Us: What Does The Ending Really Mean?
5. What Do They Represent?
As mentioned in the introduction, the broad tapestry of ideas and themes found in Us makes it impossible to pin down one definitive meaning, as so many people are going to interpret the movie in different ways, but one of the more salient explanations of what the Tethered represent is that they're a flip side of the main characters' privilege.
In an interview with THR, Wilson Duke, who plays Gabe/Abraham, shed some light on what the movie's overall message is:
"I hope moviegoers really take an introspective eye at themselves and really ponder their role in cultures of power: Who do you render speechless? Who do you render invisible? Who bears the burden of your privilege?”
Peele makes it a point of showing the audience just how well off these characters are. They're essentially the perfect nuclear family; rich enough to not worry about money, enjoy long holiday vacations and buy a boat on a whim (albeit, a beaten down one). Their friends are even better off, distinctly upper class with a huge house and expensive comforts. The system works for them; there's the assumption throughout that they’re never in any real danger, as both Gabe and neighbour Josh laugh off any worries that somebody might be out to get them.
It's telling, then, that the only thing that terrifies them, particularly Adelaide, is coming face to face with the Tethered, and the reality that there's millions of people oppressed underground, out of sight and out of mind while they live in ignorant harmony. This family happily indulges in their privilege, and it’s actually acknowledging the people not benefitting from the status quo that terrifies them. And what terrifies them even more than these people existing, is the realisation that they’re the same as them.
The similarities between the Tethered and “regular” humans is obviously apparent in their appearance, but they’re still “othered” in their animalistic behaviour - only capable of grunts and uniform in their appearance. By the end though, it's revealed the Untethered are just as human as those on the surface, and the only thing separating them is the context in which they were born. The twist points out they’re not inherently evil - Red wasn't born underground, but was shaped by it after forcefully being put there. The divide between the two groups isn’t isn’t some grand good/evil natural order, but simply down to environment and context.
That's what scares Adelaide so much, as acknowledging that forces her to think about her own societal privilege and how it works to further oppress these doubles. People are suffering so she can enjoy her life. That Adelaide is from the underground further highlights this: she actively had a hand in damning her double to these conditions. She dragged Red down from the surface, she actively contributed to this system, and then suppressed the memory so it didn't derail her life above ground. Her refusal to acknowledge those actions echoes how societies in general struggle to come to terms and own up to their own role in oppression throughout history and today.