What was your reaction to the first scene of The Walking Dead? How did this scene set the tone for the rest of the show? Discuss which moments in the show you found most intriguing and why. In addition, I would like you to consider how this take on zombies compares with the filmic treatments we have explored during class. Think about both similarities and differences, and frame at least one question that you could ask to draw connections between The Walking Dead and other works.
After watching the first scene of The Walking Dead I knew the show would not be extremely scary. The first scene of the show created a disturbing but non-jumpy tone. After the first scene, I expected an “I am Legend” type theme to the show as the police officer resembled Will Smith as the last “living” human on earth. In the beginning of the show, I found the two police officers’ conversation of the degradation of women to be intriguing. Their conversation seemed to linger on for a while about a somewhat mindless matter; women being too stupid to turn off a light and save energy/money. As the conversation continued, I wondered whether the show was critiquing the way in which police officers view women. Also, I found it extremely intriguing that the police officer was unharmed when he woke up in the hospital. Everyone in the entire building had evacuated or been eaten. The fact that he was untouched seemed pretty interesting to me. Also, the fact that there were zombies trapped in a room that was deemed hazardous in a hospital seemed incredibly intriguing to me due to the fact that hospitals usually have rooms that contain biohazards and are not meant to be opened. This moment of symbolism in the show is quite interesting. The Walking Dead has many similarities with District 9, Dawn of the Dead, and Night of the Living Dead. The shows all have monsters that are not “of this world” and instill fear in the humans in each film. The zombies in Night of the Living Dead similarly compare to the zombies in The Walking Dead. Both are physically deformed but seem to move incredibly slow. The monsters in all of these films expose our fears as humans. Fear of the unknown. Why do these monsters long for the blood of humans? Why have they lost all sense of normalcy? Why do they look different from us? Despite the similarities that the show has with these films, it also has a distinct difference. In District 9, the aliens are portrayed as monsters but they can definitely be seen as the victims. They tend to only kill humans if provoked and immensely enjoy eating cat food. The monsters in The Walking Dead were once humans and are drawn to the smell of flesh and blood. The aliens were never human which adds another contrasting element to both The Walking Dead and District 9. If I could ask a question that draws The Walking Dead and other films together I would ask why there are a select few who are exempt from this “disease” that corrupts people into becoming zombies and why these particular people chosen?
ReplyDeleteI thought that the first scene of The Walking Dead was really suspenseful, because the little girl took a few minutes to turn around when Rick was talking to her. I knew that he was going to be the hero right away, not only because he was the first character we see but because he was brave enough to shoot a ten-year-old girl.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that the hero in this movie was a police officer. Usually in movies the hero is an average Joe type person, or the underdog. I thought that maybe this was saying something about police officers or people who are considered to be brave. Seeing an officer scared is not something that we typically, and I think that the audience almost expects this protagonist to be brave just because he is a police officer.
As I was watching the first episode, I noticed that there were a lot of similarities between The Walking Dead and Night of the Living Dead. The characteristics of the zombies themselves were one huge one (except that the zombies looked scarier in The Walking Dead considering the technology we have today). In both movies they are extremely slow moving but vicious flesh eating monsters. Another thing I noticed was the role of the African-American man in both of the movies. I was wondering if The Walking Dead is trying to say something about African American’s role in society as well? I think that a possible question concerning these two films could be what is the author’s view on African-American’s role in our society?
