‘Night of the Living Dead’ is one of those cultural touchstones that is so big that people are unaware of just how big it is. I can’t say how many times I’ve been at a convention for the ZRC, discussing Zombies and their rights in society, only to have someone tell me all about how Zombies all want to eat the Living, shamble about like sleepwalkers and generally misbehave, but who clearly have never seen, or at least not closely watched, ‘Night of the Living Dead’. Certain ideas from the movie, mostly negative and almost entirely Living Supremacist, have percolated into the popular consciousness, so that even those who don’t watch it are influenced by it.

It’s difficult to fight stereotypes people aren’t even aware they’ve picked up.

So a documentary about how ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was made could be useful to our cause; perhaps even in concocting some form of educational counter-campaign?

Rob Kuhns’ feature documentary BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD goes beyond just being a tribute to director George Romero’s work, to explore a critical moment in the American experience and the notion that horror acts as a reflection of national anxiety. The film details how Romero gathered an unlikely team of real Pittsburgh citizens — police officers, iron workers, teachers, housewives and a roller-rink owner — to shoot in a revolutionary guerrilla style that became a cinematic landmark and one of the most visceral and influential horror films ever made.

I know we’re intrigued here at the ZRC.

Tags: Academia, Movies, Romero, Social Justice

This entry was posted by John Sears on Sunday, August 18th, 2013 at 2:25 am 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.