The Night Of The Living Dead Film Analysis

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Men and Women have played gender specific roles, from the earliest sign of civilization till now. In the cult classic “The Night of The Living Dead”, the portrayal of stereotypical gender roles were on display. George A. Romero’s film hinted at subtle references to the roles of Men and Women and depicted the stereotypes America held during the 1960s. Men played the role of protectors and enforcers, while the women played the passive role of homemakers and caretakers. Romero’s film portrays the sexes, women and men, in their stereotypical behaviors. Barbra’s character shrieks the stereotype of a ‘horror chick”, a helpless, naïve blonde woman. She is weak and reliant on the others, incompetent and oblivious to the concerns at hand. Her lack of prowess when the ghouls infiltrated the farmhouse consequently lead to her death. While, others were pitching in to devise a plan to combat the slew of ghouls drawing near the farmhouse, Barbra was in a state of bewilderment due to Johnny’s death and was unmindful of the plan to defeat the ghouls, therefore she became a hindrance to the others. Robert Hass film criticism of Carol J. Clover’s work on “Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film”, declares, “Women are usually helpless victims in the horror genre” (Haas 67). This quote given by Hass, essentially summarized the Barbra’s character in such a manner that the viewer would infer that Barbra enacts the stereotypical role of a “horror chick”.
Comparatively, Ben is introduced to the audience. He differs in nature and demeanor to Barbra. He …show more content…

Romero’s cult classic work “The Night of the Living Dead” displayed characters enacting their stereotypes. Themes of stereotypes are hinted within the movie, hidden underneath the idea of carnal, flesh eating ghouls. The characters Barbra, Ben, Harry and Helen portrays the stereotypes America held during the 1960s. Romero’s film portrays men and women in their stereotypical sexist

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