My first reaction to the first scene of The Walking Dead was, “Okay, great. Another small town infested with creepy dead freaks and a semi attractive police officer. Not like I’ve heard of that story before.” My feelings toward the show began to change after Rick awoke to an empty town with no knowledge of what had happened. I was extremely intrigued by the way the director shifted from when Shane was bringing Rick flowers to when Rick awoke to the dead flowers in the empty, disheveled hospital. He was walking into a battle zone with which he had to no idea how to handle until he met the father and son that helped save his life. I found it ironic that Rick was being saved by two black men, basically the only survivors left in the small town. With Rick walking into a world that as far as he knows is nearly to the end, I viewed the zombies as the end of civilization. In my prospective, humans will be what cause the end of civilizations. All of our needs and desires are being built up into the “zombie” and our greediness for new technology that causes terrible things for the environment will finally take its toll and kill us all. Also, once the humans are turned to zombies their actions become uncontrollable just like once a human becomes addicted to something (shopping, drugs, sex, porn, etc.) the choices they make are not affected by what they think is right but what the addiction is telling them. The ability to be influenced by something or someone is being critiqued by the zombie and how relevant that is in society today. Both in Night of the Living Dead and Walking Dead the zombie is basically uncontrollable in its killer instincts but the humans have issues understanding what and who these zombies are. Drawing a question between The Walking Dead and Night of the Living Dead would be "What is the author trying to critique about the humans in civilization let alone the zombies?"
ReplyDeleteThe first scene did a great job of gaining the viewer’s interest right away with a little action and suspense. The beginning reminded me of The Book of Eli or I am Legend, because the whole town was desolated and it seemed that Rick was the only man left alive. The opening scene identified Rick as the hero and it demonstrated that he was going to come across some conflicts along his way. Initially I thought that it was going to be a story about a police officer, however, Rick is identified as just a normal guy like you or me. The scene of Rick interacting with the other cop in the car was interesting to me. The other guy was being a sexist asshole. By Rick showing his softer side and being sensible, he won over the approval and sympathy of the viewers. He is portrayed as a good guy who is worried about his wife and kids. This scene allows the audience to learn a lot about his personality right off the bat. Another scene I found particularly intriguing was the scene where the black man is trying to kill his zombie wife but he can’t seem to let go yet. I’m not sure if it was apparent to anyone else, but to me it seemed as though his wife was less “zombie-like” than the other zombies. Her appearance was not nearly as bad as the others and I believe that is one reason it was harder for him to accept that he had to let go.
ReplyDeleteSomething that intrigued me when comparing the zombies from the previous films to this one is the fact that in Night of the Living Dead the zombies just kind of died off and the few men could fix the situation, but in this show the military couldn’t even slow them down and there doesn’t seem to be any ending in sight. They seem to be much more forceful and dangerous. Also, they are very gruesome in comparison to Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. My question would have to be something comparing the “force” of the zombies in the different films. “What compensates for the difference of power and force of the zombies in Walking Dead compared to in Night of the Living Dead?”
My first reaction to this film was that this was a TV series that I could easily get addicted to. Seeing that little girl as a zombie and then watch it try to kill him was gripping. Its hard to imagine something that innocent being portrayed in such a deadly way and to have it as gruesome as it was as well. One of the most intriguing scenes was when the main character went to find the corpse with half a body dragging itself across the park. I thought it showed a lot about his character that he took the time to find it and shoot it in the head to put it out of it’s misery. I think this is a huge way to establish an emotional connection with a character and that it showed us what kind of person he really is. This scene also lets us see a different take on zombies that differ from past aspects. We feel more sympathy and compassion for these zombies, which is one of the reasons we are so happy when the cop kills that zombie with only half a body. Of course there are still similarities between this film and others that we have watched. One of them being that the zombies is still after food, as well as their movement and actions. One of the bigger differences we see in this show however is that we start to feel sorry for these zombies. We see that some were past people and still have family living that has to watch their loved ones turn into a monster. One question I would ask is why do some monsters arouse fear in us while others inspire sadness?
ReplyDeleteRE Meredith:
ReplyDeleteI also thought that the scene in the beginning when Rick and the other officer were talking about women was intriguing. I think that he spent way too long talking about how a woman can't turn off the lights, and it was extremely rude and he sounded like a complete jerk. He talked like every woman was dumb. Rick on the other hand, actually talked about his wife like he cared about her. I'm not sure if this conversation is trying to say something about sexism or about women.
