Fans of Jordan Peele’s strong directorial debut, 2017’s “Get Out.” will not be disappointed by his new film “Us,” which came out on March 22. Continuing to mix horror and comedy, Peele’s new film takes a more patient approach and gradual reveal of the significance of various shots and objects that bring the film to its final, beguiling twist.

        The plot follows the Wilsons, a middle-class, African-American family on a summer vacation to Santa Cruz, California. The stellar Lupita Nyong’o plays Adelaide Wilson, a trauma-stricken mother, haunted by a childhood experience in a funhouse of mirrors at the Santa Cruz boardwalk in which she saw a reflection of herself – only it was not her. The family’s vacation reopens old wounds, and Adelaide worries dreadfully about her children Jason and Zora, played by Evan Alex and Shahadi Wright Joseph. Adelaid’s husband Gabe, played by Winston Duke, provides much of the comic relief throughout the film as the adorably square, trying-to-be-hip dad, though his friend Josh (Tim Heidecker) and his wife Kitty (Elizabeth Moss) add a family dynamic that contrasts with that of the Wilsons.

        Nyong’o delivers a standout performance. Like her fellow cast members, she must do double duty in portraying two quite unique characters. But Nyong’o’s intensity and authenticity flows out from the screen and brings the viewer right into the horror she experiences. She plays the frantic and terrified mother, her twisted “shadow” and at times a Hecate-like hero who grits her teeth and descends into the underworld for a rescue mission.

Peele’s directing prowess shows why he was chosen to present the new “Twilight Zone” series, coming to CBS April 1.  Slow, patient shots that zoom out to reveal wider scenes build suspense and tension throughout the film. He manipulates perspective, including lighting, to add mystery, suspense and make the audience feel the characters’ fear and adrenaline. Teasingly, Peele offers tantalizing images that, when first shown, have no significance – such as a room full of desks and caged rabbits – but later turn out to be very important.

Another notable feature of “Us” is that the Wilsons, the heroes, are depicted as a well-to-do, middle-class, black family, something rare not only in horror films but in most genres. When asked about the importance of representation in “Us,” Peele commented to “NME,” “It’s about more than movies, it’s about how we see ourselves as black people… and it’s about how other groups view us as well […] I’m also proud I get to do this – I get to put this beautiful family on screen.”

The film is exceptionally scored by Michael Abels. The “Anthem,” which repeats at various points in different iterations throughout the film, is hauntingly operatic and sinister. It’s style clashes with the modern setting and non-original soundtrack, which includes classics like the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and Luniz’s “I Got 5 on It” that are similarly juxtaposed against scenes that do not fit the song’s original themes, but nevertheless seem appropriate.

Compared to “Get Out,” “Us” is much subtler in its social commentary. While “Get Out” was easily identifiable in the trailer as having to do with race relations, particularly white notions of self-righteousness and racist amnesia, “Us” perhaps does not truly reveal its themes until the twist at the film’s conclusion, though some of the same themes are addressed. Like any good twist, it changes the meaning of the film and the significance of all the events that led up to it.

“Us” is full of dualities: the number 11, Black Flag T-shirts, vacations, and the protagonists and their “shadows.” The film’s title itself has a dual meaning: who are “us” [sic] as individuals and the United States? Peele recently stated, “The greatest monster this world has ever seen is the monster that happens when human beings get together…we are capable of extreme good but also capable of extreme atrocity.”

Just as he did for “Get Out,” Peele stated in the “NME” interview that he first wrote the script for “Us” for himself, unsure if it would ever be seen on the big screen.  Peele’s uniquely thought-provoking mix of horror and comedy that made “Get Out” so special is firmly stamped on “Us.” Even more than “Get Out,” which has spawned numerous fan theories, “Us” leaves even more open to the interpretation of the viewer, who will surely need and want a second helping.

On a cold, windy Valentine’s Day night in St. Louis, more than one hundred people gathered for a fundraising concert, hosted by SoFar Sounds, in the Sinquefeld Room in support of Overground Railroad to Literacy.

In stark contrast to most concerts, Sofar Sounds’ events strive to produce an intimate, relaxed and refreshing environment. This atmosphere is fostered by a couple norms. One, there are no assigned seats, and everyone sits on the floor, at least at the start. Two, while using social media to support the artists and the event is encouraged, no cellphones are allowed above the shoulder.

What really makes SoFar Sounds unique is that they do not organize concerts in the traditional sense. While anyone can apply to host a concert in a small setting, it is never revealed before a show who is playing. Although, the shows usually consist of three diverse acts with no headliner.

Additionally, the tickets are not sold with any sort of Ticketmaster or Stubhub insurance or guarantee. Just as hosts must apply, so must concertgoers up until five days until the event, and the tickets are distributed based on a lottery. This certainly adds a capricious and mysterious element to Sofar’s concerts that is sometimes missing from the overpriced and overproduced mega-shows held in larger venues.

