Lee Gullickson Dr.

Totten English 467 12/12/12

Rise of Zombies in a Post-September 11th Culture

In recent years, zombies have been rising to fame in popular culture by appearing in movies, video games, popular fiction, and even becoming a topic of academic discussions. Zombies are being studied across the disciplines of communication studies, English, political science, and economics to show the cultural impact they have made. Zombie movies first became popular in the 1960s with George. A. Romeros film Night of the Living Dead (1968). Romeros movie became a cult classic and started the foundation of the zombie genre we know today. Zombie movies captivated audiences and were commercial successes until the 1980s when the popularity of zombies began to decrease and the films became low budget. In the early 2000s, the genre went through a renaissance and began to be culturally relevant again. Zombie movies became box office hits and zombies started to appear in video games and popular works of fiction. Today zombie movies are still greeted with commercial success, parodied in popular movies like Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombie Land (2009), and are the basis for the highly acclaimed television show, The Walking Dead (2010). With the recent success of the zombie genre, one wonders why Western culture is fixated with zombies now and what caused the zombie renaissance. When looking at the time between Night of the Living Dead and the recent popularity of zombies, the most significant cultural event to happen to Western audiences would be the September 11th terrorist attacks. To understand the impact 9/11 has had on Western consciousness, this paper explores Immanuel Kants theories of the sublime. When viewing 9/11 as a sublime experience, the argument can be made that the event changed the metanarrative of

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Western culture. Comparing zombie films made prior to the terrorist attacks to the ones afterwards, there is a shift in the films narratives that reflect the definitions of Frank Kermodes theories on imminent and immanent apocalyptic rhetoric. This paper explores how the September 11th terrorist attacks were an act of sublime destruction and changed Western consciousness. The effects of 9/11 on the Western world can be seen in the resurgence of zombie movies and how they have changed to an immanent apocalyptic narrative in the newer adaptations.

Origins of the Zombie Genre The idea of zombies originated in the Vodoun religion found in Haiti. Natives believed voodoo could be used to bring the dead back to life to become slaves to the living. This type of zombie first appeared to Western audiences in William B. Seabrooks 1929 chronicle of his travels to Haiti entitled The Magic Island (Gunn and Treat 150). It was not until the 1960s that movies like I Eat Your Skin (1961) and The Plague of Zombies (1965) began featuring the zombies we know today who are dependent upon human flesh. When George A. Romero released his first film, Night of the Living Dead, the zombie genre changed forever. With the Vietnam War going on, Romero wanted to create a movie that would be able to shock audiences who were becoming desensitized to images of the dead. In an interview, Romero mentions how he wanted to create a movie that still would be able to scare audiences who are being introduced to images of dead soldiers coming back to America in body bags (Monument 2009). Zombie movies were not big at the time and Romeros movie was low budget, but it was met with huge commercial success. Night of the Living of Dead was the first movie to usher zombies into Western culture, and the first movie to introduce the idea of

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destroying the zombies brain to kill them (Bishop 21). The movie soon became a cult classic and Romero began work on his second film. With the success of his first movie, Romero had a bigger budget to produce his second film, Dawn of the Dead (1978). In Dawn of the Dead, the main characters make a decision to abandon their jobs in order to flee the zombie apocalypse. They decide to take refuge in a deserted shopping mall, while waiting for news on what the survivors are supposed to do next. After securing the mall from the zombies, there is a scene in which the main characters go through the mall and grabbing clothes, jewelry, money, and other items that survivors of a zombie apocalypse would not need. This scene has been used by critics to comment on consumerism during the 1970s and Romero himself has admitted that he used that scene to make fun of how obsessed people were over material goods during the time (Bishop 23). Since both of Romeros films were financial hits in the box office and have been discussed in many scholarly articles, they will help serve as the basis for the zombie genre before 9/11. Looking at the similarities and differences between the genres, I argue the terrorist attacks affected the Western psyche and led towards zombies becoming popular in culture once again. To better understand this relationship, I examine Immanuel Kant and Edmund Burkes concepts of the sublime.

