Canonical Monstrosity, the Romero Zombie, and the Political Subject
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 Civilization of the Living Dead: Canonical Monstrosity, the Romero Zombie, and the Political Subject Nicholas Walter Robbins Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/468 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] CIVILIZATION OF THE LIVING DEAD: CANONICAL MONSTROSITY, THE ROMERO ZOMBIE, AND THE POLITICAL SUBJECT by NICHOLAS W. ROBBINS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 ii © 2014 NICHOLAS W. ROBBINS All Right Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Corey Robin _______________ ________________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Alyson Cole _______________ ________________________________________ Date Excecutive Officer Corey Robin Alyson Cole Joe Rollins Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv Abstract CIVILIZATION OF THE LIVING DEAD: CANONICAL MONSTROSITY, THE ROMERO ZOMBIE, AND THE POLITICAL SUBJECT by Nicholas W. Robbins Advisor: Professor Corey Robin This dissertation analyzes the canonical monsters of Western political theory, including Plato’s wolf-man, Hobbes’s Leviathan and Tocqueville’s mechanical mass. It argues that monster theorists – including horror film director George A. Romero, creator of the zombie and its apocalyptic narrative – utilize the horror genre in order to reveal the hidden dysfunctions and unrealized potentials of self and society. The canon features several prison-like heuristics – including Plato’s cave, Hobbes’s sate of nature, Tocqueville’s prison, and Romero’s zombie apocalypse – that bring to light the mass enslavement, intellectual dysfunction, appetitive tyranny, and cannibalism of the political subject. Theorists consistently depict cannibal machines – such as Marx’s factory and Arendt’s concentration camp – that devour unconscious automaton masses. This raises the question: is civilization, as it has been constituted, worth the living death and cannibal consumption that it entails? Monster theorists use the monster not only to reveal our deepest dysfunctions, but also to inspire us to transcend, through various forms of collective rationality, the appetitive tyranny that imprisons humanity. v This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, who showed me the value of unorthodox perspectives and alternative forms of knowledge, and who always supported me as I found my own path. vi Acknowledgements Corey Robin let me venture into the darkness, but at the same time reigned in my speculative tangents. He helped me to clarify my arguments and target innovative ideas, and encouraged me to strike a balance between potent imagery and crisp prose. Corey made me aware of my intellectual shortcomings so that I might rise above them, and thus was instrumental in my development as a writer and thinker. While several of my theory courses rehashed standard approaches to the canon, Alyson Cole animated the many different voices and forms of political theory, showing me a vibrant corpus into which fascinating excursions could me made. And while my ideas often provoked resistance from peers and professors, Alyson always encouraged me to find my unique voice as a political theorist. I would like to thank Joe Rollins for being extremely helpful and accommodating at moments of great need, and for his insights into monsters. The love and support of my family – my mother, father, sister, and grandmother – made this dissertation possible. So many of the ideas and practices that I hold dear were introduced to me by my parents. I have greatly benefited from their unwillingness to fall in line and be normal. Pat has been a source of joy and camaraderie in my life for many years. He was always there to make me laugh and to lighten the darker moments. The following friends and colleagues provided feedback and support: Alan Koenig, Jonathan Keller, Eli Karetny, Dan McCool, Joanna Tice, Daniel Skinner, Steven Pludwin, Jeffrey Broxmeyer, and Alex Zamlin. The CUNY Graduate Center Dissertation Fellowship provided funding for the final year of writing. vii Table of Contents Title page ………………………………………………………………………………… i Copyright page ………………………………………………………………………....... ii Approval page ………………………………………………………………………....... iii Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………. iv Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………….. v Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………………………… vi Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………. vii Chapter 1—Introduction: Political Theory and the Monster ……………………………. 