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. The American Dream is an ongoing set of ideals within the United States, and was especially prevalent during the 1960’s. James Truslow Adams, an American author and historian, defined the dream in 1931, stating "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability of achievement."1 The tensions during this time had everyone on edge, and Americans everywhere dealt with these accordingly. George Romero, sensing these tensions, saw an opening to get his voice heard by millions of people around the world, and more importantly, across the country. Romero revolutionized the horror film genre with his horror flick, Night of the Living... ... middle of paper ... ...eam, as Romero showcases the fact that the flaws shown within the characters end up turning their situation into something far worse than it had been in the beginning. It shows just how depraved, violent and absolutely terrifying humans can easily become when put into situations without consequences. Romero’s film is dredged in cynicism towards the modern American Dream, the way he deals with symbolism towards how “just” the American system is during battles and war, and how incredibly messed up our generalized view on racism and the ever ongoing struggle for certain ethnic groups to survive is. “The negativity of the characters extends, in fact, into every facet of their lives; indeed, the film implies the deepest denial of the goodness of effectiveness of every facet of human life in general. Every kind of human relationship is ridiculed or negated in the film.” 4
Romero’s cult classic work “Night of the Living Dead” displayed characters enacting their stereotypes, portraying men and women in their stereotypical sexist behaviors. Themes of such stereotypes are hinted within the movie, hidden underneath the idea of carnal, flesh eating ghouls. The character Barbra, is the embodiment of the helpless woman in horror films. Ben, the power controlling domineering male of the remaining survivors in the farmhouse. Harry, another male figure who try to apply his strength and ego amongst the group. Helen, is depicted as the unhappy housewife who is semi-defiant to her husband. These portrayals accurately depicted the stereotypes America held during the 1960s, effectively mirroring the time in which it was
James Parker essay “Our Zombies, Ourselves,” informs readers that the zombie has almost outranked the vampire, and why they’re so popular. This undead monster originated from a Caribbean folk nightmare and was adapted over time by, the Halperin brothers, William Seabrook and George Romero and numerous others. Much like the vampire, zombies owe their fame to the progressiveness of technology, allowing them to consistently invade various media forms. The zombie has infested countless tv shows, movies, video games, and books, throughout the 21st century. Zombies themselves are soulless corpses who were regurgitated back into the world of the living. This making them rejects from the underworld, this presents the zombie as rejected yet inexpungable. What makes the zombie so popular, however, is that symbolizes everything that is rejected by humanity. “Much can be made of him, because he makes so little of himself. He comes back, He comes back, feebly but unstoppably” (Parker). The zombie represents humanity itself as well as what is rejected by humanity. Much like individuals today, the zombie is burdened by life’s demands, converting to nothing but a rotting, groaning human shell that stumbles through life without a purpose. The zombie is symbolizer of the real world, and all things irrepressible, whereas the vampire is a symbol of an alternate world and all things
Throughout the century gender roles have changed dramatically. During the 60s roles were given to certain genders. Stereotyping them to play the action of what their gender was expected to do. One may believe that a man or women should have a specific role, but as the years came, certain genders stuck up for themselves, making a statement that they are just as capable to do anything anyone else does. The 1968 drama film Night of the Living Dead directed by George Romero is full of gender discrimination. This movie shows the typical actions of how women and males were supposed to act during the 60s; however, the roles played in this film have changed majorly over the years. Women and males have every right to play any role they want in today’s world. Romero may leave the audience angry with how he judges gender roles in
The idea of the American Dream is it began as an idea people could thrive from, but became detrimental through corruption. Society’s necessity for material goods and money for personal happiness distorts the American dream. One’s morals will be compromised once one decides to live a life for the sole purpose of following a corrupted ideal. In Hunter S. Thompson’s literary work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his viewpoint of the American Dream is expressed. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by Hunter S. Thompson, expresses the decline of society’s morals due to materialistic needs. Thompson proves through symbolism and characterization that society‘s corrupted perception of the American Dream provokes an individual’s morals to decline.
For this reason Night of the Living Dead raises the question of whether the film represents historicism or formalism, making it a movie before its time. Post modernism in film is known for pastiche elements of previous history, genres, and styles, yet it is most popularly seen in more recent movies. Romero used pastiche, even though this term was not yet coined, by mirroring this movie off the historical events of racism and the era of Martin Luther King Jr. This idea is very well captured when watching the film, especially at the end. There was quite a bit of controversy over this movie as well, given the main character/hero of the film is an African American male. The movie takes place in home just outside a local cemetery, swarmed by zombies, forcing the not so similar characters to try and get along in order to
Gina Marchetti, in her essay "Action-Adventure as Ideology," argues that action- adventure films implicitly convey complex cultural messages regarding American values and the "white American status quo." She continues to say that all action-adventure movies have the same basic structure, including plot, theme, characterization, and iconography. As ideology, this film genre tacitly expresses social norms, values, and morals of its time. Marchetti's essay, written in 1989, applies to films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rambo: First Blood II. However, action-adventure films today seem to be straying farther away from her generalizations about structure, reflecting new and different cultural norms in America. This changing ideology is depicted best in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), which defies nearly every concept Marchetti proposes about action-adventure films; and it sets the stage for a whole new viewpoint of action in the '90's.