I also thought it was weird that Rick was the only one left in the hospital, and considering the circumstances I thought it was really un realistic. If there really were zombies eating people, they wouldn't have just eaten everyone in a whole building but left one person there, especially someone who was too weak to get away anyways. But maybe since Rick was the only one that wasn't killed there is something special about him that we don't know about yet.
In response to Alyssa:
ReplyDeleteThe choice of having a black man as the hero is definitely seen in I am Legend and Night of the Living Dead. I really feel that this is done on purpose in order to express changes in society. The director of the show is depicting African Americans as the heros, implying that they are stronger and more knowledgable. Racisim against African Americans has depleted to an extent in society. Perhaps the director is using his angle of vision to portray this cultural shift in society by making the black man superior to the white man.
My initial reactions to this film was the suspense that built up and the action that took place. The viewer/audience knows that the girl will be safe, but the fact that she was just sitting in the bathtub for a little while and the inability to open the window brought about some suspense. I also noticed the quickness that the husband changed from human to zombie. This helped set the tone of the movie and helped explain why the whole world is ending up like this. The beginning scene helped show the suspense that would occur throughout the movie. I found the many parts of the film to be very intriguing; however, one of the most intriguing parts was the fact that the dog could go through a crowd of zombies and none of the zombies would even touch the dog. The zombies are critiquing society on the ability to plague the majority of the population. Just in hours, hundreds of thousands were plagued by this ongoing sickness. This sickness criticizes society's trust that they have on others. The growth of peoples' opinions spreads like wildfire, plaguing the individuals that come in contact. The way the humans die and come back to life shows how society is killing and bringing them into their way of belief. The individuals plague others and show the ease of this process. It does not take much to change a person and change a persons way of thinking. I think this criticizes society on how humans believe and they influence other to believe. I also noticed that in the film some of the humans were not as quick to die and turn into a zombie. This may show how some people take time to change their feelings and way of belief but ultimately are influenced by the others. I think that the scene with the dog plays a big role into this, showing that dogs are not affected and have a resistance to humans. I think this also goes along with the Buffy episode that we watched. The guys in the episode were very attracted to the teacher and easily changed by her. They both show this influence that society has on people and critiques the way people think. These subtle hints that these films show, portray the way we live as well. In all, Dawn of the Dead and Buffy the Vampire Slayer show the influence that culture has on its people and keep people asking why we are the way we are. Dawn of the Dead also relates to District 9 in the way that he was changed into a prawn. He started believing them and supporting how they felt. It shows that all of these films are in common and show the monsters that are brought about through humans. My question for the film is do the zombies that kill others have a connection to what sex the zombies are attracted to? The final thing that I found intriguing was the way you kill the zombies: to shoot them in the head. It plays into the way they are easily manipulated. If you shoot them in the brain they will stop thinking and cannot listen to other people and bring others to believe the way they do. Shooting the zombies in the head will end the horrible thoughts and the sickness that is occurring in the brain.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Marcus:
ReplyDeleteI did not think about the movie as being more of a connection to the feelings that the zombies had. I think that is a good point to think about. They also said sorry many times when killing some of the zombies. Because some of the people who turned into zombies were their friends, they did not want to see them like the others and did not want them to suffer through that. I also think that because the woman lost her husband by the zombies we feel for her, leaving her to kill the zombies easier. Most films portray woman as prissy and this film does not show her as being any too scared to use the gun. In response to your question, I think that this shows the emotions of humans. Not only do we fear but we also show sadness. All of these emotions are portrayed through the monster because the monster is truly us. We find ourselves looking at others fears/difficulties to get through ours, which allows us to cope. This portrayal of monsters allows us to find a solution to our fears as well. In all, I think the response brought up many good points that helped expand thoughts and topics of the movie.
