The zombie subgenre, unlike many other branches of the horror movie genre, adapts completely to fit the audience of its time. For instance, in the slasher subgenre, both the killers and the victims have shared common characteristics since the very first film. On the other hand, the torture porn subgenre of horror changes, but does not adapt to the audience. Although new concepts are fashioned, there is not a correlation to the fears of the audience. Specifically in the zombie subgenre, particularly when examining the origin of zombies, it is clear that directors and film writers adapt to fit both the desires and the fears of their audiences. Shortly after the first zombie movie was released, there was a zombie craze, during which …show more content…
Several, like Zombies on Broadway and The Ghost Breakers, treated the topic lightheartedly, while others, like I Walked With a Zombie, were highly dramatic. (Harris) The first wave of zombie films that were released focused heavily on the voodoo origin of zombies. However, the origin was not the only aspect of these films that differ greatly from their modern day counterparts. The original zombie films differ greatly from the gore-filled and petrifying films that a modern-day audience is accustomed to experiencing. In the original zombie films, the monsters were exceptionally slow, and not a true threat to humans, as long as they were cautious. The zombies also were depicted much like humans, but had paler faces. Earlier zombie films also shared similar plots. The monster would be created by voodoo magic, typically to enact revenge on some other individual. At first, the zombie would follow the commands of its master with ease. Eventually, however, the witch or wizard would lose control of the creature, which would then wreak havoc without commands. This plot satisfied the viewers of that time, who were not accustomed to violence, but, as violence became more prevalent in media, zombies had to evolve to fit a modern audience. Early zombie films were terrifying to the audiences that they served, but soon became outdated, and modern …show more content…
New forms of media continue to arise that focus on zombies. Numerous video games, such as Resident Evil, Dead Rising, and The Last of Us have been created in response to the popularity of the subgenre. Television shows, such as AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead, and We’re Alive, have also been filmed to please audiences. These outlets generally follow the same concepts of the modern films, such as the quick-moving zombies, the enormous amount of gore, and the pathogen origin. These video games and television shows have become tremendously popular. The popularity of zombies have allowed multiple media outlets to integrate zombies in their production, which lead to a massive growth in the zombie fan
Max Brooks is a famous author who wrote two very popular zombie books, Zombie survival guide and World War Z, which one was turned into a motion picture due to its large popularity. Colson Whitehead who wrote Zone one is a distinguished writer and has received numerous awards, one of which was New York Times best selling book of the year, given to him in 2001. These two authors give more weight towards Boschs argument as those who are zombie fans know who these writers are and read at least one of their books. Her appeal to multiple types of workers give her a wider reading base in which there are both positives and negatives to each argument given, having a good balance between the two classes. She refers to the white-collar workers as being zombie food, their skills are not needed in the zombie apocalypse.
Victor Harplin’s black and white film, White Zombie, and W.B Seabrook’s short story, “Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields”, both were produced in the early twentieth century and were among the first works to capture the nature of the zombie. The zombie being a unique monster, it originated in the folkloric and ritual practices of the New World, specifically in the Republic of Haiti (The Sub-Subaltern Monster). They both centralize around Zombies, however they do differ in the way that they are portrayed. Both were set in Haiti where the zombie originated. Also around this time the U.S. occupied Haiti and American businesses were moving to the island. America was going through serious social change in this time as well. Both women and African Americans were trying to get more rights. Women were also acting more provocative and doing things that would have been seen as inappropriate at the time. The social mold was being shattered. America was in a boom period with big business and new technological innovations. Also both the story and the film relate closely to Cohen’s first thesis. These two literary works have similarities and differences to them, however both tend to play on social and political differences of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
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,
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
There were many differences in the films. For example in the white zombie movie, the zombies were working zombies. The mill owner would use voodoo to control the zombies. Also these zombies were not aggressive at all, humans can walk among and not be attacked. Contrast to the white zombies the zombies from the night of the living dead, these zombies were aggressive. Therefore night of the living dead zombies were very aggressive and would attack humans and
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.
Some would say watching horror movies and being scared out of your wits is a fun way to spend their hard earned money. They go see these movies on average once a week, each time choosing a newer version of a trilogy like “Chucky” or “The evil Dead”. Film making has come a long way over the last few decades, the graphic...
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
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 Night of the Living Dead, the zombies were eventually eliminated. Or were they? Theorists argue that the monster’s elusiveness is due to its physical, psychological and social characteristics that cross the lines of classification. Human’s innate fear of the unknown is due to their inability to make a distinction or draw a clear conclusion. This is explained further in Jeffrey Cohen’s second thesis in “Monster Theory” that claims that; “the monster never escapes” (Cohen, 14). The zombie as a monster can never be destroyed completely and if it is, it leaves a remnant the make people feel uncertain of its destruction. Base on Cohen’s theory, the zombie’s different interpretation allows it to emerge in other forms (a faster, smarter zombie?)
They use a lot of information that is overwhelming, and does not add a lot of validity to the point they were trying to make. Throughout the article, the authors take from various other zombie pieces, such as movies, books, and TV shows and use them to add to their ideas. In some cases, they also use other pieces and discredit them as a way to prove their own point. For example, they talk about the “Cyborg Manifesto” by Donna Haraway. This essay presents the idea of the cyborg, which is an organism that is part human and part machine. Throughout the essay, Haraway gives examples of where we see the cyborg throughout media, and how humans might be connected to it. The authors in “A Zombie Manifesto” stated how they were influenced to title their piece after her, but they go on throughout the essay constantly trying to prove the piece wrong. They argue that the idea Haraway is presenting is not truly what humans connect to, and the authors think their ideas are more relatable. They believe their zombie interpretation is more relatable than Haraway’s cyborg interpretation. The authors are trying to make their interpretation more valid by invalidating another interpretation. This makes the piece hard to agree with, for an interpretation is relative to each person, and tearing apart another interpretation is an unproductive way to persuade readers to agree with you and your ideas. Another reason the article is difficult to agree with, is the fact that it is very difficult to understand. With the piece being as persuasive as it is, the authors did not take the time to ensure the writing would be easy to understand for all. In reading the article, it felt as though the authors had a specific group of readers in mind and didn’t accommodate to others who might find interest in zombies. The article is written in such a way
Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil.
There are many possibilities where a human can be turned into a “zombie”. Disease, disease has been with humans as long as humans have lived on this Earth. When we look throughout history, we can see the evolution of disease. In England during the Middle Ages, the Bubonic Plague is a perfect example. It hit the British pretty hard, taking them absolutely by surprise.
Zombies are real, but not like those in stories on the big screen. Real zombies and vampires are regular people who suffer from a mental condition called, Cotard Syndrome. Cotard's syndrome, is a rare mental disorder, those with cotard syndrome have delusional belief that they are already dead. This syndrome is also known as the Walking Corpse Syndrome. These delusions can range from believing one is dead, are putrefying, do not exist, or have lost their blood and organs. This mental disorder was brought to the attention in the 1880‘s, by Jules Cotard, who described a delusion he called “delusion of negations”. Cotard Syndrome is mostly a certain type of depression.