Why George Romero Changed Zombies Forever | Monstrum
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In the second episode of our three-part special series, we move from the zombi which has its roots in spiritual beliefs developed during the African diaspora, to look at one of the most influential and enduring horror legacies of all time-the Romero zombie.
Considered the “godfather of zombies,” Romero’s 1968 film The Night of the Living Dead introduced the flesh-eating reanimated corpse to popular culture. But that’s not all he did. More than just a reinvention of a frightening fiend, the Romero zombie’s introduction during a time of great political and cultural unrest in America impacted how it was received-and why we still talk about it.
Featuring expert interviews from Author Daniel Kraus, who completed Romero’s novel The Living Dead, as well as Author, Screenwriter, and Lecturer of Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA Tananarive Due, and Professor and Author Dr. Robin Means Coleman, you’ll learn just how influential Romero’s work became. #zombie #Romero #MonstrumPBS
Written and Hosted by: Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Illustrator: Samuel Allen
Editor: Derek Borsheim
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
We would like to thank Daniel Kraus for his insights into Romero’s work and personal life. Special thanks are also due to Tananarive Due and Robin Means Coleman, Ph.D. whose generosity of knowledge and time proved integral to the episode.
The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Dr. Emily Zarka takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies.
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I like that despite Romero not wanting the movie to be political or make social commentary, his movie did break barriers in having Ben be a sympathetic and heroic black lead.
Same! Go Romero!
Good on Duane Jones too for being adamant about how Ben is presented. Without his urging, the movie would not be the same
I think art is often that way. We have one thing in mind when we are creating it, but it has a life of its own after it reaches others. It becomes open for discussion and up for interpretation. It one of the most frustrating and wonderful things about art. ☺️
I think maybe like he subconsciously crafted Ben character like that, like he might not intentionally do it but his subconscious, being affected by like everything that was happening in the 60s made that decision
I think that's the difference between the genuine artistry with sincere storytelling; and forcing agendas down audiences' throats. They created their own vision of something they're passionate about yet still let audiences come to their own interpretations.
Ben’s death is one of the most horrifying scenes in a film. He survived until the end! The lone survivor should make it, especially back in the 60s. So impactful.
And they probably won't ever even know he was a hero.
That’s what makes it such a great movie - defies all conventional logic and sentiment of the times (then).
Also, Barbara’s death was way more horrible. Go rewatch it !
He is a black man in a horror movie. And you know what happens.
@@eltonjohntubola3212 No, he was the *last* to die, not the first
Spoiler alert
Honestly I wish the Haitian zombie was more prevalent. Like, the Romero zombie is an amazing concept, but Haitian zombies have an entirely different flavor of horror.
True!
I think they've been mostly subsumed by android based hive-mind themed horror. What are Cybermen or the Borg if not beings stripped of will to do another's bidding?
I think zombie land saga is a hybrid of both the Romero zombie and the Haitian zombie.
I feel like Get Out characters in the sunken place embodies key qualities of the Haitian zombie
@@BRockandriffs yessss!!!
I kind of see the scene of the daughter eating her father’s flesh, as a representation of the fear those of older generations had towards the youth counter culture and what it will do to the perceived moral fabric of the country.
The daughter eating at her Father is symbolic of their rebellion and how they were “tearing apart” their parent’s rose colored glasses view of the the country. That with the free love and hippy movements of the late sixties was often demonized for being, “immoral, drugs fueled sex addicts who were looking for handouts”. It was also made two years before the killings of Sharon Tate and others by the hands of Charles Manson and his cult, which because of their loose affiliation with the hippies created more fear and panic.
I mean, I think that was the point
About the new generation rissing up against the old one, to bring it down and start a new
Or it simply inverted the order of things in a horror movie. Usually, it's an adult who becomes the revenant and attacks people. A sweet little girl shouldn't do that.
@@julietfischer5056 yeah, there’s definitely a thematic reversal of what is dangerous. An adult or a little girl wearing a dress and curls in her hair.
Glad you guys are covering all types and making separate videos about each type of zombie. Each zombie has its own history and I’m glad that you are covering it.
I'm ready for her discussion of 28 Days Later.
@@MrIrrationalSmith That was the first zombie movie I watched where the zombies actually ran instead of walked, and it became one of my favourites.
@@CelestialDraconis that is because it is the first fast zombie movie.
This Dr. Z lady sure likes to fatten up our brains...
