Avery Wells
Professor Wilkenfeld
English 102
02/08/14
“All Men and Women Are Created Equal”
On July 4, 1776 it was said that all men are created equal. What the Declaration of Independence failed to mention was women. This seemed to be a common theme throughout the history of America and is still a problem to this day. Men are constantly being held up on a pedestal, while women are forced to assume the position of looking up to them. Zombieland (2009) tends to take these “old school” ways and shed a new light on the fact that women too can be equal, if not better than some men.
To give you a brief summary Zombieland is a film about four main characters, Witchita, Little Rock, Tallahassee, and Columbus. Little Rock and Witchita are both females, and Tallahassee and Columbus are both males. The movie is all about the adventures these four main characters have to face in order to kill all of the zombies that have taken over their land as a result to save the human race. As goofy as this movie may seem, my family and I found that there was a much more important point that the director was trying to make. The director was trying to make it clear that Women can be just as powerful as men are, at least that is my interpretation of the movie.
Although many scenes in Zombieland show women as being inferior and dependent on men, I feel as though women are also portrayed as being just as strong as men and often are seen transcending above the stereotype put on them. This was evident in many situations when two of the female main characters, Wichita and Little Rock, would often outsmart the two male main characters, Tallahassee and Columbus. Little Rock and Wichita would often act as though they were in need of Tallahassee and Columbus’s ...
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... Rock fooled the man at the gas station into giving them money by using their good looks and charm.
In the end, Zombieland can be a lesson for our founding fathers. They would have learned to look at women in a new light. They would not see them as being small, dependent people. Instead, they would see that they demand respect, just as men do and just as all people should. They would see them independent and more than capable human beings on this earth. In fact, I believe if our founding fathers had seen Zombieland then they too would agree that the only people that should be excluded from rights are zombies. They would see women are just as equal as men. If this new perspective had been discovered sooner, one of the most important documents in history, the Declaration of Independence, would be seen with the following words: “All men and women are created equal”.
She can highlight the traits between white-collar and blue collar in the apocalypse to give more meaning towards why workers of that status should be afraid. “ our white-collar skills become worthless not through technical advance but through total system collapse”norton field guild to writing with readings and handbook 653. Bosch states that white-collar workers lack technical skills which are necessary in any apocalypse environment. One good quote she used was from Max Brooks that boils down to being a white collar worker you hire a plumber to fix you toilet so you do not have to fix it yourself and you can focus on work to make more money. The more money you make the more people you can hire so that you can focus more on work and be less distracted. What if one day it got turned upside down where your employees become your teacher. Bosch highlights that white-collar workers are useless in a topsy-turvy world, where as blue-collar workers have skills to survive and they become the top of the new social order. “skills in auto maintenance, farming, plumbing, and electrical work- not to mention marksmanship- land blue collar folks at the top”norton field guild to writing with readings and handbook 653. This gives the outlook that blue-collar workers are strong and resourceful. Bosch portrays the class of zombies as a terrifying threat. “Zombies however, never stop, so danger persists past the initial past the initial cataclysm” norton field guild to writing with readings and handbook 654. Bosch talks about zombies being a different type of disaster even though the white-collar worker will still have trouble surviving any disaster, zombies are the only kind of disaster that persist. This gives zombies a truly horrifying look and are overall portrayed as the best horror monster there is. Zombies will give these two working classes a reason to watch zombie films. It gives a positive message to blue-collar
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.
First off, in Carol Clover’s novel “Men Women and Chainsaws” the narrative is focusing on how women overcome their challenges throughout varies films. Clover focuses
Men and women have played gender specific roles, from the earliest sign of civilization to modern society. In the cult classic “Night of the Living Dead”, stereotypical gender role were on display. George A. Romero’s film hinted at subtle references to the role of men and women and depicted the stereotypes America held during the 1960s. Men played the protectors and enforcers, while the women represented the submissive homemakers and caretakers. Romero’s film portrays the sexes, men and women, in their respective stereotypical behaviors. Stereotypes that sets the undertone for the duration of the film.
