Warning! SPOILERS for Nope.
Jordan Peele's Nope heavily features a chimp named Gordy and viewers are wondering if he's more alien than he first appears. Nope spends a lot of time dwelling on a traumatic event surrounding Gordy mauling some actors on the set of a sitcom. Given Nope's extraterrestrial focus and themes, the question of whether Gordy is an alien or not is perhaps expected.
Nope's alien villain is explicitly shown to be a living being that looks something like how audiences might expect a UFO to look. Perhaps the biggest twist of the film is the realization that the characters aren't dealing with little green men but with a predator on a massive scale that is territorial and aggressive. Nope's continued focus on Gordy the chimp's story highlights these same points and themes but leaves audiences guessing as to whether the event that took place on the set of the sitcom was extraterrestrial in nature. Of particular note is the existence of a shoe standing up perfectly straight in the middle of the shot, which is never explained in any real detail.
Like Jordan Peele's Get Out, Nope has many underlying meanings and themes in excess of its story — it can be enjoyed at face value or it can be examined and investigated for deeper meaning. Examining Nope like this opens up new meanings and ideas that shed light on some of its mysteries. While much is left up to audience interpretation, there are some notable moments and events in Nope that tell the audience everything they need to know about Gordy the chimp, including whether or not he's got something to do with the alien.
Is Gordy An Alien? Does Nope's Chimp Have Any Connection To The UFO?
Nope shows that Gordy is a dangerous animal. Even though he's trained, the movie shows that something as simple as a balloon popping can set him off and make him uncontrollable. Nope's cast of characters make this point over and over again with their various responses to animals, trauma, and spectacle. OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) is a Hollywood horse trainer who has respect for and knowledge of the wildness inherent in animals. Ricky (Steven Yeun), on the other hand, doesn't understand the dangerous nature of wild animals, despite having witnessed the Gordy event in person. His careless behavior with the UFO leads to dozens of people dying as he hunts for spectacle and profit, not understanding or caring about the dangers of working with an unknown wild animal.
Gordy only has a thematic connection to the UFO. They're both wild animals that can't be fully controlled. Given the proper precautions and safety measures, they can be accounted for and survived, but using either of them for the spectacle of interacting with an animal is dangerous and unwise. People get mauled or killed. It is explained in Nope's ending when it draws one more parallel between the UFO and Gordy: when Em (Keke Palmer) finally gets the money shot, the UFO takes in a massive balloon and seemingly dies. This mirrors Gordy being shot after his rampage. Gordy's rampage goes on to be lampooned, talked about, and capitalized upon for years after the event. After the "money shot," both wild animals can be disposed of, as their spectacle has been used up.
Why Was The Shoe Standing Up?
Of course, understanding themes does nothing to fully explain the shoe that the shot centers on in Gordy's scenes. It seems to be otherworldly and ethereal, an odd stillness in the mix of the chaotic chimpanzee rampage going on around it. The reason the shoe was standing up in Nope isn't explicitly stated, but a few options present themselves. OJ talks about the concept of a "bad miracle" in the context of his father's death. The shoe landing in such a way as to be standing straight up may be one of these bad miracles: wonder in a place of horror.
Another possibility that presents itself is the idea that because audiences really only see Gordy's scene through Ricky's eyes, the shoe is just something he focused on to still his own terror. It wasn't actually standing straight up, but to his hyper-focused mind, it may as well have been. Given what Nope has to say about looking dangerous animals in the eye, a singular focus on some banal object like a shoe may have been what saved Ricky's life. This might be why he has it displayed so prominently in his hidden memorabilia room.
What The Chimp In Nope Really Means
Nope is different than Us or Get Out in the way it leans on its themes to highlight parts of its story. Gordy is a massive focus in Nope. Given that Nope is ostensibly an extraterrestrial movie, it would logically follow for Gordy to be somehow involved with aliens. Instead, the heavy focus on Gordy is used to highlight themes of spectacle, trauma, and profit-centric thinking. Gordy isn't an alien, but he represents so many of the same things that the UFO represents in Nope. The two are thematic twins and they help tell one another's stories. Ultimately, both are attractive to the profit-seeking mind because of the unique spectacle they offer, but both are too dangerous to work with reliably.
Nope is fresh, interesting, and thematically rich. That Nope can take a chimp, a horse ranch, and a UFO and make a compelling and mysterious story out of them is a testament to Jordan Peele's talent. Whatever Jordan Peele's next horror movie might be, it's sure to offer up some food for thought like Get Out, Us, and Nope have. For now, Nope and its excellent cast and story can be enjoyed in theaters.