🤔
HIGHLY suspicious..
Hmm ... Z
Sus indeed
*VOTED*
Hmmm....*scratches beard, plucks out one big dandruff* makes you think doesnt it?
Let’s not forget Michael Rooker, Robert Englund, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Danny Trejo had to fight George that one time.
That had to be one of the best zombie maps on concept alone.
@@MichaelOfCainhurst 😎👍
Black Ops zombies were crazy
@@rafaelalodio5116 Hell yeah!👍🧟♀️
Awesome map
Dr. Zarka! I shared the episode with an acquaintance of mine. She was close friends with Romero when he was alive, had a bit part in one of the movies, and is still good friends with Tom Savini. She loved this episode! I thought you'd like to know. 😊
Oh they just ended the friendship after he died?
Honestly it really makes me happy that he didn’t call his monsters zombies until after others did.
Jonathan Maberry sees them as a kind of mindless vampires.
This was a great video and I learned a lot about Romero and have some new movies to watch. Thanks!
Same
Me too, I’ve seen this movie, was my first zombie (non-zombie?) movie and it was phenomenal but god I was crying at the end because of Ben. It def paved my way for all other ‘horror’ movies 🎥
hey can you pls explain "Romero: the zombie arrives in the US, a pretext for a social commentary" in 2 or 3 lines
You know what the great thing about Night of the Living Dead is? It's on the public domain so you can watch it on CZcams for free.
Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it...
They’re coming to get you, Barbara.🧟♂️
Stop it Johnny, your acting like a child.
Still waiting...
"look, there's one of them now!"
This will never get old... deadly cold.... evil laugh.... hahaha hahahaahahaha!!!!!!!!
@@terrymurphy7790 like everyone else in the world
Has Storied done a video on the ghoul? Outside of fantasy fans and Orientalist fiction, it's a more obscure monster eclipsed by European werewolves and vampires and Romero Zombies
I can't wait to read Horror Noir; hoping to find a copy on my next library trip.
No but Storied (Monstrum) did do an episode on the Dragugr - the Vikings version of a zombie.
*Episode Link:* m.czcams.com/video/VNM1Y8i8tuI/video.html
& Dr Z also did an episode where she went through her 'Zombie Bug Out Kit'.
*Episode Link:*
m.czcams.com/video/aNTemQym0d8/video.html
If you look throughout history every culture. From the Babylonians to modern day 21st century Western culture has it's own version of the zombie. Which reflect the cultures fears surrounding death & the afterlife. People have always tried to explain their fears about death through stories, myths & legends.
Here are three of what I think are the better documentaries. All available on CZcams on the subject. Enjoy. 🧟♀️🧠🧟♂️
National Geographic Documentary 2016 National Geographic Zombies The Truth
m.czcams.com/video/z4CS3xaYidg/video.html
Zombies II (Documentary)
m.czcams.com/video/x6onrJ3DesI/video.html
Tony Robinson Gods & Monsters The Undead.
m.czcams.com/video/mEHZ7PWc2AM/video.html
Draugr makes me want a zombie (draugr) vs vikings movie.
Well, originally the Ghoul were basically undead Jin.
What does Orientalist mean?
I was so mad at the end of NotLD, we invested so much into Ben's struggle for survival only to have to witness him carelessly murdered.
I first read a synopsis of the movie, but first SAW the color version, where he died of his wounds overnight, was a zombie when he died, and Barbara shot the other surviving white guy in the head when she found him because he got everyone killed.
@Iron Dream I think he was shot, not bitten
@@TheKyrix82 - Things were different in the remake.
So psyched that Dr. Z will get to air this on TV
Wow. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Storied videos. But this one was way better and way more than I thought it was going to be. I really appreciative the work that went into this and how y'all handled it. Be careful though, you've set the bar pretty high here.
Dr. Z stated that she started doing research on zombie culture since she was a kid. She's basically a real life zombie expert.
Actually, there is an implied reason for their reanimation. In the 1968 movie a probe sent to Venus was returning with a strange radiation attached to it. The implication is that destroying the probe before it could land dispersed the radiation and caused the dead to walk the Earth.
Maybe that's why the guy who wrote the walking dead shrugs off questions about his version by calling it a space virus 🤔
Yeah, but this isn't mentioned in any of the other movies or remakes.
Romero never wanted his film to be political in anyway, he hired Duane Jones as Ben because he was simply the best actor for the part. He wasn't trying to make any racial or political statement.
