A Strange Body of Work: the Cinematic Zombie Emma Dyson Ph
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A Strange Body of Work: The Cinematic Zombie Emma Dyson Ph.D. 2009 Total number of pages: 325 1 Declaration While registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in the thesis are the work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award. Signed……………….. Date…………. 2 Abstract A Strange Body of Work: The Cinematic Zombie This thesis investigates the changing cinematic representations of a particular figure in horror culture: the Zombie. Current critical perspectives on the figure of the Zombie have yet to establish literary and cultural antecedents to the cinematic portrayal of the Zombie, preferring to position it as a mere product of American horror films of the 1930s. This study critiques this standpoint, arguing that global uses of the Zombie in differing media indicate a symbolic figure attuned to changing cultural contexts. The thesis therefore combines cultural and historical analysis with close textual readings of visual and written sources, paying close attention to the changing contexts of global film production and distribution. In order to present the cinematic Zombie as a product of historical, geographical and cultural shifts in horror film production, the thesis begins by critiquing existing accounts of Zombie film, drawing attention to the notion of generic canons of film as determined by both popular and academic film critics and draws attention to the fractured nature of genre as a method of positioning and critiquing film texts. In this, an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the methods of cultural-historical and psycho-analytical critiques of horror film, is appraised and then applied to the texts under discussion. The first chapter positions a working thematic and visual deconstruction of the Zombie as an embodiment of the abject, positioning it as a result of changing cultural discussions in fiction on the nature of death and burial. This establishes a thematic framework to apply throughout the following chapters, noting alterations to representations. The second chapter offers a historicised account of appearances of the fictional Zombie before American cinematic productions of the 1930s, critiquing claims that this is the only original production context for the Zombie. The third chapter charts the changing production contexts of American Zombie film until the mid 1960s, to introduce the critiques of authorial importance placed upon the works of George A. Romero, which are discussed in Chapter 4. This critique in turn questions established notions of generic canon and international influence, which are discussed in Chapters 5 and 6. These chapters question the idea of American filmic product dominance in national contexts, charting the discussions of the Zombie body found in differing national cinemas. It is shown that dialogues of representation can be both nationally specific and meant for global audiences, brought about by the changing production and exhibition markets of the 1970s onwards. This in turn challenges the idea that the American model is the dominant representation in the contemporary Zombie film, discussed in Chapter 7. The thesis therefore charts three separate areas for discussion, that of historical, cultural and production contexts that can be held accountable for changing cinematic representations. Particular attention is placed on the thematic and visual use of the Zombie within differing media and firmly position cinematic representations as indicative of wider changes in popular media and their intended audiences. The thesis therefore offers a detailed historical and cultural 3 taxonomy of Zombie film, furthering previous studies, but also presents a more detailed exploration of cultural contexts than previous critics have attempted. Acknowledgments My first thanks go to Professor Sue Harper, my Director of Studies, whose guidance, knowledge and humour have been the lifeline for this project. Alongside her tireless efforts in providing support and gentle attempts to improve my use of the apostrophe, I must also thank Dr. Lincoln Geraghty, whose unsurpassed knowledge of American Science Fiction and ongoing advice, delivered with such generosity, was gratefully received. This project would not have seen completion without the financial assistance of a bursary received from CEISR. My thanks to that respected research body, and in particular to Professor Tony Chafer and Eva Sanchez-Turro for their support and help. Staff at both the BFI Resources in Stephen Street, London and the Library of the University of Portsmouth were invaluable in their assistance with researching and tracking down journals and books – in one case finding the missing pages to a now out-of-print volume from their own copy. I am hugely grateful for the time and attention they gave to my researches. I am also indebted to the fan artist DeadEnd for allowing me to include a sample of his work, and to the enlightening and humorous e-mail exchanges