We hope you'll find this blog an educational, entertaining, and inspiring source of information, whether you're recently undead, a long-time member of the differently animated, or a still-living friend of your fallen, yet risen again, brethren. Everyone with an interest in zombie rights is welcome!
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Posted By John Sears on March 22, 2011
So, due to my stupidity as much as anything else, our car was ransacked last night. Dealing with the fallout today means that posting will be a bit light. The Auction, however, proceeds as planned, and we’ll have more stuff and more information later on that!
Posted By John Sears on March 21, 2011
We’ve written extensively about the hit independent horror anthology ‘III Slices of Life’ before here at the ZRC; we reviewed it under a previous title, ‘Slices of Life’, attended the World Premiere in Chicago at the Portage Theatre, and have conducted considerable outreach to director Anthony Sumner and one of the stars of the film, Deneen Melody. On the whole I think it’s been a very positive and productive dialogue, and Mr. Sumner’s next film, ‘By Her Hand She Draws You Down’, was indeed far more Zombie Friendly, though our interaction came too late to influence that.
It seems that much of the unfortunate treatment of Zombie-kind in ‘III Slices of Life’ was accidental, or the result of misunderstandings about the needs, hopes and fears of the Differently Animated Community. In a way, this makes the film all the more important for the Movement, because unintentional prejudice is often the most prevalent and the hardest sort of prejudice to combat. In practice, people under the influence of these negative stereotypes are your target audience to attempt to sway, and yet, being unaware of the impact of their own beliefs and actions, those same individuals can be very difficult to reach.
So The Zombie Rights Campaign is taking the unusual step of recommending that our readers rent the movie from their local cable or television providers while it is available On Demand, and see the film for themselves. Perhaps you can share it with some friends and family who are not as enlightened about Zombie Rights, and use it as a teachable moment. After watching the film, you might ask some of the following ZRC approved discussion questions:
–Are the Zombies in W.O.R.M. better or worse people post Zombification? Have they not, in fact, become more honest about their feelings and motivations? Don’t we value such honesty as a society?
–If it’s acceptable to kill white color office drones who happen to be jerks, would it be acceptable to end long-running comedy series The Office with a bloody massacre? Why or why not? Likewise, should Scott Adams end Dilbert by having the long-suffering engineer execute first the pointy-haired boss and then everyone else who symbolizes corporate stupidity? Why, or why not?
–Isn’t the government response suspiciously rapid for an unforseen outbreak of a new ‘illness’? Does this movie raise concerns about the involvement of the Military-Industrial Complex in producing nanotechnological weapons? If the workers in W.O.R.M. were Zombified as a result of actions taken by their government or its contractors, doesn’t that make their response a coverup, even a conspiracy to deny the civil rights of the now-Zombified staff?
Think about these questions and others as you watch the movie, and, where possible, use it as a chance to open a meaningful dialogue. Plus, the other segments aren’t unfriendly to the Differently Animated, and there are even some adorable ghost/demon children who get a very sympathetic portrayal.
Content advisory: III Slices of Life contains scenes of violence against the Differently Animated, considerable gore, some rather gross special effects and situations, and perhaps most disturbingly, you see rather a *lot* of longtime ZRC Ally Marv Blauvelt.
Just so you’re aware. Now go rent it.
Posted By John Sears on March 21, 2011
Now this is an interesting event and a good chance for some outreach:
The Chicago Zombie Pub Crawl will return for its fourth consecutive year on Saturday, April 30, 2011, and will once again take place in the neighborhood of Andersonville. The event is an annual fundraiser for pH Productions, the not-for-profit Chicago comedy theater company currently based in Lakeview’s Studio BE.
The Chicago Zombie Pub Crawl (CZPC) is one of Chicago’s most highly anticipated Spring events. Once again, the CZPC will bring droves of thirsty zombies as they plod through Andersonville’s best bars looking for two things—beer and brrrrrains! Regular pub crawl participants like Mary’s Attic, Simon’s Tavern and @mosphere (plus several others) are going to be part of the fun once again this year.