0:43 He doesn't look like "MMM FLESH GIVE RAAAAA" he looks like "Hey this is pretty good!"
As a 51 yr old lifelong Romero zombie enthusiast ,seeing dawn of the dead before my 10th birthday and having it play in the TV room on my birthdays I can say I'm qualified to comment on this video ...bravo 👏 loved it, very well presented ,concise and lovingly done...well done...absolutely brilliant..very impressed so much in such a short time...excellent editing, lovingly narrated..thank you for an entertaining watch and as in my own video on zombies (Scotty g of the dead) big respect and thanks in memoriam to George Romero. Rip big man.
Bravo PBS! As a fan of horror films, and Romero in particular, this episode of Monstrum was hands down one of the best documentaries not only on the Zombie genre, but for Romero's impact on cinema and modern culture. Great job all around for the channel and for this fantastic series!
Monstrum is quickly becoming one of my favorite series on CZcams, superb research and an amazing host
When I first watched Night of the Living Dead, I really thought Ben was killed for being black, rather than being mistaken as one of the living dead
Could be he is, on account of bias of shooter that to him a black man automatically registers as less than human, a threat??
I think that people are focusing way too much on race in these movies, and in cinema in general
Especially with this video. The guest lady added a lot of random conversation about race that were completely irrelevant and had no connection to anything George Romero.
They most likely killing people regardless
@@samc3241 I actually just wrote a whole post on that. She won't accept that the man famous for bragging about the metaphors in his movie said that there was no metaphor behind hiring a black actor, he just gave the best audition. The role was written for a white man...and not changed, which is the very idea of Civil Rights, that a Black Man can do the job of a White Man without any need for re-writes in the script to make him seem black
Only a person who is feeling or is under oppression will think in the terms of the oppressive framework it uses to understand its environment, very few people who are in the powerful group will ever get to consider the other position.
I want to make a movie where someone gets chastised for calling them zombies. Explains what zombies really are, explains that they are revanents or ghouls... then gets ate because they took the time to explain what they really are.
It'd be nice to have a movie featuring ghuls
are ghouls even undead? I'm pretty sure revenants are, but ghouls weren't... unless I'm thinking of the indian version of Ghouls, Yaksha, which were demons, not undead.
I think Shaun of the Dead did something like this.
I second that. Especially you look up those words' meanings.
And that insufferable person would deserve to be eaten. Language evolves.
Fun Fact: Romero was partially inspired by a video he directed where TVs Mister Rogers underwent tonsil surgery. Mister Rogers saw Romero's movie and liked it!
Seeing Ben go down in either version made me want to throw something. He didn't deserve to die in that evil residence.
Also, did anyone else instinctively hear "Fetch me their souls" after seeing 10:42
The Zombie Survival Guide is literally what motivated me to finally join the military. Not as a real threat, but the way it described the possibility of societal breakdown, and the skills necessary to endure that sort of hardship. I learned a lot of interesting things in my time in, and it all comes back to zombies.
George Romero said, when he was a young adult in NYC in the the late 50s, to see classic movies, you could rent 8 or 16mm versions, and if needed, projectors as well.
George wanted to see _Tales of Hoffman_, but when he went to the rental outlet, it was already checked out, by "some Italian kid named Scorcesse..."
Where did you learn that?
@@solidonseraindogthetenth1679 from George Romero himself, via a DVD documentary on NotLD
I loved "Land of the Dead", and weirdly I think my favorite part of it was when John Leguizamo's character gets bit, and he says something like "Hang on, don't shoot me yet, I want to see what it's like..." and wanders off into the night.
It was more of a "Hey, you want me to shoot you?" "Nah, lemme see how the other side lives" "Okay boss, you take care" "You too" But I loved that movie
Been waiting for a modern zombie video since I discovered the channel. Amazing video as always Dr. Zarka!
Night of Living Dead they actually let a Black man be the lead. But in the end he still had to die the Black man in a horror movie death.
It was the 60s. In a way it showed the bigotry of the era as the poor man was being dumped on the entire film and lived, only to be shot by a person that probably didn't care if he was undead or not due to his race.
But after Night of Living Dead there was the superior Dawn of the Dead (1978).
Actually Ben in that movie had no problem standing up for himself against someone like Hooper,
“You can be the boss down there, (the cellar)
I’M boss up here.” (the house)
This movie came out just before or after Martin Luther King had been assassinated and it had a Hell of an impact at the time.
