In the recent past there been an increase in the number of zombie films, videogames and books. In fact IMDb reports that a whopping 68 films have so far been released in 2015 alone(IMDb). This has elicited a big debate on the significance of zombies in the modern culture. This is important because while so many people are finding the living dead interesting, the forms of entertainment that we as a society choose are relevant. Different perspectives have been put argued on this issue. This paper is going to use the movie film Anger of the Dead by Francesco Picone to consider concerns and issues in the contemporary culture brought about by zombie films. Generational disillusionment, global capitalism and hopelessness are the three aspects of …show more content…
In any zombie literature helplessness is one of the most prominent themes. Most people would agree to the fact that there rarely is any happy ending to any zombie story or even film. In most of these stories the survivors try to make it to safety but they will usually not succeed in doing so and they eventually end up dying. A state of helplessness has also been stressed in the Anger of the Dead. In this movie we find Alice a pregnant girl who is trapped in a world that has been ravaged by a virus that turns its victims into cannibals. There are very few survivors along with her but not all of them have the same motive as her. Their only hope is an island that is untouched by the plague. However, despite the near impossible mission to head to safety, the situation is complicated by an individual from a group of sadistic groups who is after a mysterious woman. He is not to be reasoned with and his methods interrogation and punishment are simply barbaric.He only serves to make her threats bigger aside of the zombies.In Anger of the Dead mankind is ultimately doomed(Robson, …show more content…
More than seven billion people currently live in this world, and the number continues to increase.The human race has become like a mindless horde, it leaves nothing behind andconsumes everything in its path. Since the end of the Black Death in the fourteenth century,the human population has been growing steadily and it has been exploding since the 1950's.The resources are rapidly becoming depleted. There is massive environmental pollution that is increasing the global temperature and the sea levels are rapidly rising. In short the resources are rapidly getting depleted. In a similar way to the survivors in the zombie films, the human race feels helpless to stop this(Robson, 2013). In conclusion, this essay has argued the three cultural aspects that Anger of the Dead portrays in the contemporary society which includes the global capitalism, disillusionment and hopelessness.By conducting an analysis on the film,issues and concerns of the contemporary culturehave been established. The fears, anxiety and desires of the humankind are determined by the nature of the zombies and the decision made by survivors. These determine the issues that are faced by mankind in the
No book has captivated the zombie apocalypse better than World War Z. Max Brooks creatively presents “a worldwide zombie pandemic from outbreak to aftermath” (Boyd, Tristan). His book encompasses many social and political themes in the world today. The book reveals true fear and shows the strength of the human race.
Both White Zombie and “Dead Men Walking in the Cane Fields” represent the early zombie and both of them embody Cohen’s first thesis “The Monster is a Cultural Body” Both the story and the film have zombies and both of these works make their zombies appear scary with dead like characteristics, however the real reason why they are scary is that, at the time, they tried to change society and that scared people. The people that liked society the way it was didn’t want another group to gain power or righ...
Max Brooks explains in his article ‘’The Movies That Rose From The Grave’’ [2006], that zombies and the supernatural forces have impacted and have become popular in the world today. The first main idea that Brooks points out is the way society has changed the meaning and glimpse for the supernatural creatures like zombies causing them to become increasingly popular. To support this zombie movies have changed from darkness and mystery to violent and bloodier scenes therefore making them more prevailing. The second main idea that is discussed by Brooks is how the media has helped to increase the popularity of zombies, vampires, ghosts. Highlighted by the author particularity both ‘’resident evil,
Torie Boschs “First eat all the lawyers” appeared in Slate october 2011. Her piece was to reach out to horror fans and to explain to them why zombies are a great monsters in current media. Zombie fanatics who read this short essay will love her vast knowledge of zombies while others who still do not understand why zombies are horribly terrifying can get behind her argument. Bosch explains that the current zombie craze has to do with our current society and how white-collar workers would be left defenceless in a world over run with a rampant horde of zombies. While blue-collar workers can flourish in this current state as they have more skills suited for survival. Boschs essay uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, foil and satire to make her
Although the zombie metaphor focuses primarily on fear involving unconscious contributors and their mission of adding to their population, the fear of governmental control and how society responds to the epidemic is also an issue that needs to be considered. In this scenario, the viral outbreak is not only a threat to individual health but also to the stability of society as a whole.
