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”.
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.
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.
Today, women and men have equal rights, however, not long ago men believed women were lower than them. During the late eighteenth century, men expected women to stay at home and raise children. Women were given very few opportunities to expand their education past high school because colleges and universities would not accept females. This was a loss for women everywhere because it took away positions of power for them. It was even frowned upon if a woman showed interest in medicine or law because that was a man’s place, not a woman’s, just like it was a man’s duty to vote and not a woman’s.
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.
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
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
in this play, women are used as a symbol of male power, or lack of it.
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...
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
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
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
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
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