What is the Sunken Place?

You know when you’re about to fall asleep and you feel like you’re falling, but you catch yourself and you wake up? Well, what if you never caught yourself? Where would you fall? Where would you go into?
Jordan Peele, writer-director Get Out
Movies:
Get Out (1957)
Encanto (2021)
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Saving Private Ryan (1997)
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
#GetOut #JordanPeele #NowYouSeeit
Music by Epidemic Sound

[@faerieprincess1232]

Your best yet! Both in terms of analysis and in the quality of your editing. Nicely done!

[@MackLel38]

For real, you went hard on this one

[@Justakidthatrantsisapimp]

It's where this channel's been for the past half year.

[@NarcissistMargarine]

Ayooo Fr though

[@NeroLeMorte]

Haha

[@inkynebula]

this video was worth it 😉

[@vitorkk328]

They were cooking this video. And it was fire

[@landlocked_lifts332]

I still miss Every Frame a Painting

[@hahahalala-i1x]

god damn. not often does a video essay make you FEEL the point its making. not only did you get your point across logically, in essay fashion, you let the clips speak for themselves and presented them in such a way that i felt it. thank you. amazing work

[@mstly4lg]

I want to make NYSI aware that this video changed my life. It made me realise that I had trauma which I wasn't addressing. Since watching this video, I've accept how truly hurt I was from past events. This has allowed me to change my actions and behaviours which were a cover up of how I felt. Now, I have grown a little bit as a better person than who I was before watching this video.

[@rachell1794]

peele's work makes it so satisfying to keep digging into meanings and motifs, because there are soooo many layers to unpack. i definitely found a lot to dig into with Nope as well!

[@Solid_Gravy]

Dude made half an hour feel like 10 minutes, brilliant editing, thoroughly engaging at times, this why I love this channel. Good stuff as always, keep it up.

[@unicyclomaniac]

You can really tell how much research went into this video, and it was displayed beautifully. Keep these videos coming!

[@MsKingwa]

So much effing gold 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 Brilliant, well done

[@AbC2517]

Satoshi Kon is the master of making 'such' places and brilliantly conveys ideas like memory, past, trauma, reality itself, existence and so on just through Cutting from one scene to another.

[@lalakuma9]

As someone with a history of depression, I interpreted the Sunken Place as learned helplessness. You feel like nothing you do could change how the system is set up against you, so your body just shuts down.

[@tardigradeColonies]

That's big part of how I related to it so deeply. Learned helplessness and dissociation from your experience as a maladaptive coping mechanism can really immobilize someone and dissociation can create this disconnect between yourself and your body that for me, feels eerily similar to the cinematic portrayal of the sunken place. You're so overwhelmed and so reflexive in the way you go numb and mentally withdraw, even when you don’t want to and part of you is internally screaming, because in the past the obstacles seem insurmountable and you're just used to automatically dissociating from what you think is unavoidable pain and discomfort, but logically you know you CAN do something. Your brain and body just don't respond, though.

[@Ten_Thousand_Locusts]

The segment at 18:05 was bone chilling and so beautifully edited. The way you put that stuff together is just sublime. The ending tying back to your own channel name was really good and clever as well..

[@kidsamsa]

Fantastic video that gave me a lot to think about. I thought it was maybe a missed opportunity to mention some behind the scenes details on Grave of The Fireflies, though, specifically in that it was largely biographical. Akiyuki Nosaka, the writer of the original short story the film is based on, really did lose his parents in firebombings, and lost his baby sister to malnutrition. He blamed himself for her death, which he called "an exact match" to Setsuko's. I think it's easy to see the story as a retelling of Nosaka's trauma where he receives the "punishment" he thought he deserved, but I can also imagine that it was a claiming of the narrative for him. His sister's death was meaningless, but the story gave her a voice. I suppose none of this important to the narrative of the film, but an interesting commentary on how the stories of these unclaimed narrative's can often provide some meaning to the people telling them.