On the one hand it’s very nice to see commercial events catering to Zombies and, admittedly, people who want to dress up as Zombies. That’s a big step forward from the usual way that businesses exploit the Differently Animated for quick cash. On the other hand, of course, some of the language here isn’t Zombie Friendly, and even a slightly sarcastic reference to the “Braains” thing is a bit much. Must we always talk brains when we talk about Zombie outings?
We see a similar pattern of unfortunate miscommunications on the FAQ of the Pub Crawl itself:
6. Can I bring kids, is it a family event?
No. There is no such thing as zombie children, no matter how much you argue. Its just gross.…
10. Do I have to dress up?
You will need to have some assemblance of zombification to participate, we will have expert makeup artists there that can add a little blood and flesh to your face if that’s all you want to do, but only zombies, and only zombies that register will get to take part in the crawl and more importantly the specials.
I get it, I really do. You don’t want people bringing children to an alcohol heavy event, and you need some way to identify Pub Crawl patrons. However, spreading misinformation about Zombie Children, who very much *do* exist and face many unique challenges of their own is not helpful. Grade school can be vicious and difficult enough for the new kid; now imagine if the new kid is a Zombie, and don’t even get me started on the troubles that middle school and high school Zombies face.
Likewise, having a way to identify paying pub-crawl goers and participants, ie, being Zombielike, is done for obvious reasons, but is this any way to conduct outreach? If Living people wish to participate, must they engage in greenface, even in a good natured way, to do it? I wonder. I’m not averse per se to dressing up as a Zombie, but I can see how it could well offend some of the ZRC’s clientele, and I try to be sensitive to that.
On the whole, this sounds like a pleasant outing and an uplifting event. Unfortunately, and this is happening so often I’m beginning to think it’s a conspiracy this spring, the ZRC has a previously scheduled engagement that evening at 8 here in Madison that we can’t avoid. I’m considering attending but we could only stick around for the first 2 hours or so of the Crawl before booking it back to Madison. I will talk it over with the art director and if we are attending as an official ZRC function of course it will go up on the blog.
For now, I suppose, miscommunication or not, we should be thankful once again that Chicago has made itself the Zombie Friendliest City I know. I don’t think even New Orleans embraces its Zombie heritage and populace as thoroughly as Chicago, and that’s a truly commendable attitude in this pervasively Anti-Zombie age.
Posted By John Sears on March 20, 2011
Google pointed me toward this Opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen by one Roger Collier today, which purports to reexamine the negative attitudes so many hold toward Zombies.
Only of course, it does no such thing.
The first clue was in the title: ‘Zombies were people, too.’ (The capitalization is in the original, and I can only assume is a Canadian thing.)
No, Mr. Collier, Zombies *are* people too. That’s your first mistake.
Going into the meat of the column it becomes clear that Mr. Collier has considered himself to be very clever for using a lot of backhanded compliments on Zombies and setting himself up as some sort of faux principled centrist on Zombie Rights:
Is there any creature more misunderstood than the zombie? Are there any former humans so mistreated by the living? So they are dirty and smelly and unattractive. Big deal. Before my morning shower, I’m no prize myself. But people don’t scream and run away when I approach them. Why, then, do we act that way around zombies?
…
Hath not a zombie, amid its rotting organs, a heart that once beat as strong as yours doth now? If you prick a zombie, doth it not ooze? If you bisect it with a chainsaw, doth it not moan? (I realize that zombies moan constantly, but they seem to moan extra loud when you cut them in half.)
…
Why do we make life so difficult for reanimated corpses? According to a recent study from the Undead Research Institute, 98.7 per cent of people dislike zombies for the same reason: because they eat us.
OK, I get that. Nobody wants to be eaten alive. There is nothing people fear more, except public speaking.
