Question 1 – Forms and conventions
The zombie genre evolves depending on changing dynamics in
politics, social issues and popular culture and often highlights or challenges
established norms and social ideals. Our film highlights the idea of passive
learning in schools and how it changes students into mindless ‘zombies’ (if you
will) with no free thought of their own.
In the genre theorist Rick Altman’s 1999 piece ‘A
Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre’ he states that in the new
millennium, films of the zombie genre have taken on new Semantic and Syntactic
forms. Semantics being the study of meaning and Syntax the study of various
signs which appear in a system and the possible arrangement of those signs. Contemporary
zombie films have evolved from the B-movies uninterested in a deeper narrative
and wider meaning to films centred on social and political conflict and
exploring the human condition. This questioning of what makes us human is
popular amongst film makers as zombies are humans who have been forced into
their most primitive state and stripped of all emotion. Though even this idea
of emotionless zombies has been challenged in such films as ‘Day of the Dead’
(1985) and ‘Warm Bodies’ (2013). This is a clear example of how this genre is
constantly evolving and changing.
Zombie films traditionally have no fixed narrative which
gives the film makers the freedom to blend other genres with the zombie one
including; romance, farce, parody, comedy, human drama, social realism etc. In
our film we have included a romance sub-plot of a love triangle which runs
alongside the apocalypse and survivor plot. For inspiration we looked at
trailer’s for teenage romance films such as ’10 Things I Hate About You’ (1999)
and found that the romantic hero and heroine’s story is set up in generally the
same format. At the beginning of the trailer the guy is seen looking longingly
at the girl. Later there is a shot-reverse-shot shown of them looking at each
other and then near the end of the trailer they are seen together in a romantic
way in the same shot. We have followed these conventions which our shots
depicting Sam and Sebastian. We have also followed the convention of having a
heterosexual relationship with the man who does the longing after the girl as
this complies with both Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ and the patriarchal society
within which our plot is set.
The majority of modern zombie films are designed to tap into
the post 9/11 consciousness as much like zombies; mass terrorism is a threat
against the people of the western world and its Governmental structure.
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968) had a black male lead that
was mistaken for a zombie at the end and shot. The closing scenes of the film
show him being carried away on meat hooks and burned. Many people believe this
to be commenting on the slave trade and/or treatment of black Americans at the
time as Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated (shot) the year the film was
released. ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1978) is based mainly in a shopping mall and is
Romero commenting on consumerism and how it has taken a hold of society.
Unlike vampires
and werewolves, Zombies undeniably human. A Zombie is a human who has been
stripped of humanity in a way and so is the most basic and instinctual form of
us. Like the phrase, ‘We are our own worst enemy’, Zombies are scary because
they are us. Unlike vampires, zombies are rarely ever considered ‘evil’ but
rather unfortunate.
Common conventions from zombie films which we have used are;
- We
have shots at the beginning of the trailer which establish equilibrium and
‘The calm before the storm’
- Our
Zombies are wearing a variety of different outfits so suggest that people
from all walks of life and situations are affected by the virus. This
coincides with the ideal that Zombie films are anti capitalism.
- We
have a male protagonist who though the film fights for the safety of his
female love interest. This confirms Laura Mulvey’s theory of the ‘Male
Gaze’.
- We
have shots of a hoard of Zombies to show the gravity of the situation and
how the virus has spread. In Zombie films, Zombies usually outnumber the
humans and we have shown this in our trailer by depicting the majority of
the characters in our trailer as Zombies with only a few humans.
- Action
shots of running, hitting, eating, panicking etc. which highlight the
action element present in many Zombie films.
- We
have used an eerie soundtrack at the beginning and a more dramatic action
soundtrack during the apocalypse scenes which become increasingly dramatic
and fast, building up to the climax at the end.
- In
some shots we use a hand-held shaky camera. This is a convention in Zombie
films and mirrors the panic of the characters and weak foundations which
humanity and society are resting on.
Our protagonists also follow common stereotypes found in
Zombie films and also laid out by the media theorist Vladimir Propp.
An anti-hero is not villain but there simply to be compared
against the hero and cause minor conflict with them. The anti-hero is not
outright bad but does have a lack of heroic or moral qualities. Many
anti-heroes join forces with the heroes to fight against the villain.
In our trailer Sebastian is the hero and Jason the
anti-hero. Jason joins forces with Sebastian to fight the zombies and to keep Samantha,
the final girl, safe.
Samantha is an interesting character as she carries
attributes of two very conflicting stock characters, the princess and the final
girl. The princess is a female character who needs saving by the Hero, much
like Samantha is kept safe by Sebastian (the hero) and also Jason (the
anti-hero). Though she can also be considered as a final girl as she is the
last female character alive within their group and has an androgynous name
(Sam).
The character of Sebastian does not follow the conventions
of a traditional hero, though in many modern films we are seeing the rise of
what is called the ‘Nerd Hero’. This is a character who is considered ‘nerdy’
or ‘geeky’ due to his awkward social skills, general manner and dress. However
the Nerd Hero is gifted at using technology has a fierce moral code and is
considered a nice person. The rise of this character follows how the world is
becoming more and more dependent on technology and so those who create or use
it become more powerful and important within society. Examples of Heroes with
these attributes are Columbus from Zombieland and Robert Neville from I Am
Legend. Through his dress and mannerisms, Sebastian has the attributes of a ‘Nerd
Hero’.