Analysis Of 28 Days Later

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Imagine waking up on a hospital bed, surrounded by wires attached to your body. You get up, you wander around, and you notice that the world around you is empty. That is exactly what happens to Jim in the powerful and realistic film 28 Days Later, starring Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris. The film features the effects of a deadly infection outbreak called rage, but also explores how the infection represents “today’s increasing incidences of road rage, air rage, etc.” and how we are no different than the zombies portrayed in the movie (Allen). Incorporating the film 28 Days Later into the English 10 curriculum would benefit students in understanding the similarities between the time period in the movie and in reality, as well as the correlation between themes in 28 Days Later and other works of literature in the curriculum, and how the film relates to many students.
To begin, the film 28 Days Later portrays a time period very similar to that of when it was actually released. When the protagonist, Jim, wakes up from his hospital bed and realizes how empty the world has become after 28 days, he realizes that nothing, other than the absence of people, has changed. The rings of car alarms, the dispensing of soda machines, and the presence of medical equipment in the hospital all suggest that the technologies of the time period have remained the same (Hall). At the same time, the technology in the film is evidently similar to the technology we have in reality. This proves that capitalism is not caused by the advancement of science and technology. Furthermore, Derek Hall, author of “Varieties of Zombieism: Approaching Comparative Political Economy through 28 Days Later and Wild Zero,” explains that 28 Days Later displays remarkable sim...

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...n they cannot hold it in any longer.
All things considered, the horror flick 28 Days Later makes a great fit in the English 10 curriculum. This is largely due to its similarities in the time period between the film and reality, its correlation to various pieces of literature already embedded in the curriculum, and the relationship between the film and the lives of many teenagers. It is evident that the technology in the film is very much similar to the technology in the time period the film was released. The ideas of rage and survival are connected to different texts, such as “Beowulf” and Frankenstein. The film also features the flaws in humans, including pent up rage, which responds to how teenagers feel. 28 Days Later is “well made, clever, and gripping” (Ellis). Due to how realistic the film feels and looks, it makes viewers wonder if this would actually happen.

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