History Film / Nope

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title actually has ''three'' different meanings:

** Training animals for entertainment is not a good life for them, as they still have instinctual behaviors that can't be tamed out of them. At the same time, never anthropomorphize animals when you are working with them; misinterpreting animal behavior by attaching human emotions, motives, or morality to it can have fatal repercussions.

* AllAnimalsAreDomesticated: Averted to horrifying and tragic effect. A running theme in the story is how people only ''think'' this is true with terrible results, [[spoiler:especially for the ''Gordy's Home'' chimp rampage]]. Even ''domestic'' animals still need to be treated respectfully and with caution; OJ warns people on the set how to behave properly with his horse Lucky, and [[IgnoredExpert when they ignore him]], they spook Lucky and almost get kicked.

* AndStarring: Creator/KeithDavid.

** Don't ever be naïve enough to assume that you have a wild animal fully trained and under control, or that it won't interpret things that are benign to humans as threats to itself and react accordingly.

** Training animals for entertainment is not a good life for them, as they still have instinctual behaviors that can't be tamed, no matter how much space or how many resources they have access to. At the same time, never anthropomorphize animals when you are working with them; misinterpreting animal behavior by attaching human emotions, motives, or morality to it can have fatal repercussions.

** Exploitation can be partly defined by the question of who is expected to accomodate whom.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Coins falling from great heights do not have the force to kill people due to wind resistance. In fact, a coin reaches terminal velocity in our atmosphere after only a few dozen feet, and its impact to a human is merely a sharp sting. [[spoiler: Somewhat justified later in the film when Jean Jacket is looming over the Haywoods' house, as it appears to be spitting its indigestible matter out hard enough to achieve sub-sonic velocities; some of the bits of debris get embedded in the house's steps. Even so, the coin that killed Otis Sr. clearly went in through his eye socket, and Jean Jacket would have been hiding high up in the clouds at the time.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: At least 40 people and many of the Haywoods' horses get eaten, but the Haywoods manage to kill the alien AND get a photo of it before it dies, which hopefully will be just what they need to get out of the downward financial spiral they are in.]]

* AnAesop: As with many of Peele's films, there are numerous layers of commentary to be unwrapped:

** Towards the end, Emerald performs the bike stop from ''Anime/{{Akira}}'' after [[spoiler:riding the TMZ reporter's motorcycle to Jupiter's Claim]]. While Peele actually has a public history with the manga, having turned down the chance to direct a live-action adaptation, this is likely first and foremost a [[JustForFun/OneOfUs nerd-out]] moment for him; when it was brought up in an interview with IGN, [[https://twitter.com/IGN/status/1552743281645084672 his response was to giggle with joy]].
*** Another possible reference to ''AKIRA'' is the shot of [[spoiler:people slowly getting digested in Jean Jacket's insides]], with its visual similarities to the scene of [[spoiler:Kaneda and Kaori trapped inside Tetsuo's mutating, expanding body]].

-->''I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle.''
-->-- [[Literature/BookOfNahum Nahum 3:6]]

->''"What's a bad miracle? They got a word for that?"''
-->-- '''OJ Haywood'''

* {{Motif}}:

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Phyllis Mayberry never appears in the scenes that show Gordy's rampage; [[spoiler: while we see Mary Jo on the ground being beaten and getting her face torn off, and Tom is beaten to death, Mayberry's fate is unknown.]] However, in September 2022, an [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CkJSJpYL5KQ/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Instagram post]] was made by Jennifer Lafleur, Mayberry's actress, to promote the Blu-Ray release of the movie, revealing that [[spoiler:Mayberry's assistant had dragged her out of the studio right when Gordy's rampage started, although she ended up losing part of her right hand]].

** In Jupe's exhibit dedicated to the ''Gordy's Home'' incident, there is [[https://i.redd.it/lndi4m9213f91.png a cover]] of [[Magazine/{{MAD}} MAD Magazine]] which also mentions ''Film/DantesPeak'', Music/ThirdEyeBlind, and the [[ApocalypseCult Heaven's Gate mass suicide]]. However, all these events and the cover's publication date are from 1997, when the incident is shown to have occurred in 1998.

* AnAesop: As with many of Peele's films, there are numerous layers of commentary to be unwrapped

** Exploitation can be partly defined by the question of who is expected to accomadate whom.

* AnAesop: as with many of Peele's films, there are numerous layers of commentary to be unwrapped

* NaiveAnimalLover: [[spoiler:After escaping Gordy's rampage as a kid, a shell-shocked Ricky attempts to accept the blood-soaked chimp's offer of another fistbump before the animal is shot down. Some of this apparent faith in a human ability to tame animals extends into his adulthood, as he tries to turn a UFO, which turns out to be a far more dangerous animal than any chimp, into a live show for his profit.]] While it's not a completely straight example, [[spoiler:as Ricky is under the impression that it's ''not'' an animal, OJ (and the audience) realise he's basically playing chicken with a wild animal by feeding a dangerous predator that can be set off into killing over its territory.]] He also seems to believe that because [[spoiler:Gordy spared him]], he's got real-life PlotArmor; before he starts his speech at the Star Lasso Experience, he can be heard whispering to himself, "You're chosen."

* OlderIsBetter: Zig-zagged. The UFO shuts down all electronics in its presence, so using horses and analog, mechanical devices is generally better when dealing with it than modern, digital equipment. However, a mechanical camera has all the usual drawbacks that make it inconvenient, and a horse is not fast enough to outrun the UFO, but a motorcycle when given a head start outside of the EMP field is, [[spoiler: which Emerald uses to lure the alien elsewhere.]]