The first scene of The Walking Dead sets up the ideas of complete isolation, the breadth of the spread of the zombie infection, and the loneliness of the main character. The happening of a completely empty hospital absolutely devoid of people save one with dead bodies lining the streets directly outside and the main character being alone during all of this solidifies these notions. Also the lack of dialogue during a majority of the scene – specifically between the time he realizes the clock has stopped and when he first talks again calling his wife’s name – signifies this loneliness and isolation.
ReplyDeleteThe most intriguing part of this episode for me was the point where the main character had decided to kill himself underneath the tank, and then somehow realizes that there was another entrance to the tank directly above him that he hadn’t noticed previously. I can suspend my disbelief to a point but there is a limit to the amount of coincidences that I will allow. But really the most intriguing part is the huge scale at which the “virus” or “infestation” or with whatever vector the zombie problem is introduced into the populace. It really feels like the whole world is dead.
In comparing The Walking Dead to other zombies we have seen so far there are some distinct differences. In Night of the Living Dead the zombies are much more wanderers and much less driven by desire for feasting. The outbreak of the “virus” as it were is also much different. In NotLD, the “space juice” or whatever it exactly was, in its not so scientific terms, was the cause. Now in TWD the problem is more unknown and amorphous.
And to end this discussion and to start one tangentially: Since the zombies of today (as portrayed by TWD) are much faster and more voracious, could it be possible that the author is making a parallel with that of NotLD and saying that today’s monsters, and therefore the societal problems they represent, are much worse and are much more apocalyptic?
@Alyssa Juhnke
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that the film started out suspenseful by having that girl turn around slowly. However when I first watched it, I did not think of him as being brave, but after I read your post I realized that it must’ve taken a lot of courage to do what he did. This also relates to my point of Rick shooting that half corpse to put it out of its misery. It shows us that he has a lot of passion and when it comes down to it we know that we will be able to count on him to do what’s right. I also liked your last question about the African Americans role in society. It makes you ponder how the director chose to go the way he did.
The first scene of The Walking Dead was not as scary as it was depressingly disturbing. This is exactly the tone of the rest of the episode. The most unique thing in The Walking Dead is how much sympathy is given to the zombies. Almost every zombie was killed out of mercy. The child at the beginning, the legless old woman, Rick’s cop friend, and Morgan’s wife were all more like victims than threats. This is in stark contrast to a lot of zombie movies; especially Zombieland, where zombies killing is seen as a way to relieve stress. Unlike Dawn of the Dead and most other current zombie works, the walkers in The Walking Dead are very slow and not that aggressive. Aside from the last scene, this gives the first episode more of slower pace compared to the other zombie movies we have watched in class. The episode is similar to those movies in its portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world and its characters’ struggle for survival. The most intriguing moment of the show for me was the back and forth of Rick and Morgan with zombies. The two characters were compared by how they reacted to mercy killing and how a loved one factors into that action. What is the effect of loved ones in a time of crisis? In The Walking Dead, family is seen as a positive force to drive Rick and Morgan onward. In Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead, family relationships are critiqued in different ways, usually resulting in one family member eating another.
ReplyDeleteIn The Walking Dead, the first scene took me by surprise; I knew the little girl was a zombie but I did not think Rick would shoot her. Combine this with the fact that the directors showed the scene in such detail (While they could of simple panned away and shown her laying on the ground after the gunshot) made me realize that this show would not be for the faint of heart. There were two scenes in particular that I found intriguing during the show. The first was when Morgan decided to try and kill his wife, who had been turned into a zombie. I found this scene of particular interest because despite his wife turning into a zombie, he still recognizes her as a human being and not a monster. The second scene that was of significance was when Rick went back to the legless zombie to kill it. He empathizes with the monster stating that that he was “sorry this happened” to her. These two scenes show us that, while these zombies share some similarities with the other works we have seen, they also have major differences. The similarities include the strikingly human appearances the zombies take on and the desire for flesh, but the differences are what set this show apart from the other films. In The Walking Dead, we see the characters have considerable moral dilemmas in killing the zombies or can at least empathize with what had happened to them. In other films, such as Night of the Living Dead, the characters kill the zombies with no moral or emotional repercussions. For example, this is seen when Ben kills the zombie child in the basement. The question I pose is “when does a zombie quit being a human and becomes simply a monster?”