September 11th Terrorist Attacks and the Sublime On a Tuesday morning back in 2001, four planes were hijacked by terrorists and changed America forever. The two planes that crashed into the World Trade Center undoubtedly had the biggest impact by killing thousands of civilians and causing mass panic across the country. Antoine Bousquet argues that the attacks caused a rupture in the historical consciousness and

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chronological narratives of the Western world. He looks at the aesthetic dimensions of the event through a Kantian notion of the sublime to describe 9/11 in its original intensity as an overwhelming revelatory experience (Bousquet 748). One of the most important things to note about the terrorist attacks is the symbolic dimension of violence that took precedence over any military consideration. The terrorism above all was meant to be seen, to strike fear in the hearts of the observer (Bousquet 741). The image of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center was broadcasted throughout the day of the attacks and reproduced continuously for weeks across the world. Trying to interpret or explain how people felt during the time at the sight of the Twin Towers burning is near impossible, according to Bousquet. He believes that, At those precise instants of singular hyper-violence, there are no political, social or historical contexts that can adequately circumscribe them (Bousquet 745). With no context on how to view the attacks, our response to the imagery can only be aesthetic and better explained by looking at Kants concepts regarding the sublime. Bousquet defines the sublime as, the quality of transcendent greatness, that which to nothing can be compared and defies all calculation or measurement (Bousquet 748). To Kant, the sublime was not out in the external world, but merely a product of our mental responses. Since everyone is different, the sublime becomes a subjective phenomenon rather than an objective reality (Bousquet 749). The subject experiencing the sublime feels a strong sense of attraction and repulsion to the sight providing the sublime experience. In Kants Analytic of the Sublime, he distinguishes between two types of sublime known as the mathematically sublime and the dynamically sublime. The mathematical sublime refers to objects that are comparable in size or greatness only to itself, with the mind struggling to apprehend the totality of what it is seeing (Bousquet 750). Prior to the destruction of the Twin

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Towers, they were the tallest buildings in the world at the time of their construction and could only be seen in their totality from a great distance (Bousquet 750). Bousquet uses Kants criteria to compare the Twin Towers to the mathematically sublime in their magnitude, and then explains how the terrorist attacks fall under the dynamically sublime. Kants definition of the dynamically sublime is the feelings of fear and awe experienced when facing something that appears qualitatively boundless in might. Kant describes the dynamically sublime in regard to natures forces.

clouds piled up in the sky, moving with lightning flashes and thunder peals; volcanoes in all their violence of destruction; hurricanes with their track of devastation; the boundless ocean in a state of tumult; the lofty waterfall of a might river, and such like; these exhibit our faculty of resistance as insignificantly small in comparison with their might. But the sight of them is the more attractive, the more fearful it is, provided only that we are in security. (Bousquet 750)

Immanuel Kant lived in a time when technology was not nearly as destructive or powerful as it is today. With the technology we have today, Bousquet claims that the dynamically sublime can be seen in our human displays of might, especially with technological advances such as the atomic bomb (Bousquet 750). The use of planes to crash into the Twin Towers is an example of how humans are able to create a dynamically sublime experience in modern times. To express the fear and beauty felt by the terrorist attacks, Bousquet uses a quote from British artist Damien Hirst shortly after the tragedy happened. Hirst describes the experience by saying, The thing about 9/11 is that its kind of an artwork in its own right. It was wicked, but it

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was devised in this way for this kind of impact. It was devised visually Of course, its visually stunning theyve achieved something which nobody would have ever have thought possible, especially to a country as big as America. (Bousquet 745-46). The last part of Hirsts quote describes how Western consciousness was changed by the events of 9/11. Before this time, Americans generally felt safe and were not worried about a terrorist attack happening on their home soil. The symbolic act of hyper-violence created a shift in the metanarrative of progress which has dominated Western thought in the modern age (Bousquet 751). This change in consciousness could be the cause for the increase in zombie films after the terrorist attacks. Many Americans had their metaphysical certainties destroyed with the destruction of the Twin Towers and zombies became more relatable to Western audiences again. When looking at the zombie genre after 9/11, some of the major themes have changed in regards to the zombies themselves, the themes addressed, and the apocalyptic rhetoric present in the movies.

