Writing Homework Help

Please choose at least two of these questions to answer.

Think of the readings as lenses through which to look in order to analyze these films.

Your initial post should be at least 500 words; 

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by midnight Sunday, October 24. This should be a substantive response. I.e., more than a simple ‘good post’ kind of comment.

In “Slacker Bites Back,” Lynn Pifer tells us that In Shaun of the Dead, “Pegg and Write take an existing cultural monster, the zombie… and show that these horrible monsters are not all that different from the people desperately trying to avoid or kill them.” She suggests that “Shaun of the Dead’s zombies reveal and warn against the deadening effects of modern life.”

How do these ideas play out in that film, and in any other in this unit?

Cohen, in “Plans are Pointless” suggests that “Zombies can and will be not only a distinct social class with their own culture and identity, but a group whose political survival further threatens the fabric of our lives.”

1. How do you see this concept applying to the film Fido and in any other film in this unit?

Douglas Keesey, in “Intertwinings of death and desire in Michele Soavi’s Dellamore Dellamore [Cemetery Man], tells us that “the film is a study in the subtle relations between death and desire, the carnal and the charnel.”

Discuss this idea. Bring in examples from at least one other film we’ve seen in class.

Steve Shaviro suggests that “our preoccupation with the zombie originates out of the zombie’s relationship with contemporary global capitalism” and that “… zombies present the ‘human face’ of capitalist monstrosity…  because they are the dregs of humanity: the zombie is all that remains of ‘human nature,’ or even simply of a human scale, in the immense and unimaginably complex network economy.”

Does this idea play out in zombie comedies as much, or more than, in zombie horror?

. In Shaun of the Dead, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg come together to make a film showcasing the fact that, despite the hordes of undead roaming the streets, the real zobie has been centerstage the whole time. Shaun, throughout his daily routine of going to the corner store for pop and ice cream before walking to work, completely oblivious to the world around him, is the real zombie. In the reading “Slacker Bites Back”, Lynn Pifer says that “Shaun likewise plays up the similarity between us living workers and them zombies.” This excerpt is shown tho its greatest extent in Shaun of the Dead out of all the movies we’ve been shown. Shaun is blatantly oblivious to the zombies that have been slowly assimilating into his life, eating his neighbors and fellow countrymen. Even as he walks into his beloved store to pick up his breakfast, he is oblivious to the handprints on the freezer door. Despite this being a horror/comedy zombie film, Wright and Penn make a surprisingly strong observation on social interactions between people. The commentary about how people are so entranced in their daily lives, uncaring of the struggles their peers experience that they might as well be zombies. In the reading “George Romero and the Return of the Repressed,” Hoberman and Rosenbaum talk about how Night of the Living Dead was a response to the years 1964-1968 and called them “the most violent four-year period in over a century.” This carries the trend of zombie films reflecting the society they were created in. Shaun of the Dead tackled the problem of individualism, and Night of the Living Dead serves as a commentary on the violence of the time. 4. The dangers of capitalism in cinema is a trope as old as cinema itself, however I believe its no better represented than in the zombie comedy. The tools at the disposal of a director when creating a film like that are immense. The ability to mix real fears felt by society in horror with a satirical spin creates room for a genuine dialogue without being bogged down by the seriousness of the subject. In the reading “Terror in Horror Genres: The Global Media and the Millennial Zombie,” Nicole Birch-Bayley mentions how early zombie films were created “on the premise of emergent imperialism, capitalism, and cultural racism” zombie films have been exploring these topics for years, specifically capitalism. Fido, Zombieland, and Shaun of the Dead all are great critiques on the ways capitalism affects our society. The zombies in Fido are treated as the as dogs, or slaves. There are even whole businesses dedicated to handling the “wild” zombies within the society. Shaun of the Dead, as I spoke on in the last answer, is a tke on how capitalism has reduced us to drones, simply going throughout their daily routines. Unaware of the world ssurrounding them. It could also be a take on the new social media landscape we find ourselves in, however the movie came out before social media truly took over society, so anther film will have to take on that topic. The reading “They Won’t Stay Dead: The Ghosts, Zombies and Vampires of 9/11,” Kevin Wetmore states “9/11 resulted in a transformative period for traditional monsters of cinema.” This is profound, as 9/11 caused a complete shift in the cinema landscape. In the 90s, many films portrayed simply defeating boredom, the daily grind. However after that tragedy, films shifted more into defeating a real enemy, which typically symbolized the fear of a hostile takeover of America. The tragedy also inspried a post ironic sentiment of “what if?” what if the dead won? What if America fell? These questions were better explored under a comedic tone than a serious one, and that’s why comedy zombie films create a better enviorment for tackling these issues. 

1. In Shaun of the Dead, irony is used to emphasize the fact that we aren’t as different from the zombies as we think, one might even say that the film is making a statement by saying we are the zombies. Lynn Pifer states in the reading “Slacker Bites Back” that “Shaun likewise plays up the similarity between us living workers and them zombies…the zombies are incorporated into the “living” society rather than overrunning the living.” This is most prominent in the first half of the film, when Shaun is oblivious to the fact that zombies are starting to populate his mundane city. He is so caught up in his daily routine of getting ready, going to the store for breakfast, and walking to work, that he doesn’t even realize the people, or zombies around him. Even while the others around him are getting attacked, he doesn’t bat an eye. It’s painfully obvious that he too, is a zombie, stuck in a cycle that shows no sign of stopping, something many working people can relate to. Though the film isn’t your regular zombie movie, it still has its takes on real world issues. In the reading “George Romero and the Return of the Repressed,” Hoberman and Rosenbaum talk about how Night of the Living Dead was a response to the years 1964-1968 and called them “the most violent four-year period in over a century.”  I think all of these ideas that go into creating a zombie film play out in the same way and all have hidden messages and underlying meanings, but each film has its own unique way of presenting these ideas whether it be irony and satire or straight up horror and fear.4. I think the whole idea of capitalism and its demise plays out much easier in zombie comedies than it would in a zombie horror. The idea becomes more palatable and not as realistic since the audience can laugh about it. In the reading “Terror in Horror Genres: The Global Media and the Millennial Zombie,” Nicole Birch-Bayley mentions how early zombie films were created “on the premise of emergent imperialism, capitalism, and cultural racism…” and I think that still to this day, zombie films touch on these topics in even more obvious ways, capitalism specifically. Fido, Zombieland, and Shaun of the Dead all present capitalism in their own unique ways, big or small. The zombies in Fido are treated as the “other” and some even own them as dogs, and it’s almost reminiscent as owning a human for labor. People get rich from creating businesses that handle the wild zombies in the town. Shaun is an obvious take on the soul sucking capitalist society we live in. And in Zombieland, a scene that sticks in my mind is when the crew are in a grocery store, a symbol of capitalism, and they get interrupted by a wild zombie. It might mean nothing, but to me, I see the zombies representing anything anti-capitalism, leading to the entire fall of society as we know it, which is the complete opposite of the other two films. The reading “They Won’t Stay Dead: The Ghosts, Zombies and Vampires of 9/11,” Kevin Wetmore states “9/11 resulted in a transformative period for traditional monsters of cinema.” Which makes me think: was there some sort of awakening about the ugly side of capitalism after 9/11? Though not all of these films aren’t American films, 9/11 still impacted the globe and all of these films were made post-2001. It’s interesting to think about and I’m coming to the conclusion that that just might be the reason these films made such bold statements about capitalism by using comedy.