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to a few dead bodies in cars and a policeman shooting a zombie he originally thought was a girl? Nothing groundbreaking. Not really worth reacting too. It was definitely bloodier than what I’ve seen in most TV shows and set a somewhat grim tone for the rest of the episode. The show reflects society’s continuing fascination with apocalyptic events and what we would do if most of society was destroyed by some type of plague. The most significant dilemma the show invokes is society’s continuing struggle with the morality of euthanasia and mercy killing in general. The husband’s struggle with whether or not and when to kill his wife was one of the most emotional moments of the show. The zombies were pretty similar to zombies in Night of the Living Dead. The difference is how zombies in The Walking Dead are treated a little more humanely by the directors. It is much more obvious that the zombies in The Walking Dead were once human and therefore much easier to sympathize with them. I would ask how the forty year difference between Night of the Living Dead and The Walking Dead affected the way zombies were depicted and compare and contrast the themes explored by both.
ReplyDelete@ Alyssa Juhnke
ReplyDeleteAt first, I didn’t agree with your statement that the police officer was brave for shooting the little girl; in my opinion it was a life or death situation in which he didn’t have another choice. However, I can see where you draw that connection since it does take some kind of fortitude to be able to shoot a child who is trying to kill you. I do agree with your statement about the audience viewing police officers as brave. Usually, we don’t think of police officers as people who panic, but the directors show us that they are simply the same as us. What I find interesting was a police officer was saved first by the black man and his son, and (presumably) will be saved by the voice that talked to him in the tank. This is a role reversal that many of us are not used to, that is that an officer is the one being saved by the common citizens. I think it was interesting that the African-American men in both The Walking Dead and Night of the Living Dead were the “heroes” (although Morgan and his son are not the main characters in The Walking Dead). I think it is trying to break down the social stereotypes that we normally see in films or shows and perhaps is trying to say that the social stereotypes in real life are not the same that they used to be and are perhaps breaking down as well.
@ Alyssa
ReplyDeleteDespite the fact that Rick does become the hero of the show, self-defense against zombies doesn’t require much bravery. I would dispute the notion that casting a black man in a 2010 TV show was in any way significant. It was a significant step forward in 1968. In 2010, racial diversity on TV and in movies is about as commonplace as the sun rising.
My first reaction to the first scene of The Walking Dead was disturbing because it seems that the time has stopped, there were trucks and cars abandoned or damaged which make me feel that it is the end of civilization. This scene were no body were there evokes the tone at which this film is going to be themed that all people are dead or “Walking Dead” zombies. There were many moments in this film I found intriguing. For example, at the beginning when Rick was walking through the abandoned cars, there were camps among the cars; some little girls’ toys, where after that I saw the little girl curling and grapping her toy, this scene was suspenseful because I have my doubts whether she is a zombie, or not, even Rick seems to have doubts because he was cautious when he was walking toward her. There are many similarities between The Walking Dead film and District 9 film. First of all, they both aiding through monsters’ characteristics to critique human behavior. Also, they both arguing about sexism, at the beginning of The Walking Dead film when Rick and the other officer were talking about women, they disrespect women when they were talking about how women react toward global warming; they don’t even switch off the light. When Rick’s partner said, “Maybe you and . . . just figure out that the light switch goes both ways, maybe we would not have so much global warming.”, he laughs at women and consider them as idiots. There are some differences between The Walking Dead film and Dawn of the Dead film. For instance, zombies in The Walking Dead walk slow and weak, however, in the Dawn of the Dead zombies walk fast and strong. I would draw a question from The Walking dead and Dawn of the dead which is “Are the sins make human monsters? If yes, how would human become “human”?.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Sam Onusko post:
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that The Walking Dead film is not scary rather disturbing. I agree with you that the zombies are pictures as victims rather threats. Also, that Rick is killing them to free them from their misery, where in the Zombie land the survivals are killing them just to have fun and be released from their problems.
