Bodies as Commodities and Stolen Identities in Horror: A Comparative Analysis of Never Whistle at Night and Get Out

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 19 Sayı: 2, 516 - 525, 29.12.2025

Doina Ciochina

https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1851072

Öz

This paper examines the commodification of Indigenous and Black bodies through two works: the short stories in the Indigenous horror anthology Never Whistle at Night (2023), and the film Get Out (2017). I aim to analyze two short stories from the anthology Never Whistle at Night that highlight the exploitation and objectification of Indigenous bodies: “Collections” by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala and “Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth” by Conley Lyons. Drawing parallels with the critically acclaimed horror movie Get Out, I will explore how the exploitation of Black bodies in the context of systemic racism and white supremacy resonates with the themes presented in Never Whistle at Night. While the experiences of Black and Indigenous communities are distinct, there are undeniable similarities in the ways they have been and continue to be marginalized, exploited, and dehumanized by dominant cultures. Academic spaces often overlook or ignore Indigenous scholars and minorities in general, because it is easier to critique existing knowledge and systems from a dominant and usually privileged position.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Speculative fiction , colonialism , horror , never whistle at night , Indigenous , power , control , survival , oppression , get out

Korku Anlatılarında Bedenin Metalaşması ve Çalınan Kimlikler

Öz

This paper examines the commodification of Indigenous and Black bodies through two works: the short stories in the Indigenous horror anthology Never Whistle at Night (2023), and the film Get Out (2017). I aim to analyze two short stories from the anthology Never Whistle at Night that highlight the exploitation and objectification of Indigenous bodies: “Collections” by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala and “Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth” by Conley Lyons. Drawing parallels with the critically acclaimed horror movie Get Out, I will explore how the exploitation of Black bodies in the context of systemic racism and white supremacy resonates with the themes presented in Never Whistle at Night. While the experiences of Black and Indigenous communities are distinct, there are undeniable similarities in the ways they have been and continue to be marginalized, exploited, and dehumanized by dominant cultures. Academic spaces often overlook or ignore Indigenous scholars and minorities in general, because it is easier to critique existing knowledge and systems from a dominant and usually privileged position.

Kaynakça

• Blaeser-Wardzala, A. (2023). Collections (pp. 366–381). In S. Hawk & T. C. Van Alst Jr. (Eds.), Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology (pp. 366-381). Vintage Books
• Camille, J. (2022). “Black Is in Fashion: The Black Body as a Commodity in Jordan Peele’s Get Out.” Dean James E. McLeod Freshman Writing Prize,18. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mcleod/18
• Eguíbar‐Holgado, M. (2022) “Indigenous Diasporas in Speculative Fiction: Writing Through Estrangement.” Literature Compass, 19(12). https://doi.org/10.1111/lic3.12687
• Get Out. (2017). Directed by Jordan Peele, performances by Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, and Lakeith Stanfield, Blumhouse Productions.
• Hawk, S., and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., eds. (2023). Never Whistle at Night. Random House Canada.
• Bell, E. D. E., et al. (2017). “Indigenous Wonderworks and the Settler-Colonial Imaginary.” Apex Magazine, 10 Aug. 2017, https://apex-magazine.com/nonfiction/indigenous-wonderworks-and-the-settler-colonial-imaginary.
• Lyons, C. (2023). Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth. In S. Hawk & T. C. Van Alst Jr. (Eds.), Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology (pp. 38-57). Vintage Books.
• McLeod, N. (2016). Mitêwâcimowina: Indigenous Science Fiction and Speculative Storytelling. Theytus Books.
• Smith, L. T. (2021). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. 3rd ed., Zed Books.
• Tuck, E., and Yang, K. W. (2012). “‘Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor.’” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1, pp. 1-40.
• Whitehead, J. (2020). “Introduction.” Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, edited by Joshua Whitehead, pp. 9-15. Arsenal Pulp Press.
• Zafar, A. (2024, June 15). Reclaiming horror: Indigenous voices transform the genre. Creepy Current. https://creepycurrent.com/reclaiming-horror-indigenous-voices-transform-the-genre/