The Soul in Jordan Peele's US
Jordan Peele’s second film, US , offers a complex analysis of class. In the film, scientists attempt to artificially recreate humans in order to control their real counterparts in the world above. Red says that ultimately, their experiments failed because they could not recreate a soul, leaving the soul as “one, shared by two”. Instead, the scientists abandoned their creations underground to fend for themselves, leaving them to live at the whim of their aboveground counterparts. The word “soul” is only mentioned in Red’s speech at the end of the film, but there are hints throughout the movie that “Adelaide” is not who she appears to be nor is she the original possessor of her shared soul. So what does it mean to have a soul? What does it mean to share one? One of the biggest markers of a soul seems to be an affinity for the arts. Early in the movie, as Adelaide and her family head to Santa Cruz beach, Five on it by Luniz comes on the radio. The family happil...