Get Out director Jordan Peele on film being submitted for Golden Globe: 'It's a documentary'

'The movie is truth. The thing that resonated people with people is true'

Get Out has shone as one of the sure cultural landmarks of the year: discussed, beloved, rewarded.

The film marks the highest-grossing debut film based on an original screenplay, with Jordan Peele becoming the first black-writer director to gross over $100 million domestically with their debut film. It's also on track to become the most profitable film of 2017. Naturally, this time of year has roped Get Out into the awards conversation.

However, the Golden Globes has already amassed a certain level of controversy, after Get Out was submitted to the comedy/musical category.

Likely, Universal was hedging its bets by entering the film into the (usually) less competitive side of the race; the comedy/musical category has slowly morphed into a home for anything that might be considered "a genre" film - remember when The Martian randomly ended up competing as a comedy? A little too sci-fi to play with the big prestige dramas, perhaps.

The film's representation of the insidious, pervasive nature of modern racism presented within the structure of a horror film is certainly no laughing matter, though the film does boast a few comedic touches thanks to Peele's background in sketch comedy.

However, the implications are uncomfortable nonetheless, and it's natural accusations have arisen that the weight of Get Out's social commentary is being pushed aside. As star Lil Rel Howery commented (sic): "Their is nothing funny about racism... Was it that unrealistic lol".

Appearing on the Wednesday edition of Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, Peele himself told the host that he "submitted it as a documentary", echoing a tweet he posted earlier which read simply, "Get Out is a documentary".

He added, "Here's the thing, the movie is truth. The thing that resonated with people was truth, so for me it's more of a historical biopic." Though Peele's use of "documentary" and "historical biopic" shouldn't be read as literal, it speaks directly to how real and profound the emotions the film is dealing with truly are for black audiences.

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