In the opening scene of “Get Out” we see an African American man walking in a quiet neighborhood with wide roads and fancy street lights. While he’s his phone, we see that he is being followed by a car. There is no music playing in the background until the man gets knocked out and dragged into the vehicle. As he is being dragged, the upbeat 1939 song “Run Rabbit Run” by Noel Gay and Ralph Butler begins to play (wiki).

The diegetic sounds in this scene include the man talking to himself as he is navigating the streets. We hear him being attacked. The non-diegetic sound is the song “Run Rabbit Run.”

The music in this clip is pivotal in setting the overall tone of the movie, which is a mix of thriller, comedy, and satire all at the same time. The song sounds light hearted and pleasing to listen to, but actually has a deeper meaning to it. This song, written during WWII is poking pun at the German’s aerial warfare branch saying how it was ineffective and at most killed two rabbits (wiki). The lyrics suggests a killing and a chance for the victim to escape:

“Run rabbit – run rabbit – Run! Run! Run!
Don’t give the farmer his fun! Fun! Fun!
He’ll get by
Without his rabbit pie
So run rabbit – run rabbit – Run! Run! Run!” (wiki)

The song adds an eerie mood as something grave occurs (man gets attacked), yet the song is consonant and has a fast beat. This definitely lets the audience know that the rest of the movie will have characters and settings that look polished, but are actually troublesome.