Watching White Zombie was an interesting experience because when you get down to it, Zombies are a fear I think everyone can associate with. The idea of people coming back from 'death' unable to think or function as anything but a mindless shell is terrifying. If the idea was so far fetched that no-one found it remotely disconcerting then we would not still be making Zombie movies today.
We were asked to watch the movie with the idea of White Americans in mind. Women in particular I believe. When watching White Zombie I could see why this was not just a horror film about Zombies when it came out. The Zombies on the plantation were drones, they worked all day and all night until an unfortunate accident happens and you fall into a giant grinder or something equally horrifying. This scenario struck a chord in me..seems an awful lot like Slavery especially in the Deep South of the United States. The only difference being that the Zombies had no consciousness so they didn't realize what was happening. Lugosi is asked what would happen if his creations were to ever regain their souls, and his reply was that they would kill him. When you think about it, that was probably one of the fears of Americans during slavery which is why slaves were not allowed to be educated. If you don't know that what is being done to you is wrong or out of the ordinary you won't think to question it.
Another fear of and for women was being 'taken', the idea of being kidnapped and your free will taken away and the possibility of rape. Remember back to Stage Coach when it looked as if the Indians were going to win and Hatfield points his weapon at Mrs. Mallory. Its better to be dead and pure than alive and spoiled. In the case of Madeline though she is taken after she "dies' and all free will is gone. So even in death she isn't safe.
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Really good point about Legendre mentioning that if the zombies regained their souls they would kill him. This really does parallel slavery and the concerns of slaveholders in American history. Regarding your comment about White Zombie not being “just a horror film about zombies when it came out”, I wanted to know if you feel like this was the case. Do you think that when this movie came out in 1932 that people made the connection and recognized the film for its social commentary or if it was just looked at as being a ridiculously made horror picture? I can’t remember if this was said in class or not but for some reason I thought that no one made these connections right away.
ReplyDeleteI was a little confused by the last few statements that you made concerning Madeline and being “unsafe in death”. I’m not too sure what you mean and I don’t understand your point. Maybe you could clarify a little bit or maybe I’m the only one that doesn’t understand.
I definitely find the idea of zombies in White Zombie to be way scarier than the portrayal of zombies in the movies of today. The thought of someone having complete control over me, someone being able to steal my very soul from me is much more frightening than a zombie yearning to eat my flesh. Beaumont's decision to turn Madeline into a zombie so that she will always be with him makes me shudder just thinking about it. Okay yes, eventually he decides that he would rather not have her and let her be alive than be with her as a zombie. But he still turned her into a zombie in the first place! ewww
ReplyDeleteAnd I definitely agree with you about the connection between the zombies and American slavery. As was mentioned in class, Americans happened to be enslaving Haitians at the time. It is just as creepy to realize that "civilized" countries have virtually turned people into zombies, taking away their lives, dignity and chance for real happiness.
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ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen some of the new Zombie flicks? They suck in my opinion for the reason you pointed out in your post Jack.
ReplyDelete"Zombies are a fear I think everyone can associate with. The idea of people coming back from 'death' unable to think or function as anything but a mindless shell is terrifying."
Yes they may be terrifying but look back to the early Zombie movies (Night of the Living Dead) and some of the "good" new ones (I label The Hills Have Eyes a Zombie flick). They represent a fear deeper then something coming back from the dead. Yes we're afraid of the soul-less but there is a deeper fear that lies somewhere in those movies. it's not the idea of watching someone get eaten or the scare factor, like in 28 days later or Resident Evil. Movies like White Zombie played on those fears and psychological fears as well. White Zombie isnt like watching a person getting mauled (like in RE), its like watching someone get their soul ripped from their body slowly. It's very weird but films like White Zombie are vital to the horror industry because without them you'd never see films like The Shinning or American Psycho.
Van Damn - I guess what I mean about it not just being a horror film about Zombies is that people watching it wouldn't see it as anything else but those who created the movie probably saw the parallels and connections when making the film.
ReplyDeleteWhat I meant about Madeline being unsafe even in death was that her innocence or purity were at risk even after Neil put her in the tomb because as a Zombie Beaumont and Legendre can rape her. Kind of reminds me of necrophilia.
Wow, again, some really good discussion here.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, this movie is ultimately about perceived threats to white American women and fantasies about slavery, rather than shuffling, flesh-eating monsters.