George Romero's reinvention of the zombie in night of the Living Dead (1968) is clearly a critique of elements of the American society, and the film as a whole is easily twisted into a warped view on the 'American Dream'. Themes throughout Romero’s film, dealing with controversial topics during the time that the film was made, are still, to this day debated by critics and film historians. Themes of racism and war are defined within the movie, hidden underneath the idea of carnal, cannibalistic zombies and over the top heroes who, eventually, succumb to the reanimated; despite their every effort. These themes are colored over and painted to hide beneath subtle references to the typical American Dream during this time, and Romero does quite the good job at it too. This dream, whilst continuously changing in the everyday lives of modern Americans, can be loosely defined as a national ethos of the United States, or a set of ideals dealing with freedom and the opportunity for success - an upward social status that can be achieved through hard work and effort.
African American representation in the film industry has always been a topic for discussion. Whether talking about character types and roles, the actors being cast or not cast, and the lack of diversity in front of and behind the camera. ‘The contemporary status of race in mainstream American culture is intimately bound to the process of representation within and through the mass media.’ (Rocchio, 2000, p. 4). Any role that was to be played by an African American kept in with the dominant stereotypes of the time of production; incompetent, child like, hyper-sexualised or criminal.
make us see exactly what he wants us to and this film is a very good
We are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Every time we hit “retweet,” a bullet is shot through a zombie’s head. Each email we delete is another zombie down. Finishing last night’s haul of homework is surviving a whole mob of zombies. This is the picture that Chuck Klosterman paints in his article published in The New York Times, “My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead.” Having published many books and essays concerning pop culture, Klosterman attempts to uncover the reason why zombies are so popular right now. He concludes that their popularity is a result of the current zombie-like state of our society. Killing zombies is repetitive, and it is no different from the monotonous tasks we engage in every day. Although Klosterman’s claim that zombies are popular because they are relatable is an interesting view, he does not bother to consider a more optimistic perspective: that zombies are popular because they are unrelatable.
In the article, “A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism” by Sarah Juliet Lauro and Karen Embry, the authors’ evaluate the idea of the zombie and its connection to capitalism and post-humanism. According to the authors, the zombie represents much more than just a fear, it represents a loss of oneself to many different things, primarily to a capitalist society. The authors have come to the conclusion that humans have a fear of what they cannot control, and that is why the zombie is so big in entertainment. We see zombies everywhere, in movies, books, tv shows, fundraisers, marathons, and so much more. They have been around for decades, but recently they have become very popular. The authors believe this is
The idea of a zombie is made up and it comes from nzambi, the Kongo word for the spirit of a dead person. In states such as Louisiana, or the Creole culture they believe zombies represent a person who has dies and brought back to life with no speech. Kings psychological argument on how we have an urge to watch horror movies because it helps to re-establish our feelings and feel natural again. Klusterman’s sociological essay helped us see the comparison of zombies and humans in real life. In conclusion zombies are not real, they are make believe but help bring a sense of normality to
Although “Thriller” is beloved as a classic 80’s pop music video, it manages a successful dive into the social and political issues that make zombie flicks so great. Pulling from a history of work on zombies, Michael Jackson packs so much history into such a concise package. Through using the texts of Amy Devitt and Kerry Dirk we are able to uncover Jackson’s experience and social commentary in “Thriller”. He simultaneously writes a hit song, revolutionizes music videos, and still remarks on the societal problems of the early 1980’s. However, the story goes much further than that of a number one hit. “Thriller” owes its success to an important cultural figure that looms as large as
George A. Romero, the director of Night of the Living Dead accidently created the zombie genre that we are familiar with today. Night of the Living Dead reshaped the entire genre with its bitter realism. Romero established verisimilitude unintentionally by focusing on how people react to crisis. The first zombie movies relied on semi-terrifying dress codes (of their time) and the conventional diegetic scream of a female. Whereas Romero’s film is an interpretation of humankind’s collapse. Romero drew inspiration from the infamous Vietnam War spiralling at the time and the American civil war. The verisimilitude lies within the human condition in dire times, like war. Therefore, in the Night of the Living Dead the zombie/ghoul stands as a symbol for the enemy contriving those dire times. This consequently makes the genre actually terrifying because representations have altered. Zombies are no longer an otherworldly or scientific monster e.g. White Zombie but a
Almost everyone has a favorite genre of film, but how everyone defines their favorite genre can differ greatly. Horror is one of the genres where its definition can be perceived differently by many people. Like all other genres, horror does have rules and traditions that must be included in order for a film to be considered a horror film. These rules and traditions include a protagonist, an antagonist, an escape or escape attempt of some sort, and very influential audio and visual effects.
The reduction of the Earth's resources has been closely linked to the rise in human population. For many thousands of years people lived in relative harmony with their surroundings. Population sizes were small, and life-supporting tools were simple. Most of the energy needed for work was provided by the worker and animals. Since about 1650, however, the human population has increased dramatically. The problems of overcrowding multiply as an ever-increasing number of people are added to the world's population each year.