I've been watching a lot of horror films recently.
With each genre of horror I watch, I try to decide what basic human fear the movie is exploiting. Some are obvious: most people are a little scared of a crazy guy coming after them with a chainsaw. It is one of those universal "very bad things." The fear excited by zombie movies was much more subtle than the ax-wielding maniac, and because of this, took me many movies to figure out.
So here's the scenario (or at least one of the popular ones): virus spreads rapidly across earth, making everyone but a select few zombies. Zombies can infect you through bites, so stay far away, and kill them on site. Generally, the movies follow a single character, or small group of characters who struggle to maintain their humanity while everyone around them falls. Lots of running, falling, gore, and rotting flesh. Think "Night of the Living Dead", "28 Days Later", or even "Resident Evil".
It's a simple, yet deep fear the films exploit: the fear of losing your individuality. Is there any idea more horrifying than existing, but without the essence, the being that makes you who you are? If there is, I can't think of it. Through some small accident, your reason, your memories, your personality, are gone and you exist as an empty shell, mindlessly following the mob in order to widen the ranks.
The heroes of these films are many times desperate, accidental warriors who fight to remain separate from the every-growing horde of mindless beings: a normal enough person, thrown into a situation where everything is hostile, and they just struggle to get through and keep their humanity intact. Getting ready for the day ahead, strapping on a sawed-off shotgun, slightly scarred, and maybe bleeding, but determined not to be taken.
The zombie films made me think of the "carnivalesque" as described by Mikhail Bahktin. Bahktin theorized on the importance of the carnival to works of literature, but extended these concepts further, encompassing the ability of the people to affect the society in which they live. Carnival is a wild, largely unstructured celebratory event. Think Mardi Gras, or Brazil’s Carnivale. Basically, he states that periods of carnival exist and break down the structure of the society in which they are performed. The societal rules are discarded for an agreed upon amount of time, and people exist in equal power relationships to each other. It is a sanctioned expression of rebellion, safe because while the rules have been suspended, the sanctioning keeps the overall power structure secure.
Perhaps these zombie film serves a similar function to the carnival. Through the hero, we get to experience the fight, the struggle to live outside of the societal system that has been created. The zombies are the system and they strive to bring in the rebels just as much as the heroes try to avoid it.
We watch the hero wage war against the system and experience terror as he fights an unvanquishable foe. Sometimes, we get to see the hero triumph, remaining free from the tyranny of the shuffling masses. But even in triumph, the hero is left to live on the outskirts, fighting as long as he can, or living alone in a world that is laid to waste, like in "I Am Legend" or "Omega Man".
For roughly two hours, we can watch a fellow human struggle against society. A lone individual struggles to retain their humanity in the face of an overwhelming force. It's safe and we get to vicariously feel the fear of being swallowed up in society; feel the victory of retaining the sense of self when pitted against public mores; and after the agreed upon time is over, we slide right back into the masses, performing the role that has been prescribed for us. Just like the hero that doesn’t make it: his eyes glaze over, and he joins the shambling dance in progress, like in "Thriller".
If we can learn anything useful about zombie films, apart from how to survive the highly unlikely zombie apocalypse, it is that we have the same difficult choice as the hero, we can either fight the power, or succumb to it.
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2 comments:
Wow, I find it fascinating that you break down horror movies and find the fear that excites people.
I argue two points in your Zombie Theory. 1) I don’t think people are afraid of losing their individuality but their humanity. People for the most part are conformists, hello Brand Names, fashion trends and mobs. But people do like being people and don’t want to be less, like a mindless Zombie or a vegetable in a hospital bed. It’s why we ask our spouses to “pull the plug.” 2) Is not really your point but Mikhail Bahktin. What keeps society in check during Mardi Gras (I don’t really know not having been to Carnival in Brazil yet) is the police. Yes, there is a societal upset that is agreed upon, but it is more a division of the classes and an agreement that as long as the agreed upon “upper class” gives (beads) to the agreed upon “lower class” they will not transgress upon them. I’m not sure how long ago Mr. Bahktin pontificated on these things, but it could be that the influx of out-of-towner and tourists who don’t really know the “rules” as it were have made it necessary to have the police.
You bring up some interesting points about Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Having never been myself, I’m sure you have a better sense of the environment. Yes, I went in Baton Rouge, but I recognize that it is not the same thing at all. I think that is Mardi Gras, starched, pressed, and approved by your mother. Theatre and performance scholars are fascinated by Mardi Gras, because it is one of those rituals or events that makes people break from their known concept of themselves and behave in a very different manner. People compartmentalize and behave accordingly to situations, but to have such a large number to abandon traditional societal structures is pretty fascinating.
A lot has been written about the new power structures in Mardi Gras after they’ve abandoned the traditional one. The beads is a great example of this. You term it as townies vs. tourists, which is not a way I had considered it, but is most likely true. The power holders are the ones with the beads and elevated above the crowds, who are townies. The “lower class” as you put it are the outsiders, the rabble in the streets who expose their bodies for the pleasure of the upper class. It sounds very aristocratic, which befits a celebration that has Kings and Queens.
As for the presence of the police, I’m willing to bet that most of the problems come from the tourists, but I have my doubts that if the tourists were to be taken out of the equation that the police would not be present. Drunk people are rowdy, home or abroad. The police also serve as a reminder of the larger society. You know, the society that everyone has to return to after they’ve seen the breasts of strangers and lived like kings on balconies on high. Um, I forgot about the zombies. Maybe I’ll address that later.
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