Night of the Living Dead Even though George Romero, director of the film, Night of the Living Dead, did not intentionally intend to create racial controversy, the film broke a lot of ground considering the year it was filmed in 1968. By making a black character, Ben, the most intelligent and resourceful of all the white characters, as well as the protagonist, Romero, shattered racist stereotypes in the horror movie genre as well as mainstream film. This was mainly due to the fact that Night of The Living Dead was one of the first films to follow a black protagonist who was filmed in a positive light. Ben’s personality was possibly the most subversive aspect of the whole film. Ben was a brave and quick-witted character who was able to see what needed to get done in order to ensure survival from the zombies. The fact that Ben was portrayed as the most composed character, especially out of the cast of distraught white characters only emphasized his position as the most important character. Without Ben, the other characters would have most likely died. Overall, despite the fact that Night of the Living Dead did not intend to make a racial statement, I believe it ended up symbolizing the progress African Americans made during the civil rights movement, yet certain points in the film such as the power dynamic between Ben and Harry, the zombies attacking Ben, Ben’s death scene, and the photographs at …show more content…
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
He sees much less black and white and understands that it’s more of a gray world around him. He is more skeptical of people and understands places and no longer accepts everything at face value. In the great Rot & Ruin, Benny finds out that there are two types of danger, – the mindless unknowing zombies and the deliberate nonuse of mercy from fellow bounty hunters, Charlie Mathias and the Motor City Hammer. The conflict unravels with Benny learning about someone called the “The Lost Girl”, an almost feral teenage woman, who has been living out within the Rot and Ruin all by herself, killing zoms in a very odd and peculiar way. Benny is fascinated upon learning about her, but she knows too much about someone’s secrets and everyone who may have any idea of where the Lost Girl is hiding is now in
Both White Zombie and “Dead Men Walking in the Cane Fields” represent the early zombie and both of them embody Cohen’s first thesis “The Monster is a Cultural Body” Both the story and the film have zombies and both of these works make their zombies appear scary with dead like characteristics, however the real reason why they are scary is that, at the time, they tried to change society and that scared people. The people that liked society the way it was didn’t want another group to gain power or righ...
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
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.
Racism is a relative term. While many people argue that Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, contains the theme of racism, they tend to ignore the fact that this novel was written around the turn of the century. During this time period it was accepted practice to think of a black man as savage because that was how the popular culture viewed the African American race. If someone called a black man "savage" today, that someone would be considered a racist. Of course, this turn of the century view of blacks is inexcusable but it was the accepted norm of the time. The problem is that modern critics tend to apply modern thinking to all novels, including those written in a specific time period with beliefs different from today. These critics do not incorporate the context of the novel and simply rage forward with a directed, ignorant viewpoint, arguing from a more civilized stance. The definition of a racist has changed a great deal since the early 1900s, and we must consider this when analyzing any piece of literature. The problem arises when modern thinkers assume that we must continue to build on our ever-expanding knowledge instead of looking into the past and trying to relate to the accepted views of the time.
Romeo expresses toxic whiteness in his portrayal of the redneck posse at the end of the film. Night of the Living Dead was released in 1968, on the tail end of the Civil Rights movement and Sheriff Mccullen's posse is a direct reflection of the angry white mobs that were originating in Alabama at the time. They are shown as a group of people who have a shoot first ask questions later attitude, and will shoot and do shoot anything different from them. Mccullen even instructs his men to shoot anything that moves. This is why they shoot Ben when he comes out of the house. These “white” men do not care who they kill or shoot, if it does not look like a white man, then they will kill it. Jordan Peele expresses a similar theme in “Get Out” by making the entire plot about white people trying to overtake black’s bodies to use them as a way to everlasting life. The notion that white people just because the color of their skin believe that they are superior to those who are different than them, but acknowledge that they have different cultures than them and that is worthy enough to experience. That is the very definition of white toxicity, thinking that you are better than someone else because of the color of your skin but yet grant them worthy enough that you are jealous because you cannot experience their
Black face, in itself, makes a mockery of black people. It makes us look ridiculous and like clowns. By the end of the movie, the actors hate themselves and feel guilt for what they have been doing to their people because of money. They were being “nigga” puppets and coons for entertainment, not realizing how it made the rest of our race look. They had lost their dignity and integrity because of money and fame, but didn’t know what they were doing until it was a little too late. Everyone wanted to be a nigga because it was popular, but no one wanted to deal with the history that comes with it. Being a nigga shouldn’t be a goal nor should it be uplifted because it is demeaning, racist, and belittling. “People love Black culture, but don’t love Black people” is a phrase that is all too familiar and it’s sad that it’s one of the most accurate phrases I’ve heard. That phrase basically means that at the end of the day, to white people, we are still considered subhuman, less than, and inferior. They are always going to constantly make a mockery of us unless we change the image that they have set for us and even then, we may still always be the butt of their
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
What if you could forget all your worries and cease to care? What if you could avoid all the stresses of being a teenager in high school, all the expectations teachers, parents, and society impose on you, and simply be free and careless? Would you decide to take action? Would you risk everything to have a permanent feeling of euphoria and liberty? Would it be worth it? In the fictional world Chuck Palahniuk creates in his short story “Zombie”, there is a way to make this happen. Nonetheless, this fictional world is not impossible, it is improbable.
