JOHNSON Historical Cultural Examination of Zombies and the Undead

The overarching research question is this: how do we know that many popular culture genres in general and zombies, are in fact expressions of political stances or mass anxieties? This question will be addressed through a thorough examination of the history of zombie films and the exploration of global cultural relationships with the undead in this chapter. To further address this question, I will examine the roll of popular culture and zombie cinema through political, social, psychological, and economic milieus in Chapter Three. As you will read, zombie cinema has been categorized into three separate waves: the Haitian zombi, the Romero Zombie, and the

Post 9/11 Zombie (Bishop, 2010; Bishop, 2015; Dendle, 2007; McIntosh, 2008; Platts, 2014). I hypothesize that we are moving into a fourth era of zombie cinema, the Autonomous Zombie. I define the Autonomous Zombie for the purpose of this paper as one who retains the classic

Romero qualities of being a reanimated corpse who craves living flesh for sustenance but differs by acting and making choices independently. What can a cultural critique of both the formal and ideological elements of two modern zombie films tell us about current social anxieties? What are these anxieties and how are they expressed in zombie cinema? To do all that, I plan to examine both the visual and textual components of the zombie film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

(Steers, 2016). Through a review of this zombie film I will examine how autonomous zombies represent current social anxieties, how autonomous zombies reflect the current social climate, and how this differs from previous incarnations of zombies in cinema.

To establish the symbol of the zombie in western culture and to understand what makes it unique we first have to examine how undead are perceived and manifested in different cultures.

Only then can we examine the evolution of the zombie in American cinema and television to understand its role in popular culture. UNDEAD IN GLOBAL FOLKLORE

Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines the term “undead” as, “no longer alive but animated by a supernatural force, as a vampire or zombie” (2018). The term is generally used in the common vernacular to refer to fictional characters. The following section will explore folklore and myths from different cultures regarding each culture’s understanding and relationship with their dead. Griswold’s (2012) cultural diamond illustrates the reciprocal relationship between the object, audience, creator, and the societal context. Within Griswold’s framework we find that all the points of the diamond connect to each of the other points. Not only are culture produced by the collective but it is also representative of a collective. Different cultures around the world represent their own cultural collective. We find that globally there are many instances of undead in folklore and customs. The collective culture influences how that culture receives undead in horror films. The reception of these undead figures varies widely based on the culture in which it originates.

It is important to first clarify the differences between the many manifestations of the cinematic undead. Undead in cinema generally take the form of monsters, from the Latin monstrum, literally meaning “to warn” (Random House, 2018). The idea of a creature as a symbol of warning in global folklore, as we shall see, is remarkably pervasive. Many classic movie monsters are considered undead: vampires, Frankenstein’s creature, the Mummy and zombies. Unlike zombies, vampires and Frankenstein’s creature both have personality, intelligence, goals, and a will of their own. The Mummy can be characterized more as a vengeful spirit or revenant, with a specific goal, rather than as a mindless creature. It is important to note, however that all of these monsters have roots in global folklore. In Indonesia there is a practice of leaving dead family members in situ. In this way the dead are always present and part of the ongoing lives of the living (Reid and Chambert-Loir,

2002). Once the family members are buried they are annually dug up, cleaned, redressed, and taken for walks in a celebration known as the Ma ’Nene. The dead are not feared but are accepted as part of the life cycle. The horror films of Indonesia seem to mainly center on either slasher films such as Rumah Dara (Mo Brothers, 2009) or demonic possession as in Belenggu

(Avainto, 2012) rather than on an undead villain.

The word “zombie” is thought to originate in West Africa and is a derivative of “nzambi” which is the Congo word for “soul” (Le Roy and Thompson, 1922). This word entered the

Haitian lexicon as those under the control of a bokor, or vodou shaman. Vodou as a religion began as the combined collective spiritualty of a broad range of African tribal traditions, Roman

Catholicism, and Native American spirituality (Rushton and Moreman, 2011). This combination occurred during the time when Haiti was used as a slave trade hub. Slaves from various tribal backgrounds were trying to maintain their African identity in the face of colonial spiritual oppression. By the integration of differing spiritual practices, the slaves were able to create their own spiritual identity. The Haitians do not fear those who have become zombi, but fear becoming one themselves (Inglis 2011). Most Haitians view zombies as a metaphor for an unrewarding life of hard work and a loss of faith or control. I was unable to find reliable sources for Haitian horror films but the descriptions that I did read centered on lost children running into a cannibalistic butcher and an aborted fetus seeking revenge on its parents while none centered on what we think of as the zombi (BelFim, 2012).

