Can I speak to a manager, please?
Anyone who has ever worked in retail will undoubtedly have horrors beyond recognition that still haunt them in their dreams. No, I am not talking about long days or sweaty manual labour, but the aberration known as Karen. This is not a singular person, but a lifestyle choice, and one with its own culture of destruction, short bobbed hair, and shrill voice.
An upcoming thriller follows the lives of a black couple plagued by a rather insidious Karen, played by none other than Orange is the New Black‘s Taryn Manning.
But, the trailer leaves little to be desired and much to be questioned.
Manning plays the queen of Karens who spouts racist and intolerant rubbish to her new neighbours. However, the film has been met with some criticism online, after comparisons were drawn between the film and the 2017 horror movie Get Out.
Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele, received huge accolades for its depiction of black trauma. But since then, producers have sought to bring similar stories to life, without actually taking the time to develop original and interesting ideas.
Among other films, Amazon’s Them was criticised for an unoriginal depiction of the black experience without bringing anything new to the conversation. It was merely there, critics said, to open a wound and reap the benefits.
Karen has also been compared to Get Out, and just by the trailer, it definitely looks to draw inspiration from the source material. Though the idea of a Karen film was bound to emerge, many have compared the trailer to SNL sketches because at first, it does seem like a prank.
https://twitter.com/robinsparklezz/status/1407372254648864771
Getting back to the trailer for this Karen film. Not only does it look cringe and terrible, but it feels like it's trivializing the problem/menace of the real racist Karens. This one should have been left on the cutting room floor. Hard Pass. 👎🏾 https://t.co/E84RL0TOAS
— Bobby 50 Burger (@RudeBoyNYK) June 22, 2021
I can see where that 'Karen' film, gives off the vibes of a Jordan Peele film. But let's be honest, the film just looks trash. Regardless of inspiration the film looks trash. BET should feel embarrassed. And calling it 'Karen' like it's a MadTV sketch.
— Michael (Variant From Earth-92131) (@SecretAvenger22) June 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/rosesburner/status/1407195616929845250
Karen is directed by Coke Daniels, but no official release date has been revealed yet.
