As activists working in the field of Zombie Rights, The Zombie Rights Campaign obviously has a lot to say about the work of George Romero. Mr. Romero’s film-making career has for decades helped to define the American, nay, global conception of the Zombie population, for better and for worse. Unlike many post-modern Undead haters like Max Brooks or Robert Kirkman, George Romero has offered a more nuanced and contemplative stance on Zombies, their personhood, and their quest for fair treatment and equality.

Romero Zombie films have ranged from the truly Living Supremacist, like ‘Dawn of the Dead’, to the outright Zombie Friendly, like ‘Creepshow’ and, arguably, ‘Land of the Dead’, one of the first films to ever feature a Zombie civil rights movement. Indeed, a full twenty years before ‘Fido’ popularized the ‘good Zombie’ archetype, George Romero put forward one of the first true Undead protagonist characters in ‘Day of the Dead’, Bub the Zombie.

To this day Bub is so popular among select horror fans that he is a perennial write-in candidate for President. That speaks deeply to us here in the Movement.

Granted, fictional characters can’t become President, but the impact is still heartwarming (for those whose hearts can be warmed).

And Mr. Romero himself has said he sympathizes with our Undead clients:

George Romero: To me, the zombies have always just been zombies. They’ve always been a cigar. When I first made Night of the Living Dead, it got analyzed and overanalyzed way out of proportion. The zombies were written about as if they represented Nixon’s Silent Majority or whatever. But I never thought about it that way. My stories are about humans and how they react, or fail to react, or react stupidly. I’m pointing the finger at us, not at the zombies. I try to respect and sympathize with the zombies as much as possible. (Laughs.)

Respect. Sympathy. We appreciate that, we really do.

So when our longtime adversaries at the Zombie Research Society informed us that they were launching an effort to get George Romero a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the ZRC wasn’t opposed. Honestly, my first reaction was, ‘George Romero doesn’t already have a star on the Walk of Fame?’

This mystery required some research. As it turns out, the Walk of Fame has over 2,400 stars, and the requirements generally seem to be that the recipient have five years of significant work in one of five entertainment fields, including film.

Which didn’t answer the question of how Mr. Romero has been overlooked for so long! Logically he’s been eligible since 1973, five years after ‘Night of the Living Dead’.

But, aha! There is one small matter of a $30,000 fee…

And that’s where the ZRS’ Indiegogo campaign comes in.

Of course we don’t agree with everything the ZRS says in their promotional video, what with Zombies being ‘monsters’ and all.

But the basic campaign is something we can, and will, get behind here at the ZRC. And to promote a future with more Bubs and fewer Walkers in our media, we suggest you, the Zombie Friendly reader, do as well.

Do it for Bub. Do it for history. Do it for the Zombies.

Tags: Movies, Romero, Social Justice, Zombies Doing Good

This entry was posted by John Sears on Friday, October 5th, 2012 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Zombie Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.