Entry #2 is a paper I'm really fond of and will be revising when I have the time. Those of you familiar with academic writing will probably be able to tell that this should be a much larger paper. In too few pages, I tried to provide a history of the zombie genre, detail the ways in which I think it systematically deconstructs binaries, and analyze two films, a comic, and a novel. The paper needs to be considerably longer in order to properly dig into the "meat" of these texts, but this is a good start and it was an incredibly fun paper to write. I am especially excited about it because I have always been interested in the intersection of cultural geography and film and this paper provided me with some of the material for another research paper this semester. Also, I was glad to be able to finally articulate some of the vague ideas I had about the tonal seachange in recent zombie films. Finally, it allowed me to not just make peace with Land of the Dead, but to really, really enjoy it from a critical perspective.
I had to monkey with the formatting when I switched it to single space, which I believe is way easier to read. If I could, I'd write every paper single-spaced, Chicago style, with links and graphics...but I won't get started on that rant. Anyhow, as a result of changing things around, the graphics are not the best. I also need to figure out why all my docs look like crap on Scribd. Okay, enjoy:
Horde
SHAUN OF THE DEAD would be another intriguing case study for your project, particularly in terms of the ending. Ostensibly a parody of/love letter to zombie conventions, it ends as traditional comedy (from Shakespeare forward) and "classic" 1930s horror do: with a heterosexual union that signals the return to "normality." Additionally, the zombies of SHAUN are reincorporated into a resuscitated capitalist economy as workers/entertainment objects, and the outbreak is reminisced upon in nostalgic terms (such as the newscaster being interviewed). This ending, like that ones you mention in WORLD WAR Z and 28 DAYS LATER, suggests that capitalism is undefeatable and that mainstream ideological values can not only survive a widespread (zombie) threat, but flourish despite it. Such conclusions reflect Adorno's thoughts on the "culture industry," as he theorizes that nothing can be "outside" of that system because all things and people methodically are subsumed by its commodifying impulse.
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