[@PanTheManInNeverland]

I think this represents a similar point brought up about Peele attempting to portray the lived trauma of growing up without a father and seeing that shared trauma be so perpetual in his community. Instead of reliving trauma that he felt responsible (like Chris or Nosaka) he helped narrate the trauma of being black in society (both lack of father, unsafe in certain situations, etc). I do think the background information on Grave of the Fireflies is important (I actually didn't know that was the case). I think in a way, Nosaka using the story to process the trauma and give a voice to what haunts him is powerful and represents that "awakening" from the Sunken Place.

[@BarnabyCodswallow]

Magnum Opus level right here. Thank you for making this.

[@katyalambo]

So well done. Gives a whole new meaning to "I don't know". Thank you for this 🙏

[@JovemEverton]

Always good that you are able to talk critically about American war movies and its patriotism.

[@theaveragesquire]

really great video, thanks for coming back with a banger

[@ruthielalastor2209]

Incredible work. Layers upon layers of meaning unfolding. I had to keep pausing so I could ponder upon the ideas you've presented here. Thank you for this and congratulations.

[@Strength_In_Wisdom]

You know what's interesting, having memories as a kid that feel like you were in the sunken place. Able to hear everything but see flashes of what your body did as a kid without the full control over your body as in adult, or 7+

[@EamonHoye]

Oh my god, that is one of the best video essays or just videos, in general, one of the best videos I've ever seen. well done I love the transition at 16:28 I love all of it really I'm gonna go tell all my friends about it.

[@danielbarrero2815]

amazing video!

[@Armakk]

Amazing essay. I would add the overdose sequence of TRAINSPOTTING in which Ewan McGregor literally sinks into the floor and the entire sequence is shot from "under the carpet" i.e. probably the original sunken place.

[@tinkergnomad]

I love your videos, but IMO, this is easily your best yet.

[@the.andrey.x]

The best movie analysis channel tbh

[@JBF086]

Its amazing all the analisys troughout the video. I've never thought about it that way. Its amazing how he can connect all those points from such different movies. And connect it with your channel name in the end. Such clever move!!!!

[@Jaws19show]

Breath taken. Wow. So many threads joined in this one essay. Too many to list. Genuinely a life-changing video. Thank you.

[@storytellers1]

He returns!

[@oh44x]

precious video essay. loved it.

[@andresfc97]

Absolute masterpiece of a video!

[@rpopova]

Wow! I have no words for good this was! You can see how much thought and effort went into it, it's just brilliant!

[@allisonmyers2678]

Going to use this for teaching Hamlet to my high schoolers.

[@jojogape]

I'm glad I waited until I fiiiiiinally got to see Get Out (we don't usually have Prime at home) to watch this video. The whole movie was such an experience.

[@EvonneLindiwe]

Fantastic and earned my sub 🙏🏿

[@0DlREoAMvERe0]

Omg I love this. I would have watched this even if it was 2 hours long. Thanks for doing this 😊

[@santiagorojaspiaggio]

Beautiful work!

[@estebanlacrosse7847]

Great video I like how tied it all in into being a message of “Now You See It” which is the name of your channel

[@styrofoamboogie2042]

Amazing video, my dude

[@dwightsarmy14]

Love your channel. You have really helped me to notice and analyze more things in film. I’m always impressed with the things you point out that just went right over my head lol. Keep it up

[@dmagik8]

My king! HE has returned!

[@VXDRG]

Amazing great piece I learned a lot

[@Halkin85]

You should have mentioned Being John Malkovich as the whole main premise of Get Out is taken from it. Peele has confirmed the connection and the sunken place look extremely similar in both.

[@Sssmg789]

That was really really good. Video essays can be a lot of fluff with little critical thinking. This was fantastic

[@tylerhollom5749]

Phenomenal video, one of your best yet

[@sssdddkkksss]

Very very good. Love your editing and writing

[@QuestionableLogic_]

I don't know, but a new Now You See It video can take me out of it for a while

[@aevitern1ty]

amazing video. wholeheartedly.

