Night Of The Living Dead

1111 Words5 Pages
Portrayals of zombies fill the mainstream media and popular culture. From television shows such as The Walking Dead to movies like 28 Days Later and Zombieland. Zombies have even been largely popularized through the Resident Evil novels followed by video game and big screen adaptations. The most awarded video game, The Last of Us, is based on a post-apocalyptic world full of zombie-like creatures. The popularity that zombies still elicit in the media can be traced back to one film that changed the landscape of horror films to come after it. George Romero’s 1968 independent black and white classic film, Night of the Living Dead, shocked the American public with a level of violence and gore that had previously never been seen in films. It created…show more content…
This is because Duane Jones is a black man and played the leading role, a hero, in a film that did not focus on racial issues specifically, something that was unheard of at the time. It was simply a horror film meant to scare its audience. What is even more remarkable is that George Romero did not select Jones because he was a black man. He was not trying to make big waves; he simply chose Jones for the lead because he was the best person suited for the role. Romero rejected the values of Hollywood by casting Jones as the leading hero role. While mainstream media has become accustomed to minorities playing leading roles, in 1968, the novelty of a black hero was noteworthy. Including Duane Jones in the film may speak to something George McKay called cultural nationalism for African Americans. This was an effort to “liberate blacks psychologically by giving them a positive sense of identity.” Deep Focus Review states that Ben “single-handedly revolutionizes the presence of African Americans in cinema” by continuously calming down the ever hysterical Barbara to [spoiler alert] almost making it out of the film…show more content…
After being the sole survivor of the group, Duane Jones’ character, Ben, was gunned down by a militia group made up of white men who were trying to act as though they were the heroes. This isn’t the only similarity that can be seen between Jones’ character and MLK Jr. Jones’ portrayal of Ben changed the dynamics of the film. The original script would have Ben speak unintelligently. For example, the original script for when Ben first arrives at the house and he says to Barbara, “Don’t you mind the creep outside. I can handle him. There’s probably gonna be lots more of ‘em. Soons the fin’ out about us. Ahm outa gas. Them pump over there is locked. Is there food here? Ah get us some grub. Then we beat ‘em off and skedaddle. Ah guess you putzed with the phone.” When Jones reworded the same phrase the same speech is quite different. The meaning is still the same, but the impression of the character is drastically different, “Don’t worry about him. I can handle him. Probably be a whole lot more of them when they find out about us. The truck is out of gas. The pump out here is locked – is there a key? We can try to get out of here if we get some gas. Is there a key? Spose you’ve tried this. I’ll see if I can find some food.” The difference is clear and gives a more educated tone to the character. It made him sound educated and playing the leader
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