In response to Jimmy Heck post:
I agree with you that the first seen evokes an isolation tone to the rest of the film; Rick’s loneliness behavior is being attributed through the scene where he woke up alone.
@Markus Hawkins
ReplyDeleteI agree that the show is very addictive. What drives me crazy is that they only aired six episodes, and the next season doesn't start until Fall. I really liked what you said about getting emotionally connected to the characters. One of the big advantages that The Walking Dead has over other zombie films is that it's a television show. Television shows allow for more time to be spent on the characters and how they develop than an action packed movie. Instead of the entire first episode being a zombie attack like at the end, most of the episode is focused on the characters and how they react to this awful crisis.
The opening of The Walking Dead reminded me of viewing I am Legend earlier this quarter, in the suspense of a single character wandering a desolate and devastated area. It created alot of suspense to the opening, and much confusion of what was happening, and what had happened to cause this specific scene. We learn of the hero also in the opening as a zombie girl appears and the sherrif, Rick, shoots this young child. It is ironic for the hero of the movie, Rick, to play this role of bravery because that almost comes with his police officer job description.
ReplyDeleteThe scene immediatley changes to a flashback moment that further introduces our hero character and gives some background information to answer some of the confusion that was set during the initial moments. I feel as though this episode brought more confusion, question, and worry than fear of the zombies. They appear as the typical gruesome and violent creatures, but are slow moving and seem less of a danger to normal characters unless overwhelmed by numbers. They more induce a fear of the unknown to all the normal living survivors. We can also see the sorrow some of the survivors have in the zombified creatures, as Duane becomes devastated over the sight of his mother, and Rick helps to put the half-bodied zombie out of her misery in this episode. They seem similar to the zombies in Night of the Living Dead, but very different than the fast moving creatures of Dawn of the Dead. These zombies represent some sort of plague to humanity, an end to human life with the basis of some societal issue.
My reaction to the first scene was a mix between what in the hell is going on, and this is about to be really gruesome (in reference to the little girl, and the half a body person crawling along the ground). Although after a little, I figured out that the reason why I was so confused is I was unaware that the main character was in a coma for a while, however I’m still confused as to why the entire town is now all zombies. They didn’t really explain that part? Another aspect they failed to explain was how did the hurt police officer aka main character; make it out of that hospital untouched? I think that was the oddest part of this show. The first scene set the tone for the rest of the show for sure because from the moment he walked out of that hospital, I knew it was going to be a survival/every man for himself based kind of show, which surprisingly intrigued me., because it reminded me a lot of I Am Legend. But what I found most intriguing about this show was the last scene where all the zombies were climbing all over the tank trying to get in and all of a sudden he hears a voice over a radio inside the tank calling him a dumbass and asking him what he’s doing in there. It made me want to watch the next episode even more than my initial obsession with Buffy when we had to watch the first episode for a blog post.
ReplyDeleteI would compare this show mainly to the movie Night of the Living Dead because of the whole zombies coming after humans’ aspect. Especially when the main guy went and took up residence with the African American male and his child in their old house, it reminded me of a modern day remake of the movie Night of the Living Dead. Based off of that scene itself, it brought up a question in my mind, which is, by having an African American play the role of a hero in a movie/show/text are the creators trying to get rid of racism?
@ Mubarak AlShammary
ReplyDeleteI completely ignored the part of the show Walking Dead where the police officers were talking about women never turning off the lights. I didn’t even pick up on the sexism going on in that conversation. Which I was very surprised by since because of this class all I do now is overanalyze aspects of the media now! But what I don’t understand is your question pertaining to the two films, saying, “Do the sins make humans monsters?” I just don’t see how that question goes along with the two films you are comparing. It’s not very relative, I think.