In the film, after Tom and Judy’s car explodes, Ben is left to fend for himself in the middle of the group of zombies. The zombies encroaching on Ben from all sides is reminiscent of a lynch mob. They loom in on Ben from all sides, trying to rip his flesh off. In retaliation, Ben uses a torch to fend off the zombies and run to the house. The zombies are white oppression; the mindlessness and murderous nature of the zombies is similar to the blind stupidity, violence, and sheep-like mentality of
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 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 women in the book seem to take up important and powerful roles that make significant change in the key areas of the narrative. The writer asserts that women can be independent, intelligent, assertive, and similar to the men, women can survive in the street by being smart. This is illuminated by the fact that a majority of women in the book are good hackers. The skills and character of the women help in discovering the cure for the virus. They are given roles that are not traditional and instead they take on leadership positions that are a great determinant of the success of the mission. This is unlike the notion in most scientific novels that leaves out women. This is portrayed by one of the major characters Y.T who worked hand in hand with the protagonist of the novel to bring out different skills and talents of women. In the book, we see Y.T talk on behalf of his partner, which shows stereotyping of gender in leadership. “Y.T. has to step in on his behalf. “Okay, “she says. “Speaking for my partner and myself, we 'll stay away from him” (Stephenson,
Did you know that the word zombies come from African and Haitian people? From the legends regarding voodoo doctors that they believe used to and might still do. Bring back the dead for a short amount of time and turn the to mindless slaves. That will follow their every order with no hesitation. Which is actually like the walkers are doing in the Walking Dead but they weren't raised from the dead. I mean they were but not literally the virus brought them back, not a person. Same goes for Kitchenette Building the speaker is not a zombie or a walker but she might as well be. The fact that she continues to live a life she doesn't want and doesn’t make changes to fix it. She just continues to do the same thing every day that, I bet anybody
ScreenPrism. "ScreenPrism." Why Did "Night of the Living Dead" Spark Controversy after Its Release. Web. 19 Sept. 2017.
I'm more than a little upset with myself that I allowed myself to go so long without watching this film. I've known about for what feels like forever, but for one reason or another I just never got around to watching it. Well, I can proudly say that's no longer an issue, time was made and Re-Animator was watched. Watching Re-Animator for the first time, reminded me of the first time I watched Return of the Living Dead. Both films have this vibrant atmosphere that I have a hard time putting into words. Both films share a lot in common, flawless use of humor, memorable scenes and some of the best practical effects shots that I can think of. But if I had to choose a favorite between the two, Return of the Living Dead would win out, mostly due
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
Women who are too intelligent or too strong are cast off as being masculine or lesbians. When female basketball players are seen on television, they are perceived as trying to be masculine. Women who are extremely intellectual or aggressive are seen as lesbians by society in order to rationalize their ability to compete with men. We as a society want our women to be weak and subservient, and any deviation from this perception is deemed wrong. All of these tie into the definition of womanhood that Hawkins ties into her claim of the injustices present among female death row
Zombies’ most obvious function is to the social taboo of cannibalism. Zombies violate the basic rule of what it means to be human: not eating people. This taboo is depicted best in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968). The scene, an hour and 15 minutes into the movie, shows several quick cuts and close ups of zombies ripping apart and eating “human” organs and limbs. The scene, a...
Clare Booth Luce, a woman who broke the gender barrier herself as the first abroad female ambassador, once said “Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn 't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don 't have what it takes"”. As a country, the United States of America has come leaps and bounds from where it began with women’s rights. Women were not allowed to vote, and now we have women running for president. But, women are still not always treated as equally as men. Women still cannot hold certain positions in the military, or even wear what they want without being told it is too risqué. Gender inequality is still astronomically prevalent in today 's society and can be seen throughout mass media, career opportunities, and in
From the beginning of time, females have played a powerful role in the shaping of this world. They have stood by idly and watched as this country moved on without them, and yet they have demanded equal rights as the nation rolls along. Through the years the common belief has been that women could not perform as well as men in anything, but over the years that belief has been proven wrong time and time again. So as time marches on, women have clawed and fought their way up the ladder to gain much needed equal respect from the opposite sex. However, after many years of pain and suffering, the battle for equal rights has not yet been won. Since women have fought for a long time and proven their importance in society, they deserve the same rights as men.