Yes, you guessed it, this is a humor column that only purports to be speaking out in favor of Zombies, while in reality it simply capitalizes on the current Anti-Zombie craze, lazily parroting the worst and ugliest stereotypes about Zombies while cracking bad jokes at the expense of the Differently Animated.
Repulsive? Sure. But the worst part for me isn’t that you have hate speech being used as fodder for cheap laughs in the dying print medium; ultimately, Mr. Collier could have done more damage to the Zombie public image by standing on a street corner with a rolled up copy of the Ottawa Citizen and shouted his prejudices at passersby. (Or at least, he would have reached more people that way.)
What bothers me is that this fake defense of Zombies can’t bring itself to rise to the level of satirizing the awful treatment of the Differently Animated, nor even the way that ostensibly straight news outlets have fallen all over themselves to splash ‘Zombie’ into the headlines in an attempt at pumping up circulation.
No, Mr. Collier isn’t writing a meaningful satire, he’s cracking what he thinks are sly jokes as he hops on the very back of the bandwagon and follows meekly along with the craze. Any attempts in the column to distinguish his ‘wit’ from the innumerable other assaults on Zombies are misdirection, and not particularly effective at that.
The Zombie Community doesn’t need your particular brand of help, Mr. Collier, and I doubt that many Zombies would buy into your humor either. Recycling tired slanders against an oppressed minority isn’t funny, and play-acting at being the thoughtful adult just makes you look silly. Leave the Zombie Advocacy to those of us with the courage of our convictions, and find someone else to pick on for a change. Zombies have it hard enough already.
Posted By John Sears on March 20, 2011
This chart linked by the Horror Society illustrates almost everything that’s wrong with the Anti-Zombie Mainstream Media: the fixation on violent approaches to problem solving, the use of retribution at the expense of reconciliation, past mayhem justifying future slaughters, and of course, Max Brooks’ faux-academic Living Supremacist ravings; all are on display.
Truly it is sad that, even as The Zombie Rights Campaign prepares to launch another charity fundraiser for a worthy cause on behalf of the Differently Animated Community, we see regressive propaganda like this spreading yet again on the internet. Zombies are people too, and they want to *help* people as well, not that Mr. Brooks would ever acknowledge that.
Note: If Mr. Brooks does acknowledge that with a donation to the Horde for Humanitarian Aid fundraiser, this post will be updated. The ball is in your court, Mr. Brooks.
Posted By John Sears on March 20, 2011
Here at the ZRC we’re trying to take back the term ‘Zombie horde’ for Zombies. Zombie collective action is no different from Living collective action, and we’ve learned just how vital working together is here in Madison over the last several weeks.
At the same time, like the rest of the world, we here at the Zombie Rights Campaign have been shocked and saddened by the devastating tragedy unfolding in Japan in the wake of the Sendai earthquake/tsunami, and we wanted to find a way to help out.
So the ZRC came up with a plan. We will harness the power of a good old fashioned Zombie ‘horde’ to help in a somewhat non-traditional way: with another ZRC auction for a worthy cause.
Thanks to the magic of Ebay, MissionFish and donations from the ZRC and kind friends of Zombie Rights everywhere, we have set up a internet-based fundraiser, with 100% of the proceeds to benefit the Red Cross. Purchase ZRC shirts, original ZRC prints, wristbands, signed memorabilia, games, books and more, and all proceeds go to the American Red Cross so they can continue their excellent work aiding the survivors of disasters around the world.
Some of the items in our auction include:
–Original ZRC ‘Zombies Forever’ prints, signed and personalized by the artist for free!
–Original ZRC ‘Ban Headshots’ shirts, high quality and Zombie Friendly too!
–ZRC ‘Zombie Strong’ Wristbands, glow in the dark text and a Zombie Friendly message!
–A copy of infamous Anti-Zombie film ‘Return of the Living Dead’, signed by Allan Trautman, aka ‘Tarman’
The lenticular cover doesn’t photograph all that well, but it is pretty swanky.