History is full of dead black heroes killed by clueless and prejudiced white authorities. It may be a coincidence, but it reflects America.
I take George at his word. This was cast due to the audition, had nothing to do with race , sorry color. Script written for white trucker who would have died at the end.
I just discovered this channel and Dr Z
And I love how your videos, tho they are about monsters, have sooo much historical and cultural research into them.
You are this NerdGirl’s new favorite channel
from my cinema history class a few years ago, we discussed the impact of Romero's original movie and the themes. The theme was on the creeping inevitability and brutal suddenness of death is the core theme of the movie. Race wasnt ever a part of that discussion, I know that the time the movie came out were tumultuous for civil rights, but i really don't think they played as large of a factor as you're leading on. With the slow and inevitable death by ghouls outside and the building tension inside until it all came to ahead by morning's light, and with others coming out to check on one other after such circumstances, it was an unfortunate accident on what happened to Ben.
Listen it's 2020 I don't care what the actual director said it's about race because everything is about race. In the words of the great philosopher Anita sarkeesian, "everything is sexist everything is racist everything is homophobic and you have to point it all out. "
My liberal arts college professor taught me to view everything through the lens of race and gender and sexual orientation so I have to make everything about race and gender and sexual orientation. It's like if you only had a hammer like you treat everything like a nail. So you need to take your white privilege somewhere else
@@AnthonyMazzarella you are a sad and diminished individual, i hope you realize there is more to the world, than the potently polarized way you see it. there are truly bigger things to worry about in life than one random youtube comment's race and assumed privilege's. the old adage is never judge the past by today's morals; is far too apt in these trying times.
@@swapertxking you know that would be a great criticism of me if I actually earnestly believe what I said. But I was speaking ironically. I was being sarcastic. It was a joke
@@AnthonyMazzarella sarcasm or not, without hearing inflections, text does not convey meaning... and besides i've heard actual people say stuff like that unironically.
i hope this series brings "The Girl With All The Gifts." it's my favorite zombie movie.
Romero didn’t mean to call his living dead zombies. He still saw zombies as hypnotic people doing the wet work of Bela Lugosi in the Caribbean.
Yay, they brought up Ghouls as the actual term for the modern-day zombie. I brought this up in the last video. Also my English College class's topic was Monsters. We talked about the meaning of "Night Of the Living Dead" including the racial stereotypes. At the end, Romero just wanted to make a movie and already wrote the script before making the movie.
Man, Patricia Tallman's characters just can't catch a break, can they?
Although things did eventually turn out pretty well for her in B5, even if she went through a few years of hell getting to that point.
@@jasonblalock4429 She still ended up exiled. Granted, a road trip with G'Kar is better than most ways to spend time in exile, but she's basically a pariah to the rest of the known galaxy.
That last Ramero quote is profound! Ya Zombies have become a an allegory for so many different things, even without the express intentions of the writers and directors.
As a german boy, I often heard storys that a part of the zombie culture are from the first world war.
Theres numerous tales from the soldiers on all sides of this time who advantaged some creepy stuff - very interesting !
Thx for this video! Have a nice day n night !
The reanimated flesh-eating corpses in George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD were accurately called "ghouls", for that is an Arabic word that truly fits the description, especially as set down in Arabic folklore. They weren't called "zombies" until the release of Lucio Fulci's ultraviolent giallo film ZOMBI, which was released in 1978 right on the heels of Romero's follow-up film DAWN OF THE DEAD.
Yup, but zombi increased in popularity. And I love using that world for reffering the corporeal walking dead, special the draugars. Ghouls, for other part, are djinn, not living dead.
@@matiasdelgado7011 The issue is that haitian zombies are also not undead, so picking that word just based on that seems odd to me, I think we’re just so used to calling them zombies that we forget it’s not a western word/monster in origin
I think today's zombie obsession and resurgence has more to do with technology, science, and bio-engineering. With virus manipulation for drug delivery to CRISPR for direct gene editing and the possibilities of 'designer' viruses to target specific peoples, I think its less to do with social uprising today as it once was. I am Legend was ahead of its time and, I think, pretty accurately portrays today's concern and obsession with zombies and zombification.
Another great video and can't wait for part 3!!!
