Amazon Prime Debuts Official Trailer For New Series “Them"
By: Alexis Oatman
Them, an upcoming series on Amazon Prime, depicts a young, black family moving into what appears to be a predominately white neighborhood in 1950s America in a trailer released on Monday.
THEM - Official Trailer | Prime Video
In the trailer, things take a horrific turn for the Emory family when their white neighbors not only begin to spew racist vitriol but even go as far as defacing the family's home and front lawn by hanging Jim Crow era-Esque effigy hangings, reminiscent of a lynching.
The show is a "limited anthology series that explores terror in America," executive produced by Lena Waite and Little Marvin.
Many critics were quick to draw comparisons to Jordan Peele's work, specifically with "Get Out" in 2017 and 2019's "Us" — both breaking box office records and changing the landscape for representation of darker-skinned characters in the horror genre.
Fans on social media also pointed out that darker-skinned character's stories are continually centered around fear, horror, and trauma. From Antebellum to Harriet, it seems the only time Black people are on screen is to showcase our pain.
With #THEM why can't a dark skin family just not be the center of fear and horror and trauma. Just curious. Would love to see a dark skinned mom and dad and their kids not fearing for their life. Maybe living a blackish or any romantic story dream for once.
— Nyx, Supreme of Chaos Magic 🇵🇦🇬🇾 (@badwolfreigns) March 22, 2021
Not to mention, most of the crew, directors, and production team are predominantly white men.
As a Black viewer, the trailer was literal trauma porn—only adding a sense of dramatization to actual events (like racism) Black people face daily. It begs the question, why can't Black people play in films without mimicking historical trauma?
When will we be able to see Black characters play in roles not cemented in racism or poverty? When will we get our werewolves and vampire love stories?
It's become evident that Peele's style has become popular and is rubbing off. However, the difference is Peele's work with Get Out and Us was more subversive.
Peele focused on the issue of passive-aggressive or "liberal" racism, asking the bigger questions about the nature of inclusion and showing how frightening a world built on ignorance is. Even Misha Green’s Lovecraft Country used horror as an allegory to address racism, but not the story's centerpiece.
Peele wasn't focused on exploiting Black characters' trauma because of racism, whereas Them seems to be more interested in using race as the focal point of the series' scares.
While the first trailer doesn't appear to offer much beyond regurgitating very real racist incidents for the sake of entertainment, hopefully, Them will prove that it has more to offer than how it currently appears. The series is set to debut on April 9.
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