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A statue of Daniel Kaluuya in his hit film Get Out has been unveiled in London’s Leicester Square but has already sparked a debate about the choice of moment being represented from the horror movie.
Kaluuya, was chosen from a poll of 5,000 British film fans as the actor people would most like to see recognised with a new statue in Leicester Square, winning one fifth of the vote.
The Judas and the Black Messiah actor will join a collection of figures, including Harry Potter, Batman, Mr Bean, Wonder Woman, Mary Poppins and Gene Kelly as part of the “Scenes in the Square” trail.
Despite the obvious prestige of a young Black British actor being acknowledged in such a manner, the actual choice of scene from the 2017 Oscar winning film has raised eyebrows.
The scene depicted is when Kaluuya’s character Chris is hypnotised and figuratively falls into a dark void called the "sunken place". Although the moment is visually stunning, it is arguably not as well remembered an image as when Chris is sitting in an armchair with tears running down his face.
One person on X/Twitter wrote: “It should be him in the chair instead.”
Another said: “Being immortalised falling into the sunken place is crazy.”
A third asked: “Has anyone ever watched Get Out more than once?”
Beyond it’s visual impact, the scene also carries a deeper meaning.
The Independent’s film critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote in 2019: “The Sunken Place, a kind of purgatory for the consciousnesses of those with their bodies stolen, has found a metaphorical meaning that stretches beyond the film itself, commonly used now to describe Black individuals who appear to be willingly upholding and promoting racist constructs and ideologies.”
Others were less impressed with the design of the statue. “OK I’m just gonna say it, it looks bad. it looks like it was designed by AI,” one critic said.
Some were slightly more complimentary with one person joking: “Good for him. Getting honoured next to Paddington and Mr Bean is about the most an Englishman can hope to do in the arts these days.”
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the London native said: “(It feels like) a blessing. I just feel like, you work hard, put your head down, you just do what you feel is right, and just hope that it impacts and touches people.”
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He added: “It just shows how far I’ve come, but also it’s a mark of how far we’ve got to go. It makes me really focused and go, alright cool – there’s more to do.”
He continued: “It’s more a representation of the people, as much as a representation of the people as it is my work. So it’s a reflection of what they wanted.