Yeah, I feel like part 3 will be about zombies created via infection
No one likes a virus and it’s vaccine... until the dead start roaming the earth
"The town sheriff gives the order when he 'mistakes Ben for one of the reanimated dead'"
😒😒😒 Sure.
It's like that bit in The Simpsons. "He was a zombie?"
I honestly think that all of them had a 'shoot first, ask questions later' approach unless someone actively called out to them. Just operating under the assumption that anyone they found was a zombie. Especially since, as I understand, the script wasn't changed to accommodate a black actor, and thus that death was originally meant for a white man
They were at a distance, looking up through a window. All they saw was his head. As TheKyrix82 said, the group was shooting people who didn't call out or act alive.
Romero also did 2 more sequels with black male leads where they both survived.
I got into George Romero thanks to Gorillaz and boy am I glad I found these movies, they're such gems!
I’m not sure Romero’s monsters should be called zombies to be honest. That’s not the name he originally gave them, and they really don’t capture the spirit of the Haitian folklore creature. You can say, well linguistic evolution. But there’s not exactly a clear logical continuity from one definition to the other, the shift happened in North America not Haiti, and out of ignorance of the term’s then current meaning, not some linguistic necessity.
Haitian zombies are mindless like Romero zombies. Also, Haitian zombies could be raised from the dead. So it still makes sense linguistically. You’re looking way to deep into it and can’t see the forest through the trees due to that. A Great Dane is very different from a chihuahua but they are still similar enough to both be called dogs.
They could be raised from the dead through magic, but they could also be still living people enslaved by a sorcerer, and neither possibility featured the endless hunger that defines the modern creature. With the living ones, it’s not so much mindlessness as a conscious mind in a drugged/fugue state that allows it to be controlled more easily. I would say those are pretty fundamental differences. I probably am overthinking it, but it’s fun for me to get into the weeds on these kinds of things. As long as you don’t get angry or obsessed about it, I think it’s fine to overthink things.
Language evolves... They are reanimated mindless corpses, so its easy to see where it came from
I’ve always thought that H. P. Lovecraft’s reanimated undead corpses from his story Herbert West Reanimator were closer to George Romero’s Zombies in pure savagery when they attacked in mass, although they were nothing like the traditional Haitian zombies and were never cannibalistic. unlike Romero’s creatures.
@@jacobd1984 I know. But I love use the word with revenants, draugars, and other kind of corporeal walking dead. Janathan Maberry sees them as mindless vampires. Technically, Romero ripped off the whole story from I am Legend.
You know Macumba? Voodoo. My granddad was a priest in Trinidad. He used to tell us, “When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.”
Well that explains Mitch McConnell!
I have to agree with Romero, this seems like over-analyzing.
Damn, wish there was a "love" and not just a "like" button. Fabulous episode, Dr. Z!! Was riveted the whole time. Can't wait for the next one! Monstrum FTW!
Mr. Romero was an awesome person
I like the mention of vampires. I use to binge read vampire myths and reference books. Many of the legends were rather un-vampire like. Not mush blood drinking. Mainly raising from the dead. Being violent, annoying, or even just repeating there work but at night. People purging them due to fear they would turn dangerous or due to fear of the rotting body causing illness. Or in one case fear the farmhand would work the plow horses to death. Then the ones were vampires ate more than blood. Brains weren't a big deal but the eating of flesh came up often. And the idea of people killed by a curse coming back with the curse.
Whenever I would hear people claiming zombies rising from the dead and eating flesh was a relatively new belief I'd just think "No, not really, just the word zombie on them is."
Jonathan Maberry sees this creatures as rotting vampires. But I prefer the word zombie for the corporeal walking dead. because the moder use is different from the haitian classic.
It sounds like Romero got strong armed by the public to make his movies something they never were. He didn't want zombies or a message about race but everyone insisted until he gave up. Then he made the remake more towards his vision.
This profoundly in-depth analysis of the zombie is probably one,if not,THE best one I've ever seen. Great work! I've always been very intrigued by not only the monster,but the origin of the monster characters in fiction and folklore,so this series was a no brainer for me. It amazes me how many radical changes characters such as zombies and the like undergo. And so quickly. Monsters have always been used as allogories and metaphors for diverse things. Whatever we need them to represent and mean,they will always be pliable. Horror can be used to showcase whatever fears and anxieties sociaty and/or individuals have to face. And that just establishes the fact that horror is more important than most people realize. it can be so much more than low brow,vulgar entertainment. Btw, I've somewhat recently got into the zombie genre and learning their genesis makes them all the more intriguing to me. Thanks for this and all of your vids.