that accompanied his permission. I am fond of saying I have two families – my biological one and my academic one. Without the overwhelmingly supportive group who are my colleagues, and also, I am proud to say, my friends, this work would have been nigh on impossible. Thanks to all in SCAFM for their advice, support and the occasional drink, in particular Paul Spicer for his discussions on Japanese film production, Van Norris for his additions to my comic book knowledge, John Caro for his debates on the Zombie genre and his generous lending of materials and Dr. Dave Allen for his tireless work on my behalf as a lecturer. To the students who discussed Zombie film with me, either dismissively or enthusiastically, my thanks also. Finally, thanks to my foremost family: my best friend Sam, who gently (and not so gently!) reminded me of deadlines and supported me during my crucial research period and my brothers for their discussions on horror film during my formative years. In the end my most grateful thanks and love are to my mother and father, Dee and John, whose ongoing support and encouragement have never faltered. My staunchest supporters, proofreaders, financial advisors, viewing companions and gentlest of critics, this work is dedicated to you. 4 Contents Page Declaration i Abstract ii Acknowledgments iii Contents iv List of Tables/Illustrations iv Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Embodiments of Fear: The Concept of the Zombie 26 Chapter 2: Fictional Antecedents: Before the American Cinematic Zombie 42 Chapter 3: The Zombie in a Cinematic Context 58 Chapter 4: Romero as Auteur: “Knight of the Living Dead”? 94 Chapter 5: European approaches to the Zombie film 1933-1995: National or International Tensions? 121 Chapter 6: Latin American, Australasian and Asian Approaches to the Zombie: 1950-2005 171 Chapter 7: An American or Global Zombie? 1968-2008 212 Conclusion 253 Bibliography, Filmography, Videography 268 List of Figures/ Images Chapter 7: Figure 1: Production of Zombie films 1983-1993 225 Conclusion: Image 1: Fan Art. Artist: DeadEnd 263 5 Introduction This thesis has its roots in a lifelong, passionate interest in horror in books, comics, television and most importantly, film. My chance encounter with a late night television showing of Night of the Living Dead (George Romero, 1968) in 1995 began an enthusiastic consideration of an ignored figure within horror genre studies: the Zombie. The early to mid 1990s was a period of re- interpretation of the Zombie in popular culture: the last ten tears have seen a gradual increase in Zombie films with large scale releases by major studios in America, the revival of George Romero‟s career as a Zombie film maker, and an explosion in global texts made and consumed by fans both on DVD and the Internet. Zombies are now as enshrined in popular culture as „traditional‟ horror monsters, in the shape of Frankenstein‟s Monster and the figure of the Vampire. The rise in its cinematic exposure has been matched – though slowly – by a rise in critical interest. At the beginning of research for this study in 2004, the topic of the cinematic Zombie was beginning to appear in academic journals and papers. Indeed, the current popularity for discussing the Zombie in academic works is notable for its similarities to what could be termed „popular‟ criticism. Key filmic texts are placed within a „canon‟, that relates to established historical timelines of the development of the cinematic Zombie, while other film texts are ignored for not fitting a preconceived notion of what a Zombie film is. This occurs even though the use of the Zombie in film narratives changes drastically from a “Voodoo” Zombie, to the current flesh-eating construct in modern films. It is also a common argument that Zombies have no literary antecedents: commentators seem curiously unwilling to consider thematic creatures that pre- date cinematic Zombies. This study will challenge these widely held views by placing the visualisations of the Zombie within historical, cultural and industrial contexts both cinematic and social. Unlike other studies, I will question the assumed American „birthplace‟ of the fictional Zombie, showing that differing national contexts instigate an evolving embodiment of fear. My study is a timely attempt to assess some key aspects of the evolution and presentation of the cinematic Zombie, from its beginnings in literature and mythology to the present day. This is to 6 question some of the prevalent assumptions made about Zombie film as a discrete modern sub-genre of horror, a viewpoint rarely criticised by either fans or critics of Zombie film. I shall locate this study within three research contexts that allow for the widest discussion of the fictional Zombie, to fill gaps in knowledge that current studies have not yet discussed. My first objective is to discuss how fear is structured within cultures, positioning the Zombie as an embodiment of the abject and „other‟, placing the creature as both an extension and a development of previous horror narratives.