[@SweetLilWren]

This is so deep. No pun intended

[@webzzzzzzzz]

This made me think about a lot of stuff. I guess I had some emotions I needed to process and I think this helped, so thanks lol. Great analyses.

[@SlunkieB]

awesome work!

[@geokowalski314]

i feel like i'm in the sunken place when i find myself dissociating but can't get back to the present or understand what ppl are saying to me

[@QuentDB]

I didn't know this video was so good.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Hey, you released a video sooner than 1-2 weeks! I'm so glad to see a video again!

[@NowYouSeeIt]

I got impatient!!! Couldn't wait that long

[@MattHeard]

excellent work!

[@MASTERTEAMUSIC]

Great Breakdown of The Sunken Place & I’m only 17 minutes in 💯💎

[@orangewarm1]

As a black man you dont need an explanation. As soon as i saw this scene i understood it as one of the most powerful metaphors for black life ever in film. It's a concept similar to Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.

[@tonoornottono]

“what if you didn’t catch yourself? where would you go?” what in the fuck im gonna be thinking about that forever. that’s exactly what it feels like! you catch yourself. and it’s desperate! you snatch yourself out of this place with no floor beneath you, you throw yourself into bed for safety. what if you just slipped right through your own grip? how would your body feel, to have missed you? to flinch in the dark, and then go silent, forever? jesus man that’s such a heavy thought. i just never thought of it that way. i always felt that i landed in bed passively, not that i caught myself out of instinctive fear. genuinely terrifying.

[@jamesradford]

the year is saved, Now You See It posted again

[@jeremiahrosmarin3987]

absolutely amazing.

[@mstly4lg]

I just wanted something engaging to listen to as I clean the kitchen. Now, I've cried and reflected on the recent actions I've taken as possible relfections of my trauma :'(

[@CaptainJim87]

You're making me reconsider elements in a play I'm working on. Thank you!

[@asliv11]

Who 'd have thought that a video essay could affect me emotionaly

[@surrealistgirlx]

Love your content!

[@godlysense9065]

Gorgeous work 🙌🏻

[@MotivationSenseiTube]

Thanks for video

[@ronaldmitchell9816]

So utterly baffling the view count on this one. You should be proud of yourself for this one!

[@PogieJoe]

Another beautifully done essay! Very moving.

[@sumit2658]

brilliant.

[@BatmanuelTheCactus]

This video taught me something about myself

[@AmericoVespucioo]

I'm just 10 minutes in. Already thinking "brilliant"

[@AmbroseReed]

Wow. Gorgeous analysis, and very relevant to some things I'm realizing and working on in therapy. 😅 The claimed vs unclaimed experience and whether or not we've completed that loop is such a useful concept.

[@roonyq]

Great video, Jack! What music plays at 9:59?

[@alexfouquetfr]

Brilliant video, that made me think a lot about the backrooms. This idea of finding yourself lost in a place you can’t Get out, has terrified many, included me. We are scared of what we could find down there, and we must be brave enough to interpret these figures as answers.

[@wasprider7239]

Damn, what an insightful video. Great job!

[@PaulusTheCart]

Very cool!

[@chicomanara]

Made me like the movie even more.

[@ThePedroAmigo]

Brilliant!

[@Shanethefilmmaker]

For me, The Sunken Place much like a lot of hypnotherapy and meditation techniques used to be neutral, depending on who wields it. Missy uses it for Evil. To trap unsuspecting black people into their own bodies while white people take them over. That said, the Sunken Place reminds me of two similar moments. The first is from Earthbound where the character named Poo goes into a state called Mu. A meditative state that takes everything from you. The second was Johnny's Got his Gun. Where a guy through an explosion lost his hearing, sight, smell and taste. He retreats into his mind through fantasy and memory. Makes me think the Sunken Place is one of those things.

[@ivandimuccio5552]

Videazo!