@Will Yellott
I agree with you when you talk about how this show along with many others reflect society’s obsession with the idea of an apocalypse happening and what we would do if we were the only ones left human on the planet. It really helps open my eyes to how many movies/shows there are out there based off of this obsession. I think it’s very interesting how intrigued society is by this idea.
To Dani respond:
ReplyDeleteThere are many kind of sins such as killing others, same-sex marriages, most of -ism, . . . etc. For instance, when a person becomes racial, he becomes a monster.
My initial reaction when I watched the premier of the show last year to the AMC Series “The Walking Dead” was the comment, “This is a really typical and uninspiring take on zombies.” I saw the girl with the doll as being a zombie a light-year away and felt this opening setup was going to be indicative of the entire series. Actually, after watching the first hour of the premier, I almost stopped and erase the DVR saved episode because I was really bored as the show took too long to introduce the story, character and the scenery. I decided against. I gave the show a chance through the rest of the first episode and I changed my tune at the end. I transitioned my opinion of the show from being truly disinterested to actually becoming intrigued with the characters.
ReplyDeleteThe first scene was to establish the world where the uninfected humans are dead or in hiding. There are abandon vehicle all over the road and at the gas station. These scenes are typical of zombies moving the “surprise” of the little girl as being a zombie was tiresome. The scene did establish the tone for the series as since of isolation in that there is no large organized group (army or police) that is going to help you get out bad situation with starving pack of undead. And another theme is that you must kill or be killed no matter the size of the zombie; hesitate write your own obituary.
There are two moments that I found interesting to discuss. The first scene occurred when officer walked into the farm house and discovered the owners had committed suicide. The last communication from them was for God to forgive them because they chose the easy what out of desperate situation. It was a striking commentary on how perilous the situation is for the rest of the state and perhaps the world (we do not know the state of the world till the second to last episode of the season). The second moment is when the officer rode into a mob of zombies with his horse. It was hilarious expression of surprise and intense fright. When he turned the horse around and made his escape he just instead found a new mob of undead. I was actually thinking of a scene from Return of the Jedi when an A-wing pilot explained, “There is just too many of them”. What I like about this scene was the established to fight them head on would be futile.
This TV mini series used zombies that I would call medium speed zombies. There had more speed than the Night of the Living Dead and could not last a 100 meter dash of zombies expressed in 28 days later. This leads to one to ask, “What does the mobile speed of the zombies say about what the filmmaker had in mind for what the zombies are suppose to represent. Slow zombies could represent the slow decay of humanity to mindlessness, emotionless automaton. In contrast, fast zombies are quick to represent the freefall change in societal negative alteration and human growth of technology at which both are becoming impossible to control. These two opposing interpretation of zombies both agree that once the catalyst for decay starts efforts to stop this change is most difficult and the world would be different from now on.
In response to Logan:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, it appears that we share similar initial reaction to the TV series just it took much more of the story for me to discover that same intrigue. The scene where the officer awakes from his coma was one of the points of the episode when I wanted to stop playing the DVR playback since I became most disinterested. You definitely saw the potential to the series method of story-telling and building up the background better than I.
Can you expand on the irony of how Rick was saved by to black men since my perspective of those scenes differ? I love the choice of the actor since he always plays the mysterious guy that knows a whole bunch. I dislike how they express his character and those of his son over abundance of emotion. The son’s grief of his zombified mother went far beyond his instinct for survival, especially taken account for the amount of time the zombie plague had been occurring. This was other moment where the DVR deleted the show, as I felt the story teller was not showing genuine portrayal of Black characters.
Later in the series, I forgave the directors for this malfeasance against a certain segment of the viewership.
