A primatologist reviews the chimp scenes from Nope, awarding the movie a poor accuracy score. Directed by Jordan Peele, Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as two ranch owners who encounter a UFO in their secluded valley in California. The film, which was a critical and commercial success, features an extended sequence of a graphic chimpanzee attack, with primate Gordy breaking into a rage and massacring his fellow cast members during the studio taping of a sitcom.

In a recent video for Insider, primate expert Mireya Mayor analyzes the Gordy scenes from Nope, judging them for how real they are.

According to Mayor, the film actually gets a lot right in terms of its depiction of chimpanzees, but she awards the film a failing grade because of its overall messaging about primates. Check out Mayor’s full analysis and her score for the film out of 10 below:

“In this scene, the chimp is triggered by the popping sound of a balloon. So absolutely, if he associates that sound, the popping of a balloon, with like a trainer who would beat him or that sort of thing, it’s going to elicit a super aggressive reaction. Especially in the entertainment business where so many of these animals are abused, essentially.

“Gordy’s size and appearance definitely looks realistic here and even the way that it moves, the way that it sounds, chimps are extremely communicative and they send different messages to their group members through different pant-hoots. I would say they did a really good job in at least depicting the sounds right.

“When it comes to strength, there’s really nothing that a human can do to protect themselves from a chimp. However, not looking aggressive, and in fact like the kid does in the scene sort of cowering down, looking smaller and looking submissive was probably the right way to go because the last thing you want to do is be threatening to an animal that’s already agitated and coming at you.

“This clip is so hard to watch on so many levels, starting with a chimp dressed up in clothing and a party hat and then this sort of exaggerated violence. Like I wouldn’t say that chimps are generally prone to being violent, although they definitely have the capacity and the strength and even though there are some reported cases in the wild where chimps have attacked humans, this is such a rarity.

“And I think we see that through the studies of my good friend Dr. Jane Goodall who spent decades in close proximity to these animals and really revealed that gentler side.

“Even in the way that everything is depicted, I think the message isn’t right. I have to give it a zero [out of 10].”

Nope’s Chimp Scenes Explained

Why The Gordy Storyline Is Important

At first glance, the Gordy scenes in Nope can be difficult to understand in terms of how they fit into Peele’s story about a UFO encounter. While they may feel like something of a deviation plot-wise, Gordy’s inclusion is mostly thematic. The entire encounter serves as the backstory for Steven Yeun’s Jupe, with the character being the only survivor of Gordy’s rampage.

One of the key themes of Nope is that wild animals, or predators specifically, can’t truly be tamed. And this ultimately connects to what is seemingly the movie’s main interest, which is an exploration of how far humans are willing to go in the name of spectacle and entertainment. Gordy’s storyline fits into both of these, with the animal “trained” to act for a sitcom before a popping balloon ultimately unlocks his predator instincts.

Jupe ultimately doesn’t learn from this experience, though, as he turns Gordy’s rampage into his own money-making endeavor. He also attempts to train Jean Jacket, Nope‘s alien creature, in the same way that Gordy was trained, and this ultimately results in his death. While Nope‘s portrayal of Gordy may not be representative of the demeanors of most chimps in the wild, it’s ultimately a crucial thematic aspect of the film and the ideas that Peele is clearly interested in exploring.

Source: Insider