his chair, plugs his ears so that he doesn't enter hypnosis, escapes being the only person alive. HE PICKS COTTON TO BECOME FREE!

The scene at the end where his fingers are wrapped around Rose's neck, her creepy ass smile, and then the red and blue lights spin up!!! I screamed, "SERIOUSLY?! After all that?!" And then the reveal of Rod was such a big sigh of relief.

​That is beautiful story-telling! Mr. Peele you are so so so so intelligent! What a brilliant way to discuss an important American issue and present it through the eyes of a black male hero who usually dies first in these types of films!

This film made me want to stand up, clap, scream, and cry! It felt so good and I was ecstatic at the end of the film!

Okay phew.......! I hope you enjoyed my commentary! Here's to the next film that makes me feel as excited as Peele's Get Out!!!! I am so inspired! GO SEE IT! If you read this far, and haven't seen it! You stupid.

Those of you who have seen it, let me know what you think! Share your thoughts! I'd love to hear from you! MUAH!


With Peace,
Kiet

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I felt like singing...  So I found this super cool arrangement of an MJ classic!  Let me know what you think :)

​With Peace,
Kiet

Here's the Latest poem:

So I would have to say that my first spurt of love for Rap came when I was in middle school.  In the Late 90's Chronic 2001 had just come out and the basketball team was bumpin Warren G's I Want It All in the back of the bus.  I can't exactly remember what happened to me, but music changed for me.  I was curious, I wanted to get my hands on any and everything Rap.  Unfortunately, my parents weren't too thrilled and thought that I was gonna run around acting like I was a gangster.  Quite the contrary.  (Side note:  Actually, that's what a lot of my issue with people's judgements on the genre as a whole.  I would argue that Rap has so much more depth to it and has created more innovative ways to story-telling then any other music genre.  I digress.)  I dove into stories of a world I wanted to understand and experience.  I learned empathy and to see what perseverance looked like.  I saw a lot of beauty in what the outsider may see as dirty, rough, and scary.  It's helped me dip into lives I didn't necessarily live with in my own experiences.  I have grown as a person, for sure, thanks to Rap.

I haven't listened to all of the latest, but I will say this...  Kendrick Lamar is an incredible human being, let alone Rap artist.  Going through his album, To Pimp a Butterfly, is like going through an incredible book.  From start to finish, his albums have a cohesive line that brings you on a JOURNEY!  

Unfortunately, they have taken down his performance at the 2016 Grammy's on YouTube...  Well here's this crappy version:

But if this doesn't spark your interest to research this MC, I don't know what will.......

I wish him all the best and hope that we get to see more of him!  And I hope I've converted you, if you haven't been yet.  I am also more than happy to have listening parties of his albums!  Let me know if you'd like to join me and we can explore good kid, m.A.A.d city or To Pimp a Butterfly together!  ;-)
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With Peace,
​Kiet

First off.  If you haven't watched the show , THE BLACK MIRROR, on Netflix, take a chance to appreciate The Twilight Zone of our time.  I love Charlie Brooker's visions of the digital world we now live in, and it's effects on our everyday interactions.  And what it has done to us as human beings...  And I hope it gives you a sense of your reflection.
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Which leads me to this conversation.  I have had the pleasure of doing live theatre in my life.  Whether it be musical theatre, opera, or a straight play, I've re-discovered the human experience.  I have met some of my closest friends through this mutual love for drama and have learned so much from this discipline.  It is a very common phrase in the theatre community to say, "live in the moment".  And with that mantra, I've been able to really expand my mind, explore conversation, and experience life lessons that I never thought would come from a stage.  It is pivotal in an acting scene to feel the energy of the room, your fellow actor(s)/actress(es), and your audience.  And that may be the very reason why it can be such an addictive experience and why people pursue it as a career, why I am pursuing it.  I hope every single human being gets the chance to at least take a class, be in a play/musical, and/or star in their very own movie!

So that leads me to what fueled these thoughts...
I am currently the main house manager for the Gazillion Bubble Show.  And at this job, among other things, I have had to question OUR FUTURE.  The Bubble Show is geared towards young children and those young children bring their zombie parents (a majority but not all.  There's some good gems :-D) to this beautiful show/experience.  Instead of being able to see a once in a lifetime experience, all I see DURING the show, is a sea of cell-phones.  Checking emails, looking at FaceBook, SnapChatting the show, Tweeting Donald Trump their next plans to rule the world, texting Bae that she missed out on a crazy show!  All for what?!?  You paid $45-$99.50 a pop to be here!  Your family, your CHILDREN are more human than you will ever be!  

And THIS IS WHY I'M HERE!  WHY I RANT!  ON A BLACK MIRROR MYSELF TO TELL YOU TO PUT IT DOWN!  LOOK UP! LOOK AROUND!  FEEL SOMETHING FOR GOD SAKES!  THIS IS NOW ABOUT ALL OF YOU!  MY COLLECTIVE AUDIENCE!  When you're at dinner with friends and/or family, PUT IT DOWN!  Talk to people!  I don't care if it was your baby's first time eating an ice cream cone and you wanna capture this sweet precious moment!  CAPTURE IT BY ENJOYING THE FREAKING ICE CREAM WITH THEM!  GRRRRRAHHHH!!!!

Okay...  I think I'm calm now.  Phew!  Seriously folks.  
We need to take in these moments more.  Our phones should be tools, not distractions.  We are becoming more addicted than we have ever imagined.  I promise you, the life you are seeking is right in front of you, when you turn it all off.  When your face is buried in a glowing piece of glass, you miss the flowers you just passed walking to work. You miss the possibility of discovering new things about your best friend you see all the time.  Sure, take a photo, share your art, share your life, but don't forget to live it.

I am in no means trying to talk from a pedestal here.  I'm down there on the ground with you.  I need to put the screens down just as much as the next person.  And I'm striving to be better.  In doing so, we will all experience more.  Our sleep gets better, our conversations richer, our meals tastier, our bodies relax more...  We need to live through our lives more than try to escape from them.  The healing that needs to happen for you, is actually to live through the pain.  We not only hurt ourselves when we escape, but we then affect the community around us, the world around us.  

I challenge you to put your phone down.  Put your tablet down.  Turn off your TV.  Close your eyes.  Breathe.  And take life in.  "Live in the moment".  Live Whole-Heartedly.  And let's get Closer to Kindness.  I love you all!  You all inspire me to be better and I hope I can inspire you to do the same!

With Peace,
Kiet

I would like to thank Kevin Chung for being such a badass and helping me out with Weebly! Respect my friend.  You have no idea how helpful this was.  

​Hope this is a beginning to a new journey!  Thanks for joining the ride :P