[@pedroppsa]

Such a lovely video! Only thing that i think could have been metioned more is the power of therapy, specially when we are talking about the repetition that a trauma can make one go through. Being a phychoanalist myself, we see that almost like a call for help, because like you said, even if we are "fullfilling" our wishes the person still stuck, bacause we are not actually dealing with the real problem. And that is when therapy kicks in, so that we acknowledge this (as we call) symptom, and try to understand what are we trying to achieve. Basically, therapy is responsable for making sure you actually "wake up".

[@tinkergnomad]

I've sought years of therapy, crisis "care," and psychiatric "care," and that industry trends to compound and exploit trauma rather than offer healing.

[@Oliverfk3]

What a video! Amazing work and so well done! Thanks for making it, it really is great!

[@GenZRadio234]

Woah just realized how deep this movie was.

[@cullateral]

Thank you for this. Love from Sentinel Island x

[@swetistefan]

Interestingly enough, the roots of both words "dream" (from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrowgʰ-mos, from *dʰrewgʰ- (“to deceive, injure, damage”), and "trauma" (From Ancient Greek τραῦμα (traûma, “wound, damage”) translate to "damage, wound/injury". 🙂

[@rachel_rexxx]

This was a good one

[@mrflipperinvader7922]

Woah he changed the background instrumental For real though what is that instrumental hip Hop song you always used to use, I keep forgetting the name of it, please say

[@retroforager]

"I make you a promise, Martha won't die tonight."

[@KingGurke98]

I love these videos. They are truly inspiring, in the sense that they make me want to think more, about movies, art in general, philosophy, and most importantly: People

[@alex-coelho]

after watching this i just realized a major plot hole in “get out!”: how can Georgina's conscious returns if the brains in her head is Chris's girlfriend's grandma's? (lots of genitive case in one question, I know)

[@13eaewe7m3thso]

they don't take the original brain out, they just put their brain into the same skull, they can only control the body while their victim is in the sunken place

[@nubiancaynes2128]

The song please. The one from the beginning

[@NowYouSeeIt]

Redbone Kuga Remix

[@garshO_o]

Song at beginning: Childish Gambino - Redbone (Kuga Remix)

[@dynaman7329]

Could you do a video on the films that tried to emulate the success of The Matrix if possible?

[@ClintEPereira]

Why would you cut from an older Private Ryan saluting after he had lived a full life with his family beside him to Setsuko saluting? Why would you break my heart like that?

[@guyfawkes8384]

Theey never get tired of wanting others to feel sorry for them, do they?

[@ladyheavdev]

Encantos ending sucks ass and Abuela definitely deserves to be punished imo but that beginning is beautiful and definitely proves your point.

[@mohandasjung]

The movie should have ended with them rebuilding the house without powers and turning into a normal, but more functional, family.

[@ladyheavdev]

@@mohandasjung That's what I said! And Abuela gets cut out of the fam and sent to jail or a nursing home or whatever 😊

[@charlieshek3465]

Yes

[@julmye]

Starts great but… just had 3 ads, including 2 15 seconds long and unskippable, and I have not passed the 6’30 mark…maybe you did’t choose that, so I thought I’d let you now (it it goes on that way, I’ll watch him the rest with an adblocker, and although I know all too well that a creator has to make a living). EDIT : and two more unskippable ones at 10. That makes 6 in ten minutes, 4 unskippable.

[@NowYouSeeIt]

Honestly you’re right, I turned off the ones during the video, it’s too annoying

[@julmye]

@@NowYouSeeIt I wouldn't mind one or two ! Anyway, thanks for listening to your audience and, most of all, congrats for this absolutely brilliant video.

[@LeonhardWindecker]

I seems kind of like very severe ME/ CFS

[@Sasmand]

Wow

[@jaysun4069]

I appreciate the proper use of the term woke here. Instead of how the racist right wing has co-opted it and warped it's meaning into something negative.

[@sunrac]

No grave of the fireflies, please no!!!

[@MrGinger333]

There's a great film analysis podcast I highly recommend called Psyop Cinema. They did a long indepth look into the film Get Out