–A signed copy of original Zombie Friendly card game ‘Zombie Cafe’
–Signed first edition copies of ‘Helpless’ by Michelle Hartz!
–More items to come!
All proceeds from the auction go straight to the Red Cross, folks. Apparently MissionFish takes a tiny cut, but we absolutely don’t. We’re also providing free shipping on all your purchases, and finally, as a special, one-time incentive, the Atomic Age Cinema monsters have authorized us to throw in some region-free DVDs of their critically acclaimed satire of the Zombie Apocalypse, ‘Atomic Age Cinema TV 2: Atomic Boogaloo’! Spend 15 dollars or more, on any combination of items, and YOU get a complimentary copy of this instant classic film.
Great stuff, great cause, free shipping AND free movies? What more could you want? Join the ‘Horde for Humanitarian Aid’ today!
Stay tuned to the ZRC blog for more details, including new items currently en route to the ZRC compound from special ZRC friends in the movie industry. Tantalizing, isn’t it?
On a related note, if you are the creator of Zombie-related merchandise or art and want to contribute something to the Auction, drop me a line at zrc@jsears.xidus.net and we will work out the details. We’re even declaring a temporary amnesty with Anti-Zombie types, so if George Romero or Tom Savini wanted to contribute, we wouldn’t stop them.
The auction goes live early Monday March 21st, just after midnight Pacific Daylight time. This link should show all the items available at that time; I’ll check back here to make sure.
Join the horde today! You won’t regret it.
Posted By John Sears on March 20, 2011
Our long-time conversant and occasional ideological sparring partner Stuart Conover over at BuyZombie has a request that I think we all should look into helping out with:
Help Me Win A Zombie Wedding
I try not to ask for much on this site so when I do I hope you know that I’m really hoping you’ll be helping out! Basically if we win this contest (which we need to get into the top 100 for the chance) the love of my life is letting me spend some of the money to concoct some kind of a zombie invasion during the wedding. It’s something we really can’t afford otherwise.
How. Awesome. Would. That. Be.
If I’m able to pull this off I guarantee that each and every one of you will get to see a video of what I have in store!
If you want to enter hit up the contest at Ultimate Wedding Contest and hit vote! Follow that up with a quick login with your Facebook account or registration and you’re good to go! I really appreciate anyone willing to help. As one fan of the undead to another I’d really appreciate the vote!
Now, I know what you’re thinking, Zombie Fans. Stuart characterizes the Zombie theme for the wedding as an ‘invasion’. But invasion is a word that can have quite a bit of nuance; when the Beatles hit it big in America, that was the ‘British Invasion’. Invasions aren’t all bad.
And just think about the opportunity here to help influence the tenor of this invasion. If Zombies and their supporters are responsible for a lot of votes to help Stuart win this contest, I’m sure that would go a long way to winning the Zombies a seat at the table, as it were, instead of being mere window dressing on the special day. Vote with your dollars, or in this case, your clicks. It’s quick and easy; I did it, and so should you, if you want to help get Zombies invited to this wonderful occasion and perhaps move a few hearts as well. Positive outreach is the name of the game, people. Remember that.
If you’re interested in helping out The Cause, and I assume you are if you’re reading this blog, go here and vote for Stuart’s Zombified wedding.
Posted By John Sears on March 19, 2011
Here’s a slightly lighter, and brighter, bit of news out of Iowa about a potentially Zombie Friendly restaurant:
Chef George Formaro announced plans Friday to open Zombie Burger + Drink Lab in the East Village part of downtown Des Moines.
…
Formaro said he’s been a fan of horror movies his whole life.
“If I wasn’t a chef, I’d be a horror movie makeup artist,” said Formaro. “These films have been my form of relaxation for years.”
The restaurant will be divided in two, a full- and quick-service area. Drink Lab will feature a “sinful menu and full bar.” A large patio will also be available along Grand Avenue for zombies who prefer to dine al fresco.
