The zombie in the grey flannel suit: Romero’s classic Dead trilogy and metaphors of mass subjectivity | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Horror Studies
  4. Volume 12, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 12, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2040-3275
  • E-ISSN: 2040-3283

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between zombies and ‘mass subjectivity’ through examining the motifs, as well as the critical and scholarly reception, of Romero’s classic movies and their successors. Contrasting the ‘fast zombies’ of later films, Romero’s zombies are withered and decayed versions of everyday people: tattered and frayed at the edges, their colours muted, their skin and clothing rendered in greyed-out tones. They are the mundane dead, animated. Romero’s filmic horror taps an uncanny rendering of the everyday. Gardens, streets and malls are made strange by the homogeneous mob progressing in endless lines, murmuring incoherencies and striving to just be. We can locate the visual character of the zombie within a genealogy of metaphors of mass subjectivity such as the man of the crowd, the figure, constantly searching for a place, but symbolically disarticulated. By considering the sometimes comic, sometimes tragic and often horrific Romero zombie in a lineage of visual and literary figures linked to mass subjectivities – the man in the suit, the monstrous man, the man of the crowd, the – this article answers the question: What does thinking about the relationship between the Romero zombie and mass subjectivity enable us to do, think or observe?

© 2021 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/host_00027_1
2021-03-01
2024-04-18
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Agamben, G.. ( 1998), Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life (trans. D., Heller-Roazen.), Stanford, CA:: Stanford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Aronofsky, D.. ( 2000), Requiem for a Dream, USA:: Artisan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bakhtin, M. M.. ( 1981), The Dialogic Imagination, Austin, TX:: University of Texas Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Bérard, Y.. ( 1977;), ‘ Les morts-vivants. ’, L’Avant Scène Cinéma, 187, May, pp. 23–38.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bishop, K.. ( 2006;), ‘ Raising the dead: Unearthing the non-literary origins of zombie cinema. ’, Journal of Popular Film and Television, 33:4, pp. 196–205.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bishop, K.. ( 2008;), ‘ The sub-subaltern monster: Imperialist hegemony and the cinematic voodoo zombie. ’, Journal of American Culture, 31:1, pp. 141–52.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Black, A.. ( 2000), The Dead Walk, Hereford:: Noir;.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Boss, P.. ( 1986;), ‘ Vile bodies and bad medicine. ’, Screen, 27:1, pp. 14–24.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Boutros, A.. ( 2011;), ‘ Gods on the move: The mediatisation of Vodou. ’, Culture and Religion, 12:2, pp. 185–201.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Boyle, D.. ( 2002), 28 Days Later, UK:: DNA Films;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Burwick, K.. ( 2020;), ‘ George A. Romero’s long lost movie The Amusement Park is getting released soon. ’, Movieweb, 26 June, https://movieweb.com/the-amusement-park-release-date-george-a-romero/#:~:text=Romero's%20Long%20Lost%20Movie%20The%20Amusement%20Park%20Is%20Getting%20Released%20Soon,-%E2%80%94%20June%2026%2C%202020&text=1.3k%20shares-,George%20A.,a%20private%20screening%20with%20Romero. Accessed 7 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Cohan, S.. ( 1997), Masked Men: Masculinity and the Movies in the Fifties, Bloomington, IN:: Indiana University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Crane, J. L.. ( 1994), Terror and Everyday Life: Singular Moments in the History of the Horror Film, Thousand Oaks, CA:: Sage;.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Craven, W.. ( 1988), The Serpent and the Rainbow, USA:: Universal;.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Del Ruth, R.. ( 1959), The Alligator People, USA:: Associated Producers;.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Dendle, P.. ( 2001), The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Jefferson, NC:: McFarland;.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Douglas, D.. ( 1966), Horrors!: The Awful Truth About the Monsters, Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Phantoms, Mummies, and Ghouls of Literature and How They Went to Hollywood, New York:: Macmillan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Fear the Walking Dead ( 2015–present, USA:: AMC;).
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Fulford, R.. ( 2001;), ‘ Robert Fulford’s column about David Riesman’s The Lonely Crowd. ’, National Post, 3 July, http://www.robertfulford.com/LonelyCrowd.html. Accessed 7 February 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Giroux, H.. ( 2011), Zombie Politics and Culture in the Age of Casino Capitalism, New York:: Peter Lang;.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Gordon, B. I.. ( 1957), The Amazing Colossal Man, USA:: Malibu Productions;.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Grossberg, L.. ( 1999;), ‘ Speculations and articulations of globalization. ’, Polygraph, 11, pp. 11–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Gunning, T.. ( 1997;), ‘ From the kaleidoscope to the x-ray: Urban spectatorship, Poe, Benjamin, and Traffic in Souls (1913). ’, Wide Angle, 19:4, pp. 25–61.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Hall, S.. ( 1981;), ‘ Notes on deconstructing “the popular”. ’, in R. Samuel. (ed.), People’s History and Socialist Theory, London:: Routledge;, pp. 227–40.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Halperin, V. H.. ( 1932), White Zombie, USA:: United American;.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Harman, C.. ( 2009), Zombie Capitalism: Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx, Chicago, IL:: Haymarket;.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Harper, S.. ( 2002;), ‘ Zombies, malls, and the consumerism debate: George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. ’, Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture (1900–Present), 1:2, pp. 1–17.