The Zombie Genre after September 11th Since the September 11th attacks, there has been a massive increase in the number of zombie movies produced, along with multiple remakes, parodies, and sequels. Horror films function in a way to measure societys anxieties, and zombie movies help represent the grim view of the modern apocalypse through deserted cities, mounds of corpses, and vigilante justice (Bishop 1). Since 2002, there has been a steady rise of zombie movies that re-embraced the genre created by Romero. Zombie traits, such as consuming the living, spreading the infection by biting their victims, and killing the zombie by destroying their brain, have remained the same. Although the basic features of a zombie have not changed much over time, the zombie genre has

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come to embrace faster, more aggressive zombies that are considered to have gained consiousness in some of the newer films. The movie many argue helped re-launch the zombie genre is British director Danny Boyles film 28 Days Later (2002). It was released a year after 9/11 and the films $8 million dollar budget resulted in a $45 million gross in the United States alone (Bishop 4). The movie starts with a group of animal rights activists about to free a group of monkeys from a lab, only to be confronted by a scientist that begs them not to because the monkeys are infected with rage. One of the activists decides not to listen to the scientist and releases the first monkey. The monkey attacks her instantly and is killed by the other activists, but it is too late for the girl who begins to vomit blood as her eyes turn red. From the opening scene, Boyle parts ways with the traditional zombie genre of Romeros movies by showing how the zombie infection started. The virus was man made and released unto the world by a group of activists rebelling against the government. Another difference between Boyles movie and Romeros is that the characters are turned into the living dead. In Night of the Living Dead, the dead come back to life to eat the living. Further, Boyles zombies are faster and more terrifying compared to the zombies who are slow moving in Romeros first movies. George Romero knew that the zombies from his first movies would not have the same effect as they did 40 years ago and changed his concept of the zombie in his newer films. Romeros first movie after 9/11, Land of the Dead (2005), shows civilization years after the zombie apocalypse has happened. His first two movies dealt with the characters reactions to the threat of the zombie apocalypse, but his newest film shows how humanity has been able to cope with the apocalypse. Survivors build a city with walls and a moat surrounding it to keep the zombies out, but in the end their protection traps many of the survivors inside and leads to their

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demise. The zombies in the film also deviate from previous versions of the zombie genre by gaining consciousness throughout the movie. In the beginning of Land of the Dead, survivors of the zombie apocalypse are scouting a city to loot for supplies and begin to notice something peculiar about the zombies. The scene shows a group of zombies attempting to play their instruments they died with, a zombie couple holding hands, and a zombie gas station attendant trying to fill a car with gas. As the movie progresses, the zombies begin to start using weapons they find to destroy their victims before eating them. Both 28 Days Later and Land of the Dead follow the zombie genre set by Romero in the 1960s, but each film adds its own spin to the zombies to make them more relevant. In a horror film documentary, Boyle and Romero discuss that the terrorist attacks from September 11th influenced their movies and changed them to better reflect the tragedy (Monument 2009). The zombies have changed since the original zombie films, but the apocalyptic rhetoric present in zombie films has changed also to better reflect the events of September 11th.

The Apocalyptic Sublime and Zombies Apocalyptic rhetoric in general is, an eschatological mode of thought and discourse that empowers its audience to live in a time of disorientation and disorder (Gunn and Beard 270). In traditional apocalyptic rhetoric, there is a sense of impending crisis that will eventually lead to the end of the human race. Gunn and Beard use Frank Kermodes works to define traditional apocalyptic discourse as being grounded in a belief that there will be a resolution to the chaos experienced by the rhetor and audience as impending (Gunn and Beard 272). They go on to classify this type of rhetoric as having an imminent apocalypse that will lead to a resolution.

