A trailer for the new film Karen prompted widespread derision after viewers branded it a rip-off of Jordan Peele's Get Out.
The film tells the story of a racist white woman who seeks to terrorize her black neighbors. Many people went straight to social media to take aim at what they said is a blatant attempt to imitate Peele's hit.
Get Out was about a young Black man visiting his white girlfriend's family for the weekend. After his girlfriend's family force niceties initially, secrets begin to unravel and he finds out the true extent of the family's obsession with targeting Black people.
Peele's 2017 box office hit received widespread critical acclaim and won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film was hailed for its ability to give viewers a glimpse into the subtle layers of racism that Black people experience.
Following the release of the trailer for Karen, the accusations on social media over reusing using the same formula came thick and fast.
A tweet by user @notself_ was liked thousands of times. It read: "All of these Jordan Peele recreation attempts assume the core of Get Out was 'haha white people scary' and try to recycle that over and over. They miss the nuanced message about liberal performative activism, about the obsession with black culture. 1/2."
"2/2 the imitations don't have anything new to say, they just take a well-known image of racism and expect that to do the work."
Twitter user @m00nlithalo said that "people who didn't get the message of nuance" of Get Out are simply "rushing to make their own half-a**** version of it."
They added: "Jordan Peele: It's about how Black people are seen as a trend and a commodity and is also a commentary on white neo-liberalism is a component to modern day racism. These copycats: White people bully Black people and that's bad, got it."
Dear Hollywood, Hear me out: STOP trying to duplicate Jordan Peele’s work. It can’t be done lol.
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) June 22, 2021
A lot of these directors wanna capture the essence of a Jordan Peele thriller without the nuance that made his films work all to make a profit off movies that look like the parodies from Dear White People https://t.co/PTRG8LOths
— 𝕤𝕚𝕒𝕙. ✨ 😌 ✌🏾 ✨ (@SiahJayAndre) June 22, 2021
Jordan Peele: It’s about how Black people are seen as a trend and a commodity and is also a commentary on white neo-liberalism is a component to modern day racism
— Tiiiiired | Hiatus (@m00nlithalo) June 22, 2021
These copycats: White people bully Black people and that’s bad, got it
i feel with these jordan peele copycat films popping up a common thread with a lot of them are how they take black trauma and well known tropes regarding racism and like... do nothing with them
— wyatt @ NYC soon! (@vlzxero) June 22, 2021
they're too on the nose to be clever and lack the supernatural twist to be engaging
@Lindyyay said: "Jordan Peele spent YEARS thinking about Get Out before he even began writing it which then took 2 months. So really, what makes these people think they can do it in minutes."
"They trying to steal Jordan Peele formula lol," @OG__Kai wrote.
Whilst user @Sungizzle added: "We need to get Jordan Peele a patent or something."
Karen was written and directed by His, Hers & the Truth director Coke Daniels.
It stars Orange Is The New Black actress Taryn Manning in the titular role, with American Sniper actor Cory Hardrict as Malik and Saints & Sinners actress Jasmine Burke as Imani—the neighbors targeted by Karen.
The film doesn't yet have a release date.
