Final Discussion: Out There Screaming
I can live or I can die
Maybe this time I can be strong
But since I know who I am
I'm probably wrong
Maybe this time I can go far
Thinking about where I've been
Ain't helping me start
Cold Little Heart, Michael Kiwanuka
Schedule
Kick-off:July 5, 2024✔️Midway Check In:July 19, 2024✔️Final Discussion:August 2, 2024 at 6PM PST✔️See you tonight!
If you can’t make it to the digital hang, you can always use the comment section or the chat to leave your thoughts, reviews, and reflections.
Beyond the Sunken Place
In this collection, nineteen brilliant Black authors give us their Sunken Places, their oubliettes... They come in many forms: dances with the Devil, fantasies about alternate realities, monsters real and imagined. They are raw imaginings of our deepest dreads and desires. And they will not be forgotten.
Jordan Peele, Out There Screaming Foreword
The Sunken Place, a term made popular by Peele in his movie Get Out, is a metaphor for the feelings of helplessness and subjugation that Black people experience in society built on systemic, institutional racism.
Out There Screaming is an effective anthology and it shines in bringing to life that perception of the Sunken Place, something that can be a universal experience and deeply personal one for Black folks. I think of Tananarive Due’s words in a Fangoria interview when Horror Noire (the documentary and anthology film) were in production.
“We’re all human, and we all have a lot in common, but one of the things I think is apparent in Horror Noire [the anthology] is that Black experience and Black creators just bring a slightly different sensibility to storytelling, even when the story doesn’t have anything to do with race on the surface.”
I feel like each author here (Professor Due included!) understood the assignment and brought forth some of the most disturbing stories I’ve read in a while.
I wouldn’t say that the anthology had me outright screaming (ha) but after finishing each tale, I felt a palpable chill run down my spine. This wasn’t because the stories ventured into high fantasy or hard science fiction. It was because they were all very much grounded in reality. My personal favorites dealt with the mundane, they were about family like “Pressure”, “Eye and Tooth” and “Dark Home” and others with a world shifting or ending in a way like in “Flicker”, “Grief for the Dead” and again “Pressure”, which might be one of my favorites because it merges the stress of an awkward family dynamic with a strange, climactic pressure with a flawless finish.
Other favorites were about the world we live now, how our perception of it can be quite different like in “Reckless Eyeballing” told from the point of view of a corrupt police officer and “Your Happy Place” told from the point of view of someone in/around the prison system. These got me thinking of the Sunken Place, but also of the idea put forth by another of Peele’s movies, Nope, and the idea of evidence, seeing, and believing and that not necessarily working out for Black folks as it does for everyone else.
Out There Screaming was a wonderful experience as a horror reader. I can only hope there is another installment down the line because I would love to explore more themes put forth my Peele and other Black creatives within and outside of the Sunken Place.
😱
Final Thoughts
Overall, how strong was the anthology for you?
Now that you’re done reading, how did the book make you feel?
What was your favorite story? What about it made it your favorite?
Which author’s writing style did you enjoy the most and why?
Which story (or stories) did you find the most thrilling, scary or disturbing? Why did you feel that way?
How do the stories compare to one another in terms tone? Did you feel like they were hopeful, neutral or nihilistic? Somewhere in between?
“Now, Sink to the Floor”
What did you think of the interpretation of the Sunken Place by the authors? Is there one story that you feel truly captured the spirit of the Sunken Place, Get Out, etc?
What would you say about characters attempts to resist or escape their Sunken Place?
Outside of the themes presented by the Sunken Place (isolation, control, and powerlessness), what other themes did you pick up on? Do you feel like they connected across different stories?
How funny is the word oubliette?
Anything else? Let me know and I’ll see you in the next one! ♥
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