Analysis of Night of the Living Dead

To me the definition of a classic is something that stays relavent and enjoyable over time. Though the visuals may show their age, the film is still full of social commentary, about both the time it was made and now. This is ultimately Night of the Living Dead's biggest strength. Watching this film over forty years after it was made, had no effect on what I took away from it.

Harper's essay and the Wikipedia page for this film, both pointed out the various social reflections about the time the film was made. For example, the fact that Ben is killed, even though he is not a "ghoul" resonated with African American audience members, because the assassination of Martin Luther King was fresh in their minds. Along the same lines, the film played on the fears of a race war. The "us versus them" mentality is prevalent throughout the film. The white humans in the film are nervous about how many of "them" are out there, and just how dangerous they might be. This represents white America's fear of African Americans in the late 1960s, and to a certain extent even today.

Harper pointed out that this film also has parallels with Vietnam. "This constant anxiety about catastrophe shows just how concerned America is about radical social change and indicates, he argues, just how concerned America is to preserve the status quo"(paragraph 12). This same idea is still true today. People fear change, that is a simple truth. People are comfortable with what they know and understand, which is why the concept of a zombie apocalypse is so terrifying. Hall's work is also relatable to Night of the Living Dead. His idea of power/knowledge can be seen in the film's use of media. For example, the radio and television control the knowledge, something that the people in the house desperately want. Therefore, the media has all the power. At first, the radio tells them to stay inside and not to leave. However, later in the film when the television says to go to a safe house, they try to leave. This represents the power media has, not just in a catastrophe, but always. We listen to what the television says, because that is where we know to go for our information. This power ultimately tears the group apart, and leads to everyone's death.

Another point Harper and the Wikipedia articles made was the fact that this film has had a huge influence on the horror genre. This is undoubtably true. Both articles listed many films, but one television show neither mentioned was AMC's The Walking Dead. This show is essentially a modern day Night of the Living Dead. If you are not familiar with the show, it revolves around a group of people fighting for survival in a world full of zombies, or "walkers." This show deals very openly with the idea of cannibalism, as did this film. This demonstrates that the fear of cannibalism is still very much a fear that people have. The show is also much more graphic than the film, which shows how integrated violence has become in our culture. When Night of the Living Dead was released its violence was unparalleled. While I watched it I thought it was nothing compared to shows like The Walking Dead.

While I was watching this film, I could not help but jump to an example of my own that relates to almost all the themes in this film. The paranoia that took over the people in this film, ultimately drove the police to shoot Ben, without thinking twice. A prime example that demonstrates this is the Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." This is the best example of the power of fear I have ever seen. It is less than half an hour and totally worth watching.

Analysis of Scream

Wes Craven's Scream is over fifteen years old, but it is very much still a relevant and fascinating film. Hall's "The Work of Representation" Can be applied to this film. For those who do not know, the film revolves around a small town being terrorized by a killer who targets high school students, this guy:

From the opening scene, power is very clearly demonstrated. Ghostface uses telephone calls to instill fear into his victim. The power in this situation comes from the lack of knowing. There are many examples of this. Ghostface has all the power because his victims cannot tell where he is, or what he looks like. Another source of power for him is his knife, which is large and almost always visible. They become more and more scared, which only gives Ghostface more power. Ghostface is very much a faceless danger, both in the literall sense and metaphorically. After the initial murders, the town goes into a panic, closing the school and making everyone on edge. This is all done through fear. This demonstrates in a very real sense, that even though this is a movie, fear is very powerful.

There are a number of myths, both directly mentioned and represented, in the film. One of the most dominant myths, is that if you have sex you are going to die. This is stressed throughout the film. The main protagonist, Sydney is a virgin. The rule, or myth, is that virgins never die in horror movies. This is where the film becomes very reflexive, constantly making jokes like, "if this were a movie"and referencing other classic horror films and motifs. In fact, in the film itself one character says, "sex equals death." This is a myth that has a pretty clear message to the audience, sex will kill you. The myth tries to deter teens from having sex. However, Scream turns this myth on its head. Sydney does have sex with her boyfriend, who turns out to be one of the killers. She is no longer a virgin and survives the film, however it was her boyfriend trying to kill her the whole time. Therefore, the myth evolves into, you can have sex, but if you wait too long your boyfriend will try to kill you.