I also agreed with your assertion that zombies can represent the negative aspects of humans driven to improve technology. This drive without the proper protocols are controls could have unintended consequences. The movie “28 Days Later” displayed an example of this when a trio of young adults break-in to pathology lab to free some monkeys that were being experimented on. It assume that the scientist where trying to learn about the “Rage” virus but the unintended consequences is that a naive animal rescuers becoming infected and causing the human epidemic of the virus. This epidemic causes the scores of people to die, become zombies or flee Britain.
In attempt to answer the question you posted at the last part of your blog post, I would state that the authors are trying to state that one: people are easily assimilated and two: people fail to control the technology that they create. In nearly every incarnation of zombies in media, the zombies have the ability to easily infect humans to “assimilate” them to the horde of undead. This allows zombies to create large groups quickly and become more dangerous for the uninfected. Also, the genesis of the infection generally originates from human creation. This revelation expresses that undisciplined pursuit of technology has the potential for disaster for the human race. These two statements makes and excellent backdrop for interesting monsters.
@ Alyssa
ReplyDeleteI do agree in the suspenseful introduction with the little girl zombie, moving very slowly and creating a kind of surprise intro to the monster of the movie. I also agree with the belief that the first character, Rick, is the introduced right away here as the hero. However, I do not believe this is an act of bravery shooting the girl, moreso a realization of her state, along with protection of himself, and a practice of his role as an officer of the law. When we see Rick put the other suffering zombie out of misery, it is almost because he has a moral obligation because of the innocent citizens suffering through their zombie stage. I also found your question of the African-american role in the episode, and also wonder of the authors view and how they will be further depicted throughout the remaining episodes of the season.
@Marcus Hawkins
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was much easier to empathize with the zombies in The Walking Dead than in any of the other previous films. However, in Night of the Living Dead, some of the zombies were also previously shown in their human state (little girl, Johnny). In this show the characters in the film feel sorry for the zombies. The black father has a hard time killing his zombie wife and Rick puts the barely alive zombie out of his misery. They can empathize with the zombies’ situation because they have seen their loved ones in zombie form.
As far as the introduction goes, for some reason I did not find the little girl to be innocent at all and I don’t blame Rick at all for shooting her. It was purely self-defense.
I strongly agree that the audience gets to see Rick’s personality and can relate with him emotionally. Another situation aside from putting the zombie out of its misery is when he stands up for his wife and women when his fellow cop is degrading them.
When I was watching the first scene it semed to me as though it was more suspensful than a scary movie or show. The opening scene in this show reminded me somewhat of I Am Legen because it was Rick alone in a town that seemed abandoned. But right away you can tell that Rick is going to be the main focus of the plot and that he will have strugles to over come. Something that i found very interesting is when the main character seeked out the body to kill it to end its suffering. This was a good way for the audience to get a good opinion about who ehe is. It made me feel like he is a good person and that he can be trusted. I think having the hero be black is a way to show how times have changed from back to older zombie movies where the black character was a villan. A feeling that i had while watching this that i didnt have with any of the other zombie movies is sympathy for the zombies. In this show they make it a point for the audience that these zombies were once people and that they have families.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to the episode was that it didn’t waste much time on developing a back-story but just got straight to the action. Which really did set the tone, with one dramatic action packed scene after the other. Also it showed that once again all your zombie problems can be solved with a well placed shot to the infected forehead, and there was no lack of headshots in the episode. That being said it also introduced the moral question “can I do this? Should I do this?” when it comes to eliminating the once human zombies in this manner epically when they were once children and loved ones. The scene that grabbed my attention the most was when the mid thirties black man (not sure if he name was said) set up shop in the upper level of the house and begging unnecessary shooting all the zombies in the street. My first though was that he wanted to draw “mother of his child” to the scene and finish what he couldn’t do earlier, but when she arrived he again found himself unable to do what needed to be done. The other zombie films we watched and read about one could easily se what the author was trying to critique this wasn’t the case for me at least, the zombies came in all shapes and races and beside from the sexism between the deputies earlier on there wasn’t too many “isms” going on that I noticed
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