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Traditional apocalyptic rhetoric is changing, according to Kermode, in a way that denies resolution or a final end (Gunn and Beard 272). This newer type of discourse is labeled immanent apocalyptic and operates as if the end were already present (Gunn and Beard 272). That does not mean that there is no ending experienced, but that in the immanent apocalyptic, one realizes they are already dwelling in the end period of the apocalypse (Gunn and Beard 272). Being stuck in an immanent apocalypse leaves one feeling disoriented without a sense of transition from a beginning to an end. Without a sense of time or transition, the subject of the apocalypse is left with a fragile and incomplete self (Gunn and Beard 275). This is the same type of feeling a subject would experience if they were to witness an act of the dynamically sublime. Using Kants notion of the dynamically sublime with immanent apocalyptic rhetoric, Gunn and Beard combine the theories into a term they call the apocalyptic sublime (Gunn and Beard 277). This term is useful when comparing zombie movies from the 1960s to the present. In Romeros first two movies, the characters have a sense of normality when the zombie apocalypse starts. Night of the Living Dead dealt with the characters experiencing the start of the apocalypse first hand. They did their best to find shelter and wait for help to arrive. They had a sense of an impending apocalypse, but still believed that there would be a resolution that could lead to their safety. In Dawn of the Dead, the main characters find safety in a mall while trying to figure out what to do next. Both movies show how the characters are dealing with the imminent apocalypse, while they are able to keep their sense of self. Although 28 Days Later starts with how the virus began, it is not until 28 days after the plague infects the majority of the world when the main character, Jim, awakens from a coma. Jim awakens confused as to why he is the only one in the hospital and roams the streets trying to

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find anyone to explain to him what is going on. This is the start to the apocalyptic sublime rhetoric of the movie, where Jim has no sense of beginning and awakens in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. Over the course of the film, Jim struggles to make sense of what is happening around him and is told by the survivors he meets that he needs to accept that apocalypse has occurred and there is nothing he can do about it. In Land of the Dead, the survivors try to create a world similar to how it was before the zombie apocalypse occurred. The city was divided into social classes, and even had parts on the outskirts where the survivors could gamble and enjoy other vices. Riley is the protagonist of the movie and realizes that the entire city is a sham, with everything being controlled by the character Kaufman. Riley goes out to gather food for the city in order to build up enough capital to buy a car and enough supplies to leave. To most of the survivors, the city feels like a normal world, but Riley knows everything is being controlled by Kaufman. Little is revealed about Riley, except that he has completely let go of his past life and is trying to find a way out of the city, even though he has no idea what to do afterwards besides head north. The zombie apocalypse has caused him to challenge the social constructs of the city and leaves him feeling as an outsider in the city. Viewing the movie as an example of the apocalyptic sublime helps the audience better understand Rileys situation. He is in the middle of the apocalypse, but has no sense of self from before the zombie plague took over the world.

Conclusion Examining zombie films made prior to the September 11th terrorist attacks to the films afterwards, a shift in the films narratives reflect the definitions of Frank Kermodes theories on

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imminent and immanent apocalyptic rhetoric. The September 11th terrorist attacks were an act of sublime destruction that changed Western consciousness. The effects of 9/11 on the Western world can be seen in the resurgence of zombie movies and how their plot has changed to feature an immanent apocalyptic narrative in the newer adaptations. The shift in narratives reflects how Americans have changed their way of thinking after 9/11. The attacks left many disoriented and unsure of the future, which makes the newer zombie films more relatable to audiences and have led to zombies invading popular culture.

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Works Cited Bishop, Kyle. "Dead Man Still Walking: Explaining the Zombie Renaissance." Journal of Popular Film and Television 37.1 (2009): 16-25. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. Bousquet, Antoine. "Time Zero: Hiroshima, September 11 and Apocalyptic Revelations in Historical Consciousness." Millennium - Journal of International Studies 34.3 (2006): 739-64. Boyle, Danny, dir. 28 Days Later. 2002. DVD. 10 Dec 2012. Gunn, Joshua and David Beard. "On the Apocalyptic Sublime." Southern Communication Journal. 65.4 (2000): 269-86. Print. Gunn, Joshua, and Treat, Shaun. "Zombie Trouble: A Propaedeutic on Ideological Subjectification and the Unconscious." Quarterly Journal of Speech. 91.2 (2005): 144-74. Web. 9 Dec. 2012. Monument, Andrew, dir. Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film. Writ. Joseph Maddrey. 2009. Web. 10 Dec 2012. Romero, George, dir. Night of the Living Dead. Writ. John Rosso. 1968. DVD. 10 Dec 2012. Romero, George, dir. Dawn of the Dead. 1978. DVD. 10 Dec 2012. Romero, George, dir. Land of the Dead. 2005. DVD. 10 Dec 2012.