This is significant because it is not an accurate representation of the percentage of black people that live in L.A which is where the series takes place. To explain how problematic this is one has to explain that "Representation is important because it is an active process of creating meanings." (Milestone & Meyer, 2012). The lack of black characters being represented in the show influences the perceptions of individuals to believe that black people are few and far between and the vast majority of people in existence are white. Furthermore, this stems from systemic racism which "includes the policies and practices entrenched in established institutions, which result in the exclusion or promotion of designated groups." (Henry & Tator, 2006). The lasting consequences of slavery are what create the conditions for this racism to exist today because “By the 19th century it was widely taken for granted that the human race was divided into superior whites and inferior others.” (Storey, 2009). Hollywood favours white actors and plots that centre on white people because racism is imbedded in the industry. While the industry says that they are trying to improve representation results are yet to be seen as like in American Horror Story most media consists of a white dominated cast and a “token” black character. This can have detrimental consequences in terms of how black children will see themselves and perceive that their skin tone
"Deadly Unna" is the story of Garry Blacks realization of racism and discrimination in the port where he lives. When everyone else seems do nothing to prevent the discrimination Blacky a young boy steps up to the plate and has the guts to say no against racism towards the local Aborigines. Blacky is beginning to realize that the people he looks up to as role models might not be such good examples as most of them including his father his footy coach and even the pub custodian all accept racism as a normal way of life and Blacky begins to realize this and tries to make them aware.
African American men born in the United States in 2001 have a one in three chance of being incarcerated at some point in their lifetime, according to Department of Justice statistics. An even greater number will have a criminal record and face the host of collateral consequences that emanate from a criminal record. As Michelle Alexander wrote, “An extraordinary percentage of black men in the United States are legally barred from voting today, just as they have been throughout most of American history. They are also subject to legalized discrimination in employment, housing, education, public benefits, and jury service, just as their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents once were.”, as gathered by thinkprogress.com. The misconception in today’s community is that all races are now “equal”. Racial tension is the main reason to why he is in the situation that he’s in.
The Walking Dead, a television show about surviving in the zombie world, is based on the comic book with the same name created by Robert Kirkman. In this show Rick Grimes, a sheriff's deputy, awakes from his coma and finds himself in a hospital. He soon discovers that while he was in a coma the world had become infected, turning humans into flesh-eating zombies later called Walkers by the characters. As Rick sets out to find his family he encounters many other survivors such as Glenn, Daryl, Carl, Maggie, Carol, Sasha, Hershel, Beth, and Michonne, among many others who have died along the way. Rick and the survivors have been through a lot throughout the show, such as having to move from place to place to avoid being eating by walkers. After walking a longs way, they finally find shelter in an old prison where they now live. Although The Walking Dead shows a lot violence, it sends many positive messages to the viewers that teach them about survival, religion and betray and how each of these can be beneficial in the real world
Essay 1: WRITE A COHERENT ESSAY IN WHICH YOU ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE USE OF BLACK ICONIC IMAGES (AND OTHER ETHNIC IMAGES) TO SELL PRODUCTS AS THE ECONOMY OF MASS CONSUMPTION EXPANDED IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO INCLUDE IMAGES IN YOUR PAPER! During the 19th and 20th century, America –mostly white collar, middle class Americans- saw a great increase in salaries and a huge rise in mass production which paved the way for the modern American consumerism which we know today. The advertising scene saw a dramatic boost during that period and tried to latch on to this growing pool of emerging consumers. Although only limited to print, advertising during this pivotal period showed panache and reflected American society and popular culture.
What is racism? Racism can be defined as – “The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” Racism occurs when a racist group finds it necessary to put down other ethnic groups in an attempt to strengthen their own. A very strong racist comment or action might make the other group feel hurtful, degrading, humiliating. The novel, “Heart of darkness”, written by Joseph Conrad provides such instances which are racist and biased against the people living in Africa.