Photo from IMDb.

by Omar Ross

The movie “Get Out” was released on Feb. 24 and received great feedback from viewers. Although the feedback was good, many people criticized the star of the movie for not being “black enough.” Daniel Kaluuya still has to prove his race, although he is a dark-skinned man.

“People say ‘You’re too black.’ Then I come to America and they say ‘You’re not black enough.’ I go to Uganda; I can’t speak the language. In India, I’m black. In the black community, I’m dark-skinned. In America, I’m British,” said Kaluuya.

In a recent GQ magazine interview, Kaluuya expressed his opinion on the critique given by Samuel L. Jackson on the casting of “Get Out.” He gave respect to Jackson, but explained that he is a black man, and that the black people in the UK are the reason he is about to have a career.

“The people who are the reason I’m even about to have a career, had to live in a time where they went looking for housing and signs would say, ‘NO IRISH. NO DOGS. NO BLACKS.’ That’s reality. Police would round up all these black people, get them in the back of a van, and wrap them in blankets so their bruises wouldn’t show when they beat them. That’s the history that London has gone through,” said Kaluuya.

Despite the criticism, Kaluuya says he just wants to tell good stories. “Get Out” was just such a story, and the actor said it’s frustrating that “to prove that I can play this role, I have to open up about the trauma that I’ve experienced as a black person,” said Kaluuya.

Kaluuya doesn’t want the attention to be all on him, but rather on the movie and the message that the director Jordan Peele is trying to bring across. He wants people to support him and what he is doing as a director. Being a black writer and director is big in the African American community and he brings a different perspective to movies.

“There’s a message in this thing. There’s a black writer and director that has written a film that is critically acclaimed, and now is commercially profitable. Yet, we’re trying to separate ourselves again? There’s enough to deal with. But we just keep at it. It’s all good,” said Kaluuya.

“Get Out” has received great reviews and has reached 99% on the Rotten Tomatoes website. Daniel Kaluuya resents that he has to prove he is black and he is still processing what that is. He is working on new films and is excited about the upcoming Black Panther movie and didn’t give many details about what is happening.

Jordan Peele is the first African American director and screenwriter to break the 100-million-dollar box office threshold with an original script.