Scream illustrates Hall's concepts of myth and power/knowledge. The film itself is almost a parody of the horror genre and pokes fun at itself throughout. I enjoyed the film very much and it was particularly relavant to the assignment. I typically like to end these blog posts on a lighter note. This was just too perfect.

Analysis of News Programs

I am by no means a regular news watcher, in fact I tend to avoid it. I prefer other means to keep myself informed. Be that as it may I watched a few different news programs, but the most polarizing is the comparison between a Connecticut Fox broadcast and a CNN Newsroom broadcast.

Oh Fox...they do not have the best reputation to begin with. Some call it Faux News or some are just like this guy:

The Fox broadcast was like a machine gun of scary stories. One after another they mentioned stories about job cuts, violence, etc. There were a few stories in particular that really stood out. One headline read an "update on the presidential election," however they only provided an update on the Republican candidates. To use one of Hall's terms, this was definitely an Intentional approach. By excluding Democratic candidates Fox is only providing one side of the story to their audience. At the same time, Fox knows its audience is probably mostly Republican anyway. There was also a story about two high school students getting hit by a car. The people driving the car were also students. Fox used the constructivist approach for this story. Through interviews Fox wants us to think that teenage drivers are dangerous and should be feared.

CNN Newsroom was a less fear intensive program. For starters, it was way more diverse. Fox had all white anchors and all white stories. The anchor for CNN is Don Lemon, a gay, black man. This was reflected in the stories too. One story was about a young gay, black teen, who was viscously beaten by four or five other men. This was an intentional choice for Lemon to show what openly gay youth go through, and maybe even what Lemon himself went through. However, there were still fear inspiring stories in this broadcast. Right before a commercial they showed a burning school bus. As it turned out everyone was okay, but CNN used that image to keep the viewer engaged.

The news is a complicated piece of the media. It seems that no matter where you turn for news, you get mostly similar stories. The culture of fear is very present in the news media. This is mostly why I choose to avoid traditional news programing. It is no wonder why people prefer to get their news with some humor mixed in i.e. The Daily Show, or Real Time with Bill Maher. It was interesting to take an analytic look at the news.

Review of Bowling for Columbine

       Love him or hate him Michael Moore is the king of the documentary. Bowling for Columbine, in my opinion is his best work. One technique that stood out to me , is the editing. For example, after a video montage of graphic violence from throughout United States history, he cuts to a woman saying that this is a great place to raise her kids. It is that sort of irony that actually brings a very dark sense of humor to Moore's films. Most importantly however is the amount of information Moore puts in this film. This ranges from statistics about the US funding assassination and dictators, to how many gun deaths there are per year in different countries. These statistics provide the backbone to Moore's film. The real meat however comes in the form of the interviews and the footage from various events.

       To me the stand out interviews were with Marilyn Manson and NRA president Charlton Heston. Marilyn Manson was any easy scapegoat for the Columbine shootings. When Moore interviewed him, he was surprisingly well spoken. It was very powerful to see a man who was vilified and feared to be so down to earth. Manson himself admitted, "I'm a poster boy for fear." The strongest part of the interview was when Moore asked Mason what would he have said to the Columbine shooters. Manson had the perfect response, he would not have said anything, he would have just listened because no one else ever did. The film culminates to the one on one interview between Moore and NRA president Charles Heston. When Moore asks Heston why American has so many more people killed a year by guns than in other countries, Heston gives the same answers Moore has proved wrong the whole film. Heston actually argued that the US had a more violent history than Germany. The most disturbing part of the interview was how Heston refused to look at the picture of the six year old girl shot in Flint, and refused to apologize for having an NRA rally shortly after both Columbine and the Flint shooting.

     There was so much content in this film that it is almost impossible to mention it all hear. However, Moore put together a thought provoking documentary that really made me think about some of the mentalities in this country. Why do we kill so many more people than other countries? As the cartoon in the film illustrates (no pun intended) fear is the driving force behind most of this film.

The only thing I wish the film did more of was offer solutions. It was amazing that Moore helped KMart to take ammunition off its shelves, but it is only a small step. There is not a simple answer to any of the issues in the film. Chris Rock may have been joking, but his idea for a solution to gun violence is the best I have heard.