The Meaning Behind the Deer Scene in ‘Get Out’

It gives me immense pride every time I watch Jordan Peele’s Get Out. When you follow a particular artist for a long time, and their debut film wins an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the win feels almost shared.

Besides the allegorical narrative about racial discrimination and Daniel Kaluuya’s emotionally resonant performance, Peele’s use of visual motifs is one of the most talked-about aspects of Get Out.

In one of my earlier articles, we discussed “The Sunken Place” as a visual motif in Get Out.

In this article, let’s examine the deer as a visual motif in the movie.

To Give You a Little Context

Chris and Rose have been dating for a few months when she tells him that her parents have invited them to their family estate over the weekend for an informal meet-and-greet.

Chris, a young Black man dating a white woman, is nervous about this meeting so early on in the relationship and skeptical of what Rose’s family feels about their relationship.

Rose assures him that her parents are absolutely okay with their daughter dating and even marrying a man of color, and are eager to meet Chris; hence the invitation. She doubles down on the fact that her family is anything but racist.

Not completely convinced but unable to say no, Chris agrees to go with Rose to the Armitage Estate for the weekend.

The Significance of Deer in Peele’s Get Out

Get Out (2017)Source: Universal Pictures

Okay, this is going to get interesting, so buckle up.

The deer is Chris (and also some of the victims that the Armitage family has already harmed).

Here’s what it truly stands for, if you dig a little deeper.

1. The Food Chain

The food chain positions the deer at a low level. A deer is always the prey, never the predator. Always the hunted, never the hunter.

Get Out (2017)Source: Universal Pictures

In short, they’re meant to be sacrificed to fill the stomachs of the ones stronger than them. Interestingly, in nature, it’s not always that a predator is successful in making a kill.

In Chris’ context, he is the deer who dodged death by an inch and made it out of the depths where his girlfriend took him. Although Peele always shows a deer in its death, be it the stuffed head on the wall or the one Chris accidentally hits with his car on their way to Rose's parents, Chris’ escape in the end highlights the power of desire to survive.

2. The Deer Personality

A deer doesn’t really scare anyone unless it has huge antlers and is chasing you like a bull. They’re known to be timid and calm, and not really considered to be a threat in nature.

Peele compares Chris (and the Black community as a whole) with deer, who are suppressed so much so that they’re no longer worthy of anything in society, let alone being a threat.

That hanging stuffed deer head on the wall is symbolic of the exploitation and discrimination that Black people have faced for centuries now.

3. It Foreshadows the Danger Looming Over Chris

When we first see the stuffed deer head in the Armitage living room, it might simply seem a symbol of their affluence. However, when we remember it after the plot twist is revealed, we realize that the stuffed deer head is closely related to the Sunken Place.

Rose has brought Chris to her parents’ home to get him murdered in cold blood at the hands of her racist parents. When he gets there, the hypnosis session by Rose’s mother takes him into the darkest corners of his heart, digging up old trauma, after which Chris is rendered numb, fear-stricken, and mentally clouded.

The right move for someone who’s preparing a lamb to the slaughter—one that wouldn’t even bleat when the blade came down on his throat.

What else do you think the deer signify? Let us know in the comments!