Le 5
Chithanh Le
English 302
Dr. Lewis
We all know superheroes and their abilities. Did you know we have abilities similar to those super heroes? Like for example Spider-man and many humans have “Spidey Sense” to tell them or warn them about potential dangers around them. That “Spidey Sense” would be our self-preservation instincts and we should not ignore our instincts. Ignoring our self-preservation instincts and intuition to a point where it can change and alter our reality for the worse can lead us to a “Sunken Place” where we are unable to escape the physical and emotional suffering of despair and hopelessness.
A “sunken place” is a term created by Jordan Peele the director of the movie Get Out. According to Mr. Peele the sunken place is a “emotional and physical enslavement, marginalization, objectification” (Dr. Lewis) a very terrifying place. In the movie the we can see the Sunken place occurs over time and looks to be a 3-step process. Step one would be the hypnosis or brainwashing of the victim; (In the movie we can see that done with Missy’s hypnosis on Chris using the tea cup as the catalyst); Step two ould be the victim’s conformity acceptance, compliancy, dependency, vulnerability; Step three the victim would internalize subjugation oppression and distorted beliefs. (Dr. Lewis) The victim can no longer act or be like themselves and believes what their oppressor have told and labeled them. Those who have fallen to the sunken place have a very difficult time of getting out. In the case of Chris, the main character in Get Out he was just a visitor in the dark place and because the whole process was not complete, he was able to escape form the dark and terrifying place.
We as humans have used instincts since the beginning of our existence. Instinct is defined as “a natural ability that helps you decide what to do or how to act without thinking.” (Cambridge Dictionary) Basic Instincts are broken up in to 3 main categories: Self-preservation, Sexual and Social instincts. (Learning Mind). Self- Preservation instinct is the natural ability that we follow in order to keep ourselves safe and secure away from harm. Sexual Instincts are instincts that drive us to continue to produce better genes for the future, finding or using emotions to find someone to complete their needs of providing an intense experience. Finally, Social instincts as humans are social creature, we try to find acceptance from others and have a status among ourselves. (Learning Mind)
Domestic Violence is an example where a person may fall in to a sunken place. Most Domestic abuse victims are physically, emotionally and mentally abused by the aggressor. It does not happen all at once but gradual steps that breaks down the victim’s spirit. Like the Sunken place the victim over time falls in to a place where they cannot escape and lose themselves. Step one would be the victim falling in love with their oppressor not realizing what kind of person he really is; Step two co...