I still have not taken the time to watch these classics, but you've convinced me.
I had the pleasure of meeting George at a convention before he died. At a q&a he mentioned how Duane talked to him about Ben’s dialogue saying how a black man can’t talk to a white man like this.
George said that he didn’t think so, it’s the 60s people changed. He came across to me as a big ole flower child hippie till his death. He was a very warm person.
Truly the Father of the Dead
" they're coming to get you Barbara" still creeps me the hell out
And then the color version added
"They're horny Barabara...they've been dead a looooong time!"
geniously gently touching this topic - thank you
once again, I will be upset if you don't at least mention the Jiang Shi at some point in this video or the next.
My older brother absolutely loves George Romero's movies. He's a zombie guy lol. And he has a dawn of the dead poster in his room
It's like the only thing that stays dead is The Author, lol
Awesome Video! R.I.P George Romero. And it's interesting that we get to see him as a Zombie himself in Call Of Duty Black Ops 1 Call Of The Dead.
If anyone wants to know more about audiences shaping the meaning of art, look up reader-response theory. It's looks mostly at literature rather than film but analyses which is more important - the creators intentions, or the audience's reaction.
I prefer auteur Theory. I think that the writer's intention is Paramount. You can see other things in the story than just the writer's intention but his intention is primary
@@AnthonyMazzarella Intention and Word of God can only go so far when everything in your work points to a specific theme or motif being used. The artist is only as important as their audience.
@@Pleasestoptalkingthanks that's alternative interpretations are valid as long as they are completely understood to be alternative interpretations. They're the academic equivalent to Fan theories. Think about and maybe can tell us something about our experience and life. But they're not the author's intent.
@@AnthonyMazzarella And the video stated Romero admitted to perhaps subconsciously adding the themes to his films, and he then then went on to consciously add those themes into his other films. Calling them analogous to fan theory is borderline insulting to people who enjoy dissecting media. As I pointed out in another comment, thats fine if you just want to enjoy a thing for itself, but we need to stop pretending things just exist in meaningless voids unless theyre explicitly surrealist or absurd in nature.
People looking into the politics of a Romero zombie movies is like your high school English teacher looking into the meaning of a random door in a whatever book you're reading.
I love 90's Barbara, because the actress was in a lot of 90's Trek. I am a dork.
Also Babylon 5!
@@SanjayMerchant never watched any of it. Shives just uploaded a video today making a good argument that I should fix that. Local cable did not have it back in the day.
For me she was just too much of a Ripley clone.
@@cha5 you can't help that, when there's a queen you imitate the queen.
@@harrypothead42024 Yes well, I wasn't all that impressed with her anymore than I was with this replacement of Duane Jones in the 1990 NOTLD film, For me that version of NOTLD is about as pointless as that remake of The Wickerman with Nicholas Cage.
This series does not disappoint at all! Well done Doctor! Can´t wait for the next video!
This video is a total masterpiece. I have seen night of the living dead possibly over 500 times.I have been watching that movie since 1984 until now. I research the movie extensively. George A Romero and Russell Streiner Have both said that Duane Jones was picked for the role of been because of his performance and not because of his race.
Romero did say in latter interviews that since Ben was African-American that a sub context of racial narrative could be applied to his movies. And it was Jones himself who picked the ending fate for his own character been. He believed the most believable ending would be that he would die and not survive Romero was initially against that concept but Duane Jones convinced him to do it
I love not only the mythos but the social commentary that this genre has also thrown out for us to debate its intentions. Another great video. I'm gonna have to subscribe!
The way that this documentary touches upon the racial and cultural revolution in the 60s is truly amazing
Zombie movies are almost all about our society. The only surviving black man getting shot by the Sheriff at the end of Night of the Living Dead. His next zombie movie, Dawn of the Dead taking place in a mall. Even newer Zombie movies include social commentary if one can see it. Romero is the King of horror movies & many producers & directors pay homage to him by having Night of the Living Dead on a tv in the background or something similar. There's so much more to Zombie movies than just the fear factor. Although the fear factor is excellent!
Lol “don’t read into my movie, it’s just zombies”
-Romero
Hit it right on the head !
No my liberal arts Professor explain to me that it's about race because like everything today is about race. Like that's what Anita sarkisian told me
George just loved Dwayne Jones I did too the end of movie is perhaps the most soul crushing ending ever made even to this day it hits hard
Zombies forever!!!
