Night of the Living Dead

I am a huge horror movie buff, yet I had never seen George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead". I feel like that can be seen as blasphemous by others who also love horror movies, but I really just don't care for zombie movies, so it never really interested me. I'm glad though that this class has given me an excuse to finally watch the film. It pretty much re-affirmed the fact that I am not interested in zombie narratives, but I feel a little better about my stance as a horror buff now having seen it.

When thinking about this film in relation to Hall's essay on representation, two points stand out to me most. The first is one that I touched on in my review of "Scream" last week - the idea that no one in horror movies reacts normally to the events happening around them. Obviously, the events are absurd and people can't take the time in the film to grieve and mope around, but I note this for a different reason than I did in "Scream". In "Scream", no one but the heroine cared about the murders happening around her. In "Night of the Living Dead", the characters actually did react in a more realistic way. Barbara is completely haunted and horrified by the death of her brother and appearance of zombies around her. She can't function properly anymore after going through her ordeal. Ben, while less emotional, takes on another realistic character, that of someone attempting to do all they could to survive. While that character is more common in horror films, I'm actually shocked that Barbara was as emotional and affected as she was. It is just so rare to see that in films. This reminds me of Hall's essay because it is an actual representation of real life, far more realistic than the partying teenagers in "Scream", despite the completely unrealistic events happening around her. I actually really appreciated Barbara's character because I know that if I were to ever be in the situation she was in, I would react in the same way as her, and not like the typical characters you find in horror movies.

The other notable point I'd like to bring up is the idea that the lead character was played by a black man. Obviously, that's completely common now, seeing a person of color as a hero wouldn't cause someone to have a second thought. But, back in 1968 when the film was made, that would be far more unheard of. I feel like at the time, this would have completely shaken the audience's views on representation. It made the colored community more visible, and once again, more realistically represented society, as being a hero is not just left up to the white man. Romero claimed that the actor who portrayed Ben got the job because he was the best for the part, but intentions aside, it definitely caused a stir, and I think that's a positive thing.

While I may not be the biggest zombie fan, I am glad that I finally saw "Night of the Living Dead". It had the gory elements that we are used to in horror films today, but it was done in a completely different way. It's absolutely a staple in the history of horror.