Jordan Peele’s Us is a critically acclaimed horror original about government-manufactured clones that are forced to mimic the lives of the people who live on the surface like stringless puppets. While Peele focuses more on a physical tethering, there is a psychological tethering that can be gleamed from this piece, specifically as it relates to the idea of double consciousness. In his work “The Striving of the Negro People,” W.E.B. Du Bois describes this idea as “this sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt or pity. One ever feels his two-ness—an American, a Negro, two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”

These “warring ideas” can exist in any group as the numerous stereotypes, prejudices, and misconceptions alive and well in the world has convinced many to fashion a Franksteined-version of themselves in the hopes of being accepted or safe. The jerky, uncoordinated movements of the tethered from the movie are the perfect metaphor for this forced reality. People attempting to push themselves to live in ways they were not meant to and should not have to.

This panel is asking participants to provide submissions that explore the many ways this “tethering” has manifested in the world and explain the impact had on people’s lives or how this knowledge can be used as a way to empower people and bring communities together. In other words, in what ways could we be tethered to unfair or unjust interpretations in the world and/or how could our lived experiences be used to untether us from opinions and views that do not empower us and help us build healthy communities? The chair welcomes essays, critical analysis, creative non-fiction, hybrid works, and excerpts of longer pieces.

The following is the cfp submission link: https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/22497