Night of the Living Dead represents more complex issues such as race, politics, and war and Ben was fighting the undead not just for himself, but also for the good of the collective. The 60s sparked a counter-culture that grew and spread throughout the Western world and according to the book by historian Terry Anderson titled “The Movements and the Sixties;” “ [t]he aggregate movement gained momentum as the Civil Rights Movement continued to grow, and would later become revolutionary with the expansion of the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam” (Anderson, 254). The film emerged from the some of the most turbulent years in American history and Night of the Living Dead becomes the embodiment of the cultural revolution of the 1960s. Shaun of the Dead, on the other hand, embodies a more individualistic and narcissistic society. You can even say that characters portrayed in the film are socially unaware. Shaun and his friends do not seem to care about issues such as social injustices, politics or war. They take an active role of ignorance and entitlement and are apathetic towards causes outside the individual. Just as the Vietnam War was happening in 1968, the war in Iraq was happening in 2004, but the government no longer enforces the draft system (which is a positive change), and enlisting to fight for your country has become a voluntary decision of the individual. Our generation’s narcissistic and selfish behavior can perhaps be attributed to the idea that social issues are no longer dire than that of our personal responsibilities such as having a job, raising children, the day-to-day activity that consumes all our energy. Who wants to think about police brutality when a
The possibility of making our hopes and dreams become a reality used to lie at the heart of what we have come to know as the American Dream. Long before the present “the only credential...was the boldness to dream,” according to Vanity Fair contributing editor David Kamp. This dream has been what has drawn so many people to America; more pronounced was the sense of possibility. The American Dream was once a glimpse of simplicity as shown in Norman Rockwell's “Freedom from Want'” painting, portraying a family enjoying a nice meal, without the modern oversized house, extraordinary décor, or any other excessive things, just a simple family with a simple meal in a simple house, and they sure look happy. Historian John Tirman writes about the ideology of American exceptionalism and that “if the world is our oyster, there is no need for restrictive rules and regulations...” in his 2009 article. We have strayed from...
In the United States there is an idea many pursue called the American dream, which differs from person to person. The American dream according to americanradioworks.publicradio.org is “a revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition”. Yet it has been said there is no real definition of American dream, instead it merely proves that it has an unconscious influence in American mentality (Ştiuliuc 1). The American dream is different for each person because everyone yearns for things that will they hope will in return make them happy. Whatever that may be, each person goes through different struggles to obtain what they want. According to Frederic Carpenter, the American dream “has never been defined exactly, and probably never can be. It is both too various and too vague” (3). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse depicts the different interpretations on what the American dream actually is through the opinions and actions of Hector Esperanza, Efren Mendoza and Mrs. Calhoun.
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
Throughout the novel people are trying to live how they did before the apocalypse began. Either it be having family dinners with everyone or having burial services for the people unfortunate enough to be caught by the dead; everyone in this novel has attempted to chase the American dream. Causing the assumption to be made that the graphic novel “The Walking Dead” is a prime example of the pursuit of the American dream. Giving further proof that the American dream is not only still around, but something we subconsciously strive for no matter what the
Today, The American dream is not fully represented in the same way as the ideas were initially raised. The ideas were primarily fabricated in the very beginning of our country. The propagandist role of any medium has changed just as much as the times have since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In contemporary America, film is the leading component of the propagation and detraction of the American dream. The film The Pursuit of Happyness (2005) supports the idea of the American dream our founding fathers set out. Wall Street (1987) on the other hand, supports and acts as a detractor of the true American dream and leads people to believe, what a lot of people already believe, that it is a dream to become monetarily successful. Propaganda through film has been a vast advocate for this change in ideas of the American dream in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The American dream is white picket fences, freshly cut bright green grass, the smell of homemade apple pie, fresh groceries from Whole Foods and a three story suburban house in a safe neighborhood. It is the worriless state of a financially secure career, marriage, and kids. The American dream as perpetuated in movies, television, shows and media is the story of rags to riches but not quite rich instead high middle-class. “...our media is national in nature and single-minded in purpose. This media plays a key role in defining our cultural tastes, helping us locate ourselves in history, establishing our national identity, and ascertaining the range of national and social possibilities” (610).
It is safe to assume that most people have heard the term “a harsh reality,” and every single person has experienced at least one “harsh reality” in his or her lifetime, ranging from minor inconveniences to life-altering traumas. However there is one idea that can delay the realization of reality for a while- a dream. Dreams are beautiful fantasies that have the potential to fill every man, woman, and child with optimism for brief moments in their lives. Some dreams are easily within reach, some are difficult yet possible, but still more are completely out of reach. One of the most renowned dreams is the American dream- a dream of wealth and success, with cities of milk and honey, but this has become
Zombie films are occasionally said to represent terrorism, because of the concept that a small occurrence can lead to countless deaths and injuries (Drezner). The creatures can also represent “the living death experiences by the brutalized and exploited worker” (BOOK). A more complex, and more commonly discussed concept that zombies are said to represent is society, in relation to the role of citizens in relation to the government. In this metaphor, zombies signify the complacent, unquestioning public. One can understand this metaphor by