"Night of the Living Dead"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) is not only the single-most influential zombie movie of all time, it is also reputed to be one of the first movies to employee color-blind casting. In particular, it looks at how, though the entire movie was revolutionary for its time and genre, the final sequence in which the final main character (the black lead, Ben) is mistaken for a zombie and killed by his long-awaited rescuers is shocking and challenging even to modern film-goers. The sequence analyzed for five characteristics, including the plot significance of this segment, the implications of the sequence for the genre, the use of film technique to build and guide the horror, the use of coloration and lighting for narrative purposes, and the various additional methods of manipulating audience sympathies and responses.

From the Paper:

"The plot of Night of the Living Dead is relatively straightforward. For some unknown reason, perhaps due to radiation from space, the dead are coming back to life animated by the desire to devour flesh. There are six significant living characters trapped in a single house, which belongs to none of them. The lead female Barbara, has come there fleeing from the zombies who ate her brother in a cemetery -- in the end her brother is the one who eats her, as she hesitates to run from him. Ben, the lead male who survives to the end, has come there after a series of misadventures on the road, and has learned a great deal about dealing with the zombies."

More papers on "Night of the Living Dead":

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• Analytical Essay # 29816 : "The Night of the Iguana"

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