The SoFar concert in DuBourg Hall featured three crescendoing St. Louis-born acts. The first was Joanna Serenko, a 17-year-old singer from Kirkwood high school with an amazingly soulful voice that was nicely complemented by her steady and articulate guitar accompanist. After Serenko, hip-hop group Mc Tres performed a terrific set of tunes. Many of them, like “Somehow Someway,” were full of meaningful social commentary and stirring lyrics, as well as a strong backing DJ, keyboard and guitar. The night ended with HOUNDS, a psychedelic rock trio that played a handful of galloping Western tracks that would have made Ennio Morricone proud. Their music alternated between passionate slow ballads and rock jams.

This Valentine’s Day gig was about much more than just the music though. In the words of junior Delanie Muenchen, president of Overground, it is “a tutoring and mentoring organization with the goals of decreasing the literacy gap in the city of St. Louis, dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, and breaking the ‘SLU bubble.’” All profits from the concert will fund Overground’s after-school programs that go from 3-5 p.m., the most critical hours of the day for kids with whom they work. Currently, Overground serves Ashlendale, Walbridge, LaSalle Middle, and Farragut Elementaries, as well as Vashon High School.

Overground hopes to do more events with SoFar Sounds, but it already has other events planned for this semester to raise awareness of social and educational issues in St. Louis. These include the Norm White Lecture Series, which honors the late co-founder of Overground Norm White, and an additional showing of the documentary For Ahkeem, which focuses on a girl who grew up in St. Louis and experienced the school-to-prison pipeline first hand.

If the DuBourg concert was any indication of what a typical SoFar Sounds concert is like, then they are highly recommendable for fans of a wide variety of music and want to experience a different show than what is typical at the Pageant, Enterprise, or even the neighborhood bar.

Kehinde Wiley, who painted President Obama’s official portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, currently has a featured collection at the Saint Louis Art Museum until Feb. 10. In these 11 stunning portraits, Wiley reinterprets classical works of Western art to replace white, often aristocratic subjects with African Americans from St. Louis and Ferguson. Eight of the original pieces Wiley uses as inspiration can be found in the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Although Wiley’s subjects strike nearly the same poses as the landed gentry of the works in the museum, he adds several twists that give this collection a full life of its own. What is most extraordinary about them is that they are all from north St. Louis and Ferguson and were approached on the street by Wiley himself. It is incredibly uncommon and refreshing to see everyday people portrayed with the same dignity as that of the president.

A lover of art history, the 41-year-old Wiley’s reinterpretation is purposeful. He grew up in South Central Los Angeles, and his interest in art began at a young age when his mother enrolled him in after-school art classes. His work seeks in part to address the absence of positive depictions of black people in Western art, particularly portraiture, which has historically been reserved for only the most wealthy and privileged individuals. Wiley stated in one interview, “I wanted to be able to treat them with the same loving hand, with the same attention to detail that was devoted to some of the most powerful people in European history.”

Some of the original subjects that Wiley reimagines have direct connections with slavery and the oppression of black people. For example, Robert Hay Drummond, an Archbishop of York during the 18th century, aided in the operation of an infamous Caribbean sugar plantation. Similarly, Major Moses Seymour, a general in the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, owned slaves in Connecticut.

Another deviation of Wiley’s paintings from the original works is his backgrounds, which are lush with a dizzying variety of color and patterns. While the originals have more traditional backgrounds of nature or domestic scenes with muted and cool-toned colors, Wiley’s burst with elaborate floral patterns, some of which are inspired by European, African and Islamic textile designs. Vines laden with fruits and flowers overlap the incredibly realistic, at times photo-like subjects in Wiley’s works.

These decorative backgrounds serve a much more important function than simply pleasing the eye. Just as the poses his subjects make are chosen to portray black people as powerful characters, a role they have often been denied in Western art, Wiley’s backgrounds challenge the often problematic and negative portrayal of black Americans and black bodies in our culture. Wiley compared subjects’ struggle for the viewer’s attention to that of black Americans to be portrayed in a more empowering way. “Their competition for the picture plane exists in direct relationship with my insistence upon the black body being in the forefront within a museum space, that sense that I deserve to be here, that constant fight for presence,” said Wiley.

Other smaller changes in Wiley’s portraits are also significant. Occasionally the gender of his subject is changed, as in “Portrait of a Florentine Nobleman,” “Charles I” or “Mercury.” Most of the subjects in the originals are men, but in his collection, there are twice as many women as men. Wiley began painting almost exclusively men, but his work in the last several years has featured many more women, and the collection at the museum are representative of this trend.

Another distinct feature in Wiley’s portraits is that his subjects wear their own modern clothing, including shirts with “Just Do It” logos and Nike shoes. Commenting on the importance of branding, Wiley stated in one interview, “Branding says a lot about luxury, and about exclusion, and about the choices that manufactures make… And the African American community has always been expert at taking things and repurposing them toward their own ends.”

Wiley’s works offer much for viewers to digest and reconsider about the representation of African Americans. And perhaps seeing one’s neighbors depicted in such majesty will inspire exhibit-goers to think just a little differently about those they pass on the street and not only acknowledge, but celebrate the beauty in ordinary people and things.