Formaro’s love of horror movies seems to have inspired in him a sympathy for the Zombie Community, and he’s giving something back, which makes The Zombie Rights Campaign very happy indeed. A restaurant that welcomes Zombie patrons while poking gentle fun at a genre that all too often belittles and marginalizes them? This sounds like something we could travel to Iowa for!
They plan to open in August, so those of you in Des Moines have an exciting new Zombie related dining opportunity to look forward to at the end of summer.
Posted By John Sears on March 18, 2011
We were recently alerted to the existence of a fairly slick short indie film featuring Zombies entitled ‘Morbid’, and after reading BuyZombie’s take on the film and its production values, I felt that what was really *missing* from this conversation was the Zombie Rights perspective. What does ‘Morbid’ have to say about Zombies?
Well, you can watch the entire film for yourself at the bottom of this post, but in short: nothing good. ‘Morbid’ opens with a machine gun toting man roaming the empty halls of what is apparently a hospital, searching for someone. A very strange hospital to be sure; I mean, have you ever seen a hospital whose hallways are completely clear? No supplies, no gurneys, no machinery, no clipboards on the walls? Weird.
He moves from room to room, searching, first of all, for any that are unlocked. He finds a room full of individuals, I suppose they’re probably supposed to be Zombies, standing around silently, and leaves quietly, shutting the door behind him. That was rude, I thought; they were probably trying to get some sleep. It was dark in there, and night time, after all. Not a good first impression.
So it’s a hospital that treats Zombies, and we have a Living person roaming the halls with a gun. Hmm. The menacing individual ventures further into the building and finds what appears to be a hotel bedroom; meanwhile, the Zombies follow some distance behind, no doubt upset about the whole rudeness thing.
At this point I feel I must advise our Differently Animated readers; please, don’t confront the gun-toting madmen on your own. Please call the police and/or contact a Zombie Advocacy organization to work on your behalf.
The man finds a body apparently rotting, possibly reviving as a Zombie, in that weird hotel room, and then unfortunately one of the Zombies confronts him over his lunatic behavior, and… it’s not pretty folks. I won’t sugar coat it. Things get ugly fast from here on out in the film.
Now, there’s a ‘twist’ ending, and a story that the viewer largely has to piece together for themselves, but basically you have the idea now. This is a movie about a Living person who feels entitled. Entitled to wander around peaceful Zombie communities and facilities in the dead of night with a gun, and if he doesn’t get what he wants? He shoots up the place. Heck, that might be what he wanted all along.
For these reasons, along with the graphic nature of the Anti-Zombie violence, we award ‘Morbid’ the ZRC’s lowest rating, that of Living Supremacist.
Shame on everyone involved in this spectacle of carnage and inhumanity.
Posted By John Sears on March 18, 2011
Our good friends at The Horror Society have some details on this fall’s release of the latest in cutting edge Euro-Zom movies, the third installment in the [REC] series:
The original [REC] crew are back, ready to submit their ensemble cast to another fight for survival against the zombie infection, this time to the backdrop of an original soundtrack. This new chapter will see the film ‘open up’ by using a more traditional cinematographic style. However the film’s roots have not been forgotten and viewers will still be immersed in the action, watching certain events unfold through the eye of the video camera.
The action in [REC]3 Genesis encompasses the events of the first two films, and after the sense of claustrophobia previously experienced, the action now takes place miles away from the original location and partly in broad daylight, giving the film an entirely fresh, yet disturbing new reality. The infection has left the building.
Yes, it’s so hard to survive the ‘infection’ of having to live side by side with one’s neighbors. That’s a common problem in Europe of late. For some reason, Old Europe is just not very flexible when it comes to immigrants, often resorting to demonizing or demagoguing them, banning their symbols or expression, or, in the case of Zombies it seems, just moving on to straight forward repression.
We’ll take a good hard look at [REC]3 when it comes out and see if it continues the disturbing xenophobia trend or heads in a more hopeful direction. Somehow I doubt it.