Nope

From very early on, this film lets you know that it aims to subvert film history. Referring to the earliest known moving picture of 1878, Peele reminds us that while we remember the name Eadweard Muybridge - the creator of said moving picture - we have entirely forgotten the name of the jockey whose image propelled Muybridge to greatness. Therefore, ‘Nope’ reminds us to question the narratives we have learned from film history, and in doing so, Peele redefined The Alien Film™️ as we have come to know it. The popularity of aliens within Hollywood has often stemmed from America’s anxieties regarding foreign invasion - particularly during the height of McCarthyism. Aliens were often used as stand-ins for communists, immigrants, and anti-capitalists: foreign entities who aimed to infiltrate America in the hopes of destroying their way of life. They were the anti-American Dream. ‘Nope’ rejects that notion, with an alien entity that seems to represent something all too Star Spangled American: sheer spectacle. That spectacle is something that Steven Yeun’s beautifully acted Jupe longs for, as he clings desperately to relevance thanks to his childhood fame. He attempts to create a bond with the alien entity in the hopes that he will be able to exploit it for financial profit - not unlike a certain P.T. Barnum. Instead, Jupe’s desire to obtain the American Dream falls short, destroying not only himself, but the audience he aimed to profit from. Their sin was mere participation - a willingness to witness the exploitation of a spectacle. Daniel Kaluuya’s OJ, on the other hand, is apathetic towards the grandeurs of Hollywood. He harbours a form of respect for the entity, deciding to avert his gaze rather than marvelling at it. Though both Haywoods wish to document the creature, it is not merely for financial gain (though it is a factor), but it is also for proof. They don’t want to marvel in the spectacle’s existence, they don’t want to exploit it, they want to expose it.  It is also not lost on me that the characters we see the alien creature most intent on pursuing are those that were once the targets of Hollywood’s symbolic aliens: non-white people living in America.  * TL;DR - good movie, do watch, Steven Yeun is a very attractive man.