Scandinavian folklore introduces us to the draugr, undead revenants that guard items of value (Viʂovan, 2014). They are said to possess superhuman strength as well as a certain level of intelligence. They can harm and torment people who have wronged them but will lay dormant to those who have not. The most illustrative example of draugr is in the film Dead Snow (Wirkola,

2009) in which a group of students unwittingly steal Nazi gold and are hunted and slaughtered by

Nazi draugr one by one. This form of undead has a distinctly cultural component of vengeful spirit but unlike other cultures this one manifests in a corporeal form.

The Jiangshi of China is also a vengeful spirit but does not necessarily take a corporeal form. Most incarnations depict the jiangshi as a rotting corpse, dressed in stiff robes that hops from place to place draining the life force from people (Liao, 2009). The origin of the myth was that if a person died far from home the family could ask the local Taoist monk to reanimate the deceased so that they may hop home for proper burial. The jiangshi can also appear as a ghost or a vampire in less than corporeal forms. This myth explains much about Chinese horror movies.

The villain is rarely one thing but a combination of different frightening things such as the cannibalistic Dumplings (Chan, 2004) and the complicated Bloody Doll (Wang, 2014).

There is also the Arabic ghoul, an evil spirit said to inhabit graveyards and who feast on human flesh (2014). This was the myth from which George Romero drew inspiration in 1968 for the undead in Night of the Living Dead (1968). In Arabic culture the ghoul is used as a cautionary tale to frighten children into behaving. Just as inappropriate behavior is said to be punished by the ghoul, Arabic horror movies also reflect this cultural ideal. In Djinn (Hooper,

2013), a magical creature tempts people to their deaths with her beauty and perfume. A couple make a deal with a devil for eternal youth and wealth and descend into a hedonistic lifestyle in which their children are killed in Safeer gohannam (Wahbi, 1945).

In the Czech Republic, the Jewish golem is a being created of earth, animated by magic, and tasked with protecting the Jews from others (Aloni, 2016). In Judeo-Christian texts Adam, the first man, was shaped of the earth and given life. It is said to be a large and powerful creature. This draws parallels to Frankenstein’s creature in that he is never fully human and the magic in this case was portrayed as science. That is where the similarity ends. The golem is a mindless creature that will perform any task given to it. The controller of the golem must be very specific in their instructions or the golem will continue in its task until it is told otherwise.

These origins of pop culture monsters illustrate the importance of the cultural background of the receiving audience. America has a unique cultural and economic make up. It is an amalgamation of many different cultures and so holds a dominant place amongst pop culture producers (Strinati, 2000). The zombie, as it is currently defined, can be understood as a uniquely American creation with roots in West Africa and the Middle East. It is the amalgamation and refining of old tales for an American audience. The rise of the Hollywood studio system as well as the rapid proliferation of television technology have made pop culture accessible to the American public at unprecedented rates.

ZOMBIES IN AMERICA

The word ‘zombie’ has invaded the American entertainment industry on a massive scale, and in turn, the American vernacular. Audience members who would not normally subscribe to horror films can easily understand and define what is meant by the word ‘zombie’. A few examples of its use include: On June 27, 2017 Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “But let’s be clear: The Republicans’ so-called “healthcare” bill comes back to life more often than the lead zombie in a horror movie” (Warren, 2017). Her use of the word ‘zombie’ affirms the ubiquity of the term in the American vernacular. Outgoing federal senators are referred to as “the walking dead” due to their lack of power (NPR, 2018). HGTV has a show titled Zombie House Flipping

(Alvarez, 2016-). No monsters are involved just the reviving of homes that had been abandoned to decay. Good Morning America (Baker and Perris, 1993-) recently aired a segment warning viewers to purge “zombie’ accounts to maintain their credit score. In this case banking accounts that had been forgotten about harming the economic future of the owner. The rock band The

Cranberries had a 1995 Billboard number one hit with their protest song Zombie about the constant resurrection of fighting in Northern Ireland. The word ‘zombie’ has taken on an

(undead) life of its own but has solidified its position in the American public vernacular and understanding.