I was thinking the same!
Werewolves forever! 🌙🐺
Demons forever!
@@incubustimelord5947 YEEES
Romero forever
There are Romanian stories about "strigoi, moroi" that ...somehow fit in this zombie lore, but still the fear being used even after death(haiti) is diferent then the fear of being eaten by the dead(romero).
I heard abouth that vampiric zombies. Very popular thanks to The Strain.
Romero the man, the myth, the legend. And man was he definitely right about his movies being over-analyzed! ^Case in point. Reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Lisa goes to college and there is a course solely dedicated to watching Itchy and Scratchy cartoons...after watching cartoon, professor asks "what does this episode say about modern society", and some hipster gives a BS answer which receives thoughtful nods. People, as always, will see what they want to see. Casting Duane Jones though...not only groundbreaking, but genius! Ben is the original zombie killer. Jones' stand out performance made the movie that paved the way for the entire genre.
MMM-Hm. See *Get Out* which is so explicitly making a statement, or anything from Tyler Perry. They beat you over the head so much, if they were literal, we'd all be dead hundreds of times over.
Even George Romero at his worst, post 2000s zombies was more subtle than any of them. I personally love GAR's ghouls the most. They exist on a plane whose air, water and soil is so saturated with an energy source that appeared so suddenly, all things living have been exposed to it, with all humans' brains being the only ones effected by it. This concept isn't used often enough. Too many virus films, novels, games, etc.
@@TheNotverysocial You did not just lump Get Out in with anything from Tyler Perry. Yes, Get Out could definitely be on the nose...but Tyler Perry??? Not only is that a completely different genre of films, dealing with much more specific themes aimed at a very specific target audience, the quality of those films are leagues beneath Get Out, and I even thought that movie was overrated.
I agree.
But honestly- it makes me a little sad. Obviously Romero will always be a pioneer, but if his films were stripped of those perceived allegories and commentaries, they'd only be known as little more than gore-fests. I can get the over-analyzing. But it's that analyzing that launched his movies to the status they have now. It's part of the reason it's resonated for so long. To say that most of that was unintentional really takes the sails out a bit. I think that's why he never halted the conversation; the movies as they stand, mean a lot more to pop culture, and horror in general, than if they were just standard zombie fare.
@@jamaalreece7255 Merci.
I liked the film, and found the concept of taking someone's body intriguing, but the sentiment behind it is about as forced and blatant as can be. I think the one character I liked the most was the blind guy whose career was undermined by by rendered suddenly blind. Without his literal vision, his job is null. His sole intent was to see again so he can collect and criticise paintings, photographs and sculptures, and he would do whatever it takes, whether the body he is taking is black or white or even red. He can't tell the difference anyway being unable to see. The only person there not making some kind of a statement. We have the political news and church to preach to us. We don't need it from fiction.
@@jamaalreece7255 Did any of his later zombie flicks have *Night of the Living Dead's* subtlety?
We're so glad you got a better [lav?] mic. Oh, and nice entry--can't wait for part 3!!!
Also, George Romero was one Fred Roger's first directors.
I think it speaks more about Romero that he cast Johnson for his audition, and not the movement of the time. He was influenced by the events with the way he sees the actors as equal.
I got the similar feeling on the ending of night of the living dead. I thought they killed him more on being black than them mistaking him for a zombie.
He didn’t even look like it!
It can absolutely been seen that way and it's what makes that scene and the photos right after it so powerful, it's something that was really lost in the remake starring Tony Todd (Candyman) as Ben.
Yeah that thought was cooking in the back of my mind although Romero did say repeatedly that Ben was supposed to die that way no matter who wound up playing the character.
@@jpzombie3390 I think were it intended to be explicit, the N word would have been dropped in that scene. This is a movie that could never have been published five years prior, not in America. It would have to debut foreign or be put on hold till the year it did come out. The Hays code and all that.
This was a really fascinating experience because I’ve heard Romero’s zombie tied to the Cold War but I had not heard the zombies in relation to the civil rights movement. Storied never ceases to amaze me.
I've always said, it doesn't matter if he MEANT to make a statement about racism or the civil rights movement. It's possible to do something accidentally. That doesn't mean it isn't relevant.
How I love Romero's zombies, is that they are just everyday people. They could be the little kid down the street you say hi, the beat cop that may have been an ass, the pastor who is loved by the congregation or the doctor.
