Social thriller: History and Key Facts

A social thriller is a film genre using elements of suspense to augment instances of oppression in society. The genre gained attention by audiences and critics around the late 2010s with the releases of Jordan Peele's Get Out and Us, each film highlighting occurrences of racial alienation (the former which veil a plot to abduct young African-Americans). Before Peele, other film actors, directors, writers, and critics had used the term to describe an emerging genre of cinema with examples from all over the globe.

Many social thrillers focus on issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, or nationhood, often within the format of genre films more broadly categorized as a black comedy, film noir, psychological drama, and horror cinema, among others.

Source and attribution

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