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Heffernan, K.. ( 2004), Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold: Horror Films and the American Movie Business, 1953–1968, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Hendershot, C.. ( 2001), I Was a Cold War Monster: Horror Films, Eroticism and the Cold War Imagination, Bowling Green, OH:: Bowling Green State University Popular Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Higashi, S.. ( 1990;), ‘ Night of the Living Dead: A horror film about the horrors of the Vietnam era. ’, in L. Dittmar, and G. Michaud. (eds), From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American Film, New Brunswick, NJ:: Rutgers University Press;, pp. 175–88.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Horkheimer, M., and Adorno, T. W.. ( 2002;), ‘ The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception. ’, in G. S. Nörr. (ed.), Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments (trans. E. Jephcott.), Stanford, CA:: Stanford University Press;, pp. 94–136.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Ironstone, P.. ( 2014;), ‘ Zombie Apocalypse. ’, YouTube, 1 April, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecjAWFpeJmg. Accessed 7 February 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Jancovich, M.. ( 1996), Rational Fears: American Horror in the 1950s, Manchester:: Manchester University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Johnson, N.. ( 1956), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, USA:: Twentieth Century Fox;.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Khan, O.. ( 2007), Zibahkhana (Hell’s Ground), Pakistan:: Jinga Films;.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. King, S.. ( 1983), Danse Macabre, New York:: Berkley Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. ‘ Land of the Dead trailer’ (unrated director’s cut). ( 2008), YouTube, 23 May, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=atXJB9luiko&feature=emb_logo. Accessed 6 June 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Levin, J.. ( 2004;), ‘ Dead run: How did movie zombies get so fast?. ’, Slate, 24 March, http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2004/03/dead_run.html. Accessed 7 February 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Loudermilk, A.. ( 2003;), ‘ Eating “dawn” in the dark: Zombie desire and commodified identity in George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead”. ’, Journal of Consumer Culture, 3:1, pp. 83–108.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. McDonald, B.. ( 2008), Pontypool, Canada:: IFC Films;.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Metro News ( 2009;), ‘ George Romero film “not about Iraq”. ’, Metro, 10 September, http://metro.co.uk/2009/09/10/george-romero-film-not-about-iraq-402109/. Accessed 7 February 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Miner, S.. ( 2008), Day of the Dead, USA:: Millennium Films;.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Munz, P.,, Hudea, I.,, Imad, J., and Smith, R. J.. ( 2009;), ‘ When zombies attack! Mathematical modelling of an outbreak of zombie infection. ’, in J. M Tchuenche, and C. Chiyaka. (eds), Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress, Hauppauge, NY:: Nova Science Publishers;, pp. 133–50.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Newman, K.. ( 1996;), ‘ Romero, George A. (b. 1940). ’, in K. Newman. (ed.), The BFI Companion to Horror, London:: Cassell;, pp. 278–79.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Peirce, C. S.. ( 2014), Peirce on Signs (ed. J. Hoopes.), Chapel Hill, NC:: University of North Carolina Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Poe, E. A.. ( [1840] 1986;), ‘ The man of the crowd. ’, in The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings, New York:: Free Press;, pp. 179–88.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Prawer, S. S.. ( 1980), Caligari’s Children: The Film as Tale of Terror, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Quiggin, J.. ( 2010), Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us, Princeton, NJ:: Princeton University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Riesman, D.,, Glazer, N., and Denney, R.. ( 1950), The Lonely Crowd, New Haven, CT:: Yale University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Romero, G. A.. ( 1968), Night of the Living Dead, USA:: Continental;.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Romero, G. A.. ( 1978), Dawn of the Dead, USA:: United;.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Romero, G. A.. ( 1985), Day of the Dead, USA:: Anchor Bay;.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Romero, G. A.. ( 2005), Land of the Dead, USA:: Universal;.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Romero, G. A.. ( 2007), Diary of the Dead, USA:: Coliseo Films;.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Romero, G. A.. ( 2009), Survival of the Dead, USA:: Magnet;.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Savini, T.. ( 1990), Night of the Living Dead, USA:: Columbia;.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Shaviro, S.. ( 2005;), ‘ Capitalist monsters. ’, Historical Materialism, 10:4, pp. 281–90.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Simmel, G.. ( 1950;), ‘ The metropolis and mental life. ’, in K. Wolff. (ed.), The Sociology of Georg Simmel, New York:: Free Press;, pp. 409–24.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Snyder, Z.. ( 2004), Dawn of the Dead, USA:: Universal;.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Tourneur, J.. ( 1943), I Walked with a Zombie, USA:: RKO;.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. The Walking Dead ( 2010–present, USA:: AMC;).
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Weinstock, J. A.. ( 1999;), ‘ ZombieTV. ’, Post-Identity, 2:2, pp. 5–21.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Woerner, M.. ( 2011;), ‘ Why George Romero rejected The Walking Dead to make The Zombie Autopsies. ’, Kotaku, 20 October, http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/10/why-george-romero-rejected-the-walking-dead-to-make-the-zombie-autopsies/. Accessed 7 February 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Wright, E.. ( 2004), Shaun of the Dead, UK:: Focus Features;.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Yarbrough, J.. ( 1941), King of the Zombies, USA:: Alpha Video;.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Rambukkana, Nathan. ( 2021;), ‘ The zombie in the grey flannel suit: Romero’s classic Dead trilogy and metaphors of mass subjectivity. ’, Horror Studies, 12:1, pp. 27–44, doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/host_00027_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/host_00027_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Living Dead; mass culture; mass society; mass subject; Romero George A.; zombies

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error