1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………… 1 Political Theory and the Monster ………………………………………………... 5 Canonical Monster Theorists …………………………………………………... 12 Relevant Literature ……………………………………………………………... 17 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 38 Chapter 2—The Monster as an Epistemological Object ……………………………….. 40 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 40 The Monster Narrative …………………………………………………………. 41 The Monstrous Space …………………………………………………………... 47 Monster, Self, Other ……………………………………………………………. 50 Approaching the Monster ……………………………………………………… 53 The Symbolic Structures of Monstrosity ………………………………………. 60 Relating to the Beast …………………………………………………………… 63 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 67 viii Chapter 3—Platonic Monstrosity: Appetitive Excess and Societal Degeneration …….. 68 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 68 The Metaphysics of Monstrosity ………………………………………………. 70 The Degeneration of Humanity ………………………………………………... 76 The Drone …………………………………………………………………........ 80 The Democratic Mass ………………………………………………………….. 84 The Tyrannical Wolf-Man ……………………………………………………... 87 The Cave and Its Prisoners …………………………………………………….. 93 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 98 Chapter 4—Hobbesian Monstrosity: The Wolf-Man, Leviathan, and the State of Nature …………………………………………………... 100 Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 100 A Monstrous Method …………………………………………………………. 103 The State of Nature …………………………………………………………… 112 The Subject Positions of the Social Contract …………………………………. 117 The Monster …………………………………………………………………... 118 The Victim ……………………………………………………………………. 127 The Hero ……………………………………………………………………… 131 The Monstrosity of Leviathan ………………………………………………… 137 The Man-Machine …………………………………………………………….. 141 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 145 Chapter 5—Zombies in America: Tocqueville and the Living Dead Americans …….. 147 Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 147 A Nightmarish Vision of the Democratic Future ……………………………... 150 ix The Prison …………………………………………………………………….. 151 Intellectualized Violence ……………………………………………………... 155 Mass Assimilation …………………………………………………………….. 159 The Horrors of Solipsism ……………………………………………………... 164 The Love of Money …………………………………………………………... 166 Slave Labor …………………………………………………………………… 168 The Democratic Taste for Material Gratifications ……………………………. 172 Administrative Tyranny ………………………………………………………. 183 The Man-Machine Versus the Beast ………………………………………….. 186 The Desire for Collective Transcendence …………………………………….. 192 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 196 Chapter 6—Night of the Living Dead: Romero Revolutionizes the American Horror Film ………………………………………………. 198 Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 198 Cultural Significance …………………………………………………………. 200 Synopsis ………………………………………………………………………. 202 Reception ……………………………………………………………………... 208 Bringing Home the Horror ……………………………………………………. 214 The Breakdown of Containment ……………………………………………… 220 Screening American Self-Destruction ………………………………………... 224 The Universal Monster ……………………………………………………….. 235 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 238 x Chapter 7—Civilization of the Living Dead: The Zombie Apocalypse Narrative …….240 Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 240 The Zombie Renaissance ……………………………………………………... 243 From Automaton Slave to Cannibal Consumer to Killing Machine ………….. 251 Flawed and Villainous Humans ………………………………………………. 259 Romero’s Heroes ……………………………………………………………... 261 Zombie Evolution and Revolution ……………………………………………. 264 Collective Cannibalism ……………………………………………………….. 269 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 274 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 276 References …………………………………………………………………………….. 279 Chapter 1—Introduction: Political Theory and the Monster Dreams and Beasts are two keys by which we are to find out the secrets of our nature. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Introduction The canon of Western political theory contains many monstrous figures. In Plato’s The Republic the reader encounters the predatory “drone” of oligarchy (Plato, 1955/1987, trans., 552c), the “large and powerful animal” of democracy (493a-b), and the wolf-man tyrant, a popular leader who will “change from man to wolf and make himself tyrant” after he “tastes a single piece of human flesh” (566a, 565d). Machiavelli, in The Prince, notes that ancient authors had the learned centaur Chiron – who is “half beast and half man” – instruct princes in the art of leadership, for the successful prince, like this mythic monster, must