I've enjoyed his social commentary on everything during the times. Whether it's the civil rights of the 60s, the upcoming shopping malls and consumerism, the science vs the military or the post 9-11 world.
So...what’s the third type of Zombie? Runners?
If that's the case, oh boy, we should be prepared for the comments to burst into flame!
Yeah what about the fast zombies on World War Z
Something interesting about that last quote though, even the devil often attempts to tempt people in most (if not all) depictions, representing an external evil that preys on humans' internal capacity for evil.
Oh hell yass woohoo let's friggin gooo
Sorry I'm so hyped up
After doing some research, I think the southern gothic and horror comics with the dead coming back for vengeance played an influence on Matheson and Romero to create: The apocalyptic zombie narrative, which I think is a much better definition for Romero's contribution. The creature is important, but not as much as the context. Thanx, Dr. Zarka. Great series for Halloween!!!
P.S.: Did anybody notice Dr. Zarka has a little 60s Barbara going on?
Romero did a good job of basically showcasing a black lead, having the audience route for him to survive, only for him to die in the end. This was a horror movie, and many good guys don't walk out of the horror movie alive at the end, so the shock of seeing the main lead character die at the end, added to the audiences shock and grief that they wanted the only black character to survive.
Some have tried to slander this movie as being racist, but if you use your brain, you'd understand what Romero was actually doing was more progressive then you give it credit for. And mayne modern day activists shouldn't try to hard to force their political agenda on this movie and just see it for what it is.
Romero simply used the best person/actor for the role. Done. Tthe polar opposite of racism. The approach surely we want?
Yet today? In this video? The cult of woke dictates the race card must be played, so every effort is made to bring race (needlessly) into the discussion.
Agreed
My cousin Jackie was actually an extra in Dawn of the Dead. She was one of the countless zombies in the mall. She wasn't particularly proud of it because she felt it was degrading. frankly I would have been honored though to be a nameless zombie in such a seminal film.
...sooo... will Pride & Prejudice & Zombies get a mention? Its own minute in a video? Its *own video*???
It’s a bad film
@@Howyaduing True - mind you I've seen worse zombie films.
God that was an awful book.
rest in peace romero! Man what a huge loss. Dude was a huge talent
I hate zombies, I've seen like no zombie movies. I had no idea that his movies reflected society so much, and to see the changes that occurred over half a century is really interesting.
Technically these creatures are vampires. Romero plagiarized the novel I am Legend and the arabic Ghul. Even exists mindless vampires like the french craqueuhhe who are very close to the modern "zombi".
As a Pittsburgher, this is horrifying.
George Romero, the father of all zombie movies....
Was in the school play of night of the living dead as my first play, gave me a love for George, and theater.
If you think about it, if they would of listen to the chubby bald guy and not the black lead, they would of all survived. P.S I watched the movie as a kid in the mid 70s and it scared me a lot. This movie had staying power because it was SCARY and that's it. No politics involved.
*Spoiler alert*
Except the Coopers. They were screwed. The daughter was as good as dead, the parents would in all probability have died at Ben, Tom, or Barbara's hands when she bit it, and that would have left four coming out of there alive. And still, the first survivor to emerge from the basement would in all likelihood been shot dead whoever s/he may be, the rest may or may not follow suit.
Bruh PBS is so underrated, they’re giving the horror nerds what they want with these deep takes on zombies😭
Weren't the ghouls reanimated by the radiation leaking from a satellite? In my zombie class, we analyzed Night as a statement on race (expertly covered in this video) and also Cold War fears, spurred by the Soviets winning the space race.
Yes
Its implied a probe that came back from venus carried a type of radiation that reanimated the corpses
I really appreciate these content creators during these trying times. Thank you Monstrum.
I'm in agreement with George Romero I think his movies are "over analyzed" ; especially his first Night of the Living Dead --- geezz louise give me some peace.🙄 I know, it has some historical background in the culture and time with 1968 the backstory is fascinating and I like talking movies too, but....🤔 Zombies.🧟♂️
No one:
Me: Dr Emily behind you!😂.
6:18 - saying the mob at the end of the films “looks like a lynch mob” because they’re white, is not different than saying “those blacks over there look like thieves, because they wear hoodies.”
that lady was all kinds of social justice crazy
George Romero was my idol he inspired me to make my own zombie movie scripts or story’s