Zombies, as we know them today, have mortified movie viewers for the last forty six years. Modern zombies first appeared in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in 1968. These zombies were the slow moving, staggering ghouls that one has seen in countless films, but in 1985, Return of the Living Dead featured a new kind of zombie, the first fast moving and talking ghoul. Both Night of the Living dead 1968 and Return of the Living Dead 1985 feature the zombie as its villain, but Return of the living dead’s fast moving, talking zombies are a more modern take on the movie monster.
Fast V.S Slow Zombies
In 1968, the first modern zombies took to the screen; these were the slow moving and lumbering ghouls that have been seen in countless films since. They are known as the “walking dead”, because they are only able to move at a slow pace and stumble about. This version of the zombie has been resurrected in many other George A Romero films. The slow moving pace of the monster makes the Night of the Living Dead a horrifying film, because they are unstoppable and they just keep coming. This builds tension in the film which can be felt by the audience.
In contrast, Return of the Living Dead 1985 features a faster moving more limber zombie. One thinks that this makes the film more horrifying, the way they portray the zombie as an intelligent, almost human like character. When the film begins, the workers at a taxidermy factory are looking at a shipment of chemicals that they got on accident called Troxin. This chemical is released and causes the dead to return to life. The cadaver that they have in a freezer begins to scream and when they open the door it tackles the older employee. This suggest that rigor mortis has no effect on the...
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...eir main villain and both have their own special meaning. Night of the Living Dead’s meaning is derived from the era in which it was made. At the time, the Vietnam War was still raging and the Cold War had begun. The zombies in the film reflected the wars and represented the diseases of violence. In Return of the Living Dead the film is more about comedy and lighting the mood of the monster. Both Night of the Living dead 1968 and Return of the Living Dead 1985 feature the zombie as its villain, but Return of the living dead’s fast moving, talking zombies are a more modern take on the movie monster.
Works Cited
Night of the Living Dead. Dir. George A. Romero. Perf. Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl
Hardman. Off Color Films. 1968 Film.
Return of the Living Dead. Dir. Dan O’Brannon. Perf. Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don
Calfa. Cinema 84. 1985. Film
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
White Zombie and “Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields” are both works that portray the zombie as a mindless creature, however they both have different reasons for the zombies being there. Both of these works contained social and political references to the time period that they were made in. Both works were meant to scare people, however they did it by playing on different fears.
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,
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
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As said in the previous discussion regarding the second chapter of Better Off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Post-Human, zombies and their culture are examined and broken down in order to understand their motives for the progression of zombies globally. Through different perspectives from individuals based around the world, the discussion of the zombie culture debates over the idea that zombies have not just evolved within the narratives that have brought them to life, but they have evolved in such a way that ultimately transforms the narrative itself. However, in this specific chapter, “They are not men.they are dead bodies!” : From Cannibal to Zombie and Back Again, Chera Kee breaks down the introduction of zombies into mainstream consciousness, and eventually cinema.
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 Film that I watched was Night of the Living Dead directed by George Romero. The film first starts out with Barbra and Johnny (brother and sister), going to a cemetery to put flowers on their father’s grave. Following putting the flowers on the grave they both see a man in the distance walking towards them. The man approaching them ended up being a zombie, and the zombie took Johnny and ends up infecting him. The film then goes into a scene where the zombie chases Barbra into an old abandoned house where she finds shelter for the time being. There, she is met by a man named Ben who is also trying
Zombies have become very popular due to their depictions of being easy to kill and being communal. Zombie apocalypses are also very relatable due to the fact that they are set in lives similar to our society and seem easy to overcome. Zombies, themselves, can be identified with because we see ourselves when we look at a zombie. Zombies drudge on through the same task of finding human flesh to consume every day just like we drag ourselves to either class or our job in order to sit through another boring lecture or perform the same menial task every day. Just like the zombie, R, in the book, Warm Bodies, said, “I am Dead, but it’s not so bad. I’ve learned to live with it,” we have learned to succumb to our daily routines and just live with
In the movie “Night of the Living Dead” by George A. Romero, we are thrust in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. During this apocalypse, many themes and aspects of human nature are present. This conflict seems to bring out the aspects of humans that show how imperfect we are, in addition to how we function in groups. Before I delve into these topics, I shall begin by summarizing key aspects of the film.
The Grateful Dead spread their message of peace love and mind expansion across the globe for the better part of three decades. Few believe that there has ever been a more influential band in modern history. But all of this didn't come without great strife. From the beginning there have been several ups and downs with the band and its various members, from personal problems, to lable issues, to the issues they have always had with being on tour for so long. Very few bands are able to keep the same sound to their
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 Shining is about a white middle class dysfunctional family that suffers from natural and supernatural stresses in an isolated Rocky mountain hotel. .The father, a former teacher turned writer, is portrayed as a habitual drinker, wife- and child-abuser, with a kind of evil streak The mother is shown as a battered woman. The film suggests that due to the abuse at the hands of his father and the passivity of his mother, the child of this family developed psychological problems. He had imaginary friends and began to see frightening images.
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