Amazon’s Them (2021): Fighting The Cult of ‘whiteness’
…and the dismantling of anti-blackness.
*Warning! Spoilers ahead.*
Amazon’s Them (2021), despite all of my predictions in my trailer analysis, did do something vital and imperative: critique ‘whiteness’ and white supremacy. I clocked a lot of the series themes in my initial analyses of the trailer, so if you’d like to read that first I’d highly recommend you do so.
Them immediately lets you know that the main characters are constantly in danger from internal and external forces (seemingly beyond their control). Indeed a malevolent entity, that was once human, is orchestrating a percentage of the woes that befall them in California, but everything else in their lives has been instituted and facilitated by whiteness encroaching upon their moments of safety, agency, and autonomy.
This series navigates the tightrope of this dichotomy well, by showing that the physical and psychological trappings of white supremacy are destroying the white characters from within as well. Beyond the fantastical elements that occur in this series, the show makes it explicit that the myth of white supremacy has wrought unparalleled damage across the centuries. From communities that deemed themselves ‘good Christian folk’ to seemingly progressive real estate agents.
The horror of this series is also couched in anti-blackness and how it unravels the mental wellbeing of the Emory family (and that of lay Black people watching the series). The ugliness of this may also affect white viewers on a different cerebral level by holding a mirror up to the insidious ways that it operates across time and space. I will commend this series for erasing the lines between an ‘us vs them’ narrative because that’s how too many white persons are let off the hook for the generational trauma and violence that white supremacy leaves behind.
To become a participant in the cult of ‘whiteness’ is to remove the very things that make one human and humane. To be indoctrinated is to lose the very essence of good that may have lain within you. And for Black people, there is no entry point whatsoever, beyond anti-blackness.
The abstract manifestation of ‘white people’ did not exist in antiquity, yet from its inception, it has wrought incalculable damage across the globe. Texts such as Nell Irvin Painter’s: The History of White People (2010) explores how the cultivation of said supremacy was gradual and serpentine, winding its way into art, history, science, and most perniciously the concept of race (and racing other people by proxy).
Them also does masterful work in critiquing how those who immigrated to the United States can also be deceived into the doctrine of white domination via their perceived distance to Black people via a supposed racial hierarchy and one of the other founding tentpoles of America: the bible. Verses of Leviticus and Genesis are scriptures that were utilized as a cudgel and a justification of the subjugation of Black people into bondage. To see this series weave those manipulated passages into the story proper and show that it can be a curse upon more than one house (aka Black and white) was powerful.
This may be one of the biggest spoilers of them all so brace yourself…Them is heavily if not marginally inspired by Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook (2014). Okay! Wait! Wait! Hear me out! Case in point #1: The most frightening entity that stalks the leads of the series and can manipulate its forms is shrouded in black, wears a very distinctive hat, and has exaggeratedly long features. Case in point #2: This same entity also feeds on the pain and trauma simmering within the family its latched itself onto and manipulates the mother character to almost murdering her child(ren). Case in point #3: The mother character steps forward to psychologically keep said monster in the basement and then proceeds to walk into the open air with her family, but not without the lingering presence of trauma still simmering in the air.
When you see the series and if you’ve seen The Babadook, get back to me and let me know if my theory holds water but until then, don’t say I didn’t warn you. *wink* Coyness aside, this series drew upon some great horror staples and some cliche telegraphed ones that had early 2000’s dust on them, but those moments don’t overstay their welcome — thank goodness! The pace is brisk in this series, with few moments of levity in between, because technically the series takes place across ten days. There will be content and trigger warnings in advance before some episodes but in my opinion, this should be applied for the entire series, because…oof! Them is working through some PTSD that has been foisted upon Black Americans for a long long time.
Each episode will hit differently for various age groups, and I’m still unsure if this series should be for small children, but then again the youth have always been exposed to trauma at earlier and earlier ages; so, if you’re an adult with young children, watch the series first and make your determination from there, please. I’m not kidding, there is seriously disturbing imagery and subject matter in this series that even rattled me and I do this horror stuff for a living. So, proceed with caution.
As mentioned throughout, Them is a very carefully constructed series that comes out of the gate swinging with its themes and historical concepts. I’ll personally applaud the creator, Little Marvin for breathing life into this particular piece of the anthology series. If the ratings and buzz surrounding this Amazon original series garner enough traction, we’ll be able to see more risk-taking and genre-busting television come out of this. Lastly, I must give a bevy of flowers to the lead cast members: Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Melody Hurd…you all absolutely deserve all of the accolades and more for the tour-de-force acting you delivered in every single episode. Special shout-out to the lighting and makeup department because all of the Black cast members were lit beautifully and everyone’s coiffures were on point (especially for this era…hello natural hair, grease jars, and hot comb it was lovely to see you).
Even though the spectre of ‘whiteness’ encroaches upon so many aspects of the Black characters lives, that isn’t their entire story and it was delightful to see those glimmers of peace amidst the ignorance and bigotry. Lest I forget, there may be some retreads of Jordan Peele’s aesthetic or brand of horror in the series, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to unpack with certain concepts or that Black horror can’t have some universal themes. If anything this is a great starting point for us to continue learning from Them.
Them debuts on Amazon Prime Video on April 9, 2021.
Research/Recommended Reading:
