You’ve probably heard of the term “doppelgänger” before, but what exactly does it mean? Well, it is a word of German origin that refers to an eerie identical double that acts, looks, and sometimes talks exactly like an individual. These ghostly figures are seen in many cultures’ mythology and are tied to superstitions and bad omens.

This idea is the premise of the movie Us by famous horror writer Jordan Peele. The film focuses on the middle-class Wilson family on their vacation to Santa Cruz, a place Adelaide, the mom of the family, is familiar with. Eerie coincidences and drops of foreshadowing lead up to the climax of the story in which the main antagonists of the movie are revealed. They are referred to as the “tethered” and they are evil doppelgängers that have been confined in a system of underground tunnels known as “The Underground.” Their leader, Red, is Adelaide’s doppelgänger and has freed the tethered from the underground to kill their overworld counterparts.

Jordan Peele’s previous film Get Out was littered with hidden meanings and symbols and his follow-up film Us is no different. Peele’s brilliant use of hidden signs, reoccurring symbols, and visuals with deep meanings means you likely missed several easter eggs upon first seeing the film on the big screen.

Scissors

It’s hard to miss Peele’s inclusion of scissors in the film as it is the main weapon of the tethered and is seen in the official movie cover. Scissors are the perfect weapon for the tethered because, in a way, the tethered are the embodiment of scissors.

The scissors they use are identically symmetrical which parallels how the tethered are almost identical to their non-tethered counterparts.

The dynamic of the scissors also reflects the relationship between the tethered and their overworld counterparts. When using scissors, the two halves move in harmony which reflects how the movements made by the characters in the overworld are mirrored in the underground. The tethered and the non-tethered move in forceful harmony just like the two halves of scissors do.

Symbolically, scissors are also a perfect representation of duality which is a main theme seen throughout the movie. We observe Red display the duality of scissors by using it to create precise and beautiful paper crafts while also utilizing it as a weapon to try and kill Adelaide. The different types of scissors also display how scissors can be mundane or deadly weapons. Safety scissors are often colorful and dull, whereas, like the ones seen in the film, this instrument can also be sharp, long, and deadly. Jordan Peele’s creative usage of such an abnormal main weapon for the threats in the series builds upon the symbols of duality and perfectly parallels the relationship between the tethered and untethered.

11:11

Throughout the movie, the numbers 11:11 are repeatedly seen and sometimes hyper fixated on as Peele is trying to emphasize its reoccurrence. We first get introduced to this set of numbers in the intro to the movie in which the camera focuses on a man holding a sign that reads “Jeremiah 11:11.” This same man’s doppelgänger is seen having 11:11 carved into his forehead. The numbers are seen again when Adelaide tries to put Jason to sleep and Jason specifically points out the digital clock that displays 11:11 as the time.

Going back to the flashback, 11:11 refers to a bible verse as we see a man holding a sign with “Jeremiah 11:11” written on it. This bible verse reads, “Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.” In this verse, the “evil” can be interpreted as referring to the tethered as Red believes to be called by God to lead the extermination against the ones that lie above stating, “During this vision, God spoke to me,” and that the event she will lead will be a “disaster they cannot escape”.

11:11 also ties into the idea of symmetry and duality as the two sets of digits are identical to one another. This relates to the identicality of the tethered and the non-tethered.

These are just a few of the symbols and important texts found throughout the movie and a couple of interpretations of their significance. This is only a small fraction of the easter eggs and messages, and Jordan Peele has brilliantly hidden several other symbols throughout his film that all connect back to the general theme of duality and the idea of doubles. Films by Jordan Peele can be understood in the first watch, however, require multiple watches to get a deeper analysis and understanding of his artworks.