In Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” the “Sunken Place” emerges as a powerful metaphor for the psychological, cultural, and systemic oppression of Black Americans. Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X, two towering figures in American history, dedicated their lives to helping their people escape this condition — a state of helplessness, disconnection, and dehumanization.
Write a comparative essay in which you:
- In Paragraph 1, define the “Sunken Place” using evidence from Get Out and This Is America.
- In Paragraph 2, present a thesis statement that clearly asserts how both Douglass and Malcolm X served as heroic figures who fought to liberate their people from the Sunken Place.
- In Paragraphs 3-7, develop four key points of comparison illustrating how Douglass and Malcolm X displayed different forms of heroism to counter oppression and reclaim dignity and autonomy for Black Americans.
- In Paragraph 8, write a dramatic conclusion — either restating your thesis with renewed force or reflecting on the broader significance of their battles against systemic dehumanization.
Required sources:
- Get Out (dir. Jordan Peele)
- “This Is America” (dir. Hiro Murai, performed by Childish Gambino)
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
- Malcolm X (dir. Spike Lee)
- Two additional sources of your choosing (academic articles, essays, interviews, or documentaries relevant to Douglass, Malcolm X, or the Sunken Place metaphor).
Use MLA formatting for citations and Works Cited.
Cinemorphosis 
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