We talked about the social implications of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead in class. What do you think Romero is implying with the ending of the film? Use visual and audio evidence to support your statements.
In class, we talked about the social implications of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Towards the end of the film, Romero chooses to ungracefully kill off the main character who he had worked so hard to develop. This film was released in the final year of the civil rights movement and George Romero was most likely trying to make a political statement. By having the main, black character go through such a struggle to stay alive only to be shot dead in his tracks by the cops, a parallel was made to the blatant racism and struggles African Americans had faced during this time period. It’s interesting how Romero used parallel editing to show the cops shooting at the zombies and Ben leaving the basement at the same time. By cutting between shots of the cops and shots of Ben in the house, the audience expects what’s soon to come, so when Ben dies it’s not really a surprise, although at the same time, it's still disappointing/annoying that the hero was killed. Also, Duane Jones, the actor who played Ben, had a part in convincing Romero to have this jarring ending. Jones felt that the shock factor of having the main hero die and of the hero being black “seemed like a double-barreled whammy.”
George Romero's filmography has been long ripe with poignant social commentary hidden under layers of chilling horror, even up to his first film "Night of the Living Dead"-even if it wasn't intentional. It's important to remember the social and racial climate of 1968: beloved civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had only recently been murdered by white terrorists, police brutality and mob violence was as prominent as ever, and the Chicago Riots had begun. And in Hollywood, the idea of casting your main character as a person of color was scandalous at best. This is important to consider, as even though George Romero would later claim to not have intended the racial commentary in this film, it was his decision to go against Hollywood and social expectation and hire Duane Jones, a black man, as his intelligent, educated and competent protagonist, Ben. Ben acts through the entire film as the sole source of reason and survival, providing good arguments and working towards survival even as his white costars display cowardice, confusion, and even plain ignorance in the face of danger. Ben, for the entire film, makes all the right choices and says all the right words, and he is alone as he survives the night in the cellar. Yet despite all this, as he survives supernatural monsters and interpersonal conflicts, he becomes a victim anyway out of sheer ignorance for no reason all, and is shot in the head as he moves to meet his rescue party. The rescue party themselves, composed of police officers and southern gunmen, are shot almost as a mob more than an organized group, shooting indiscriminately and congratulating each other for a job well done. When a member of the posse sees Ben in the house, he doesn't even bother to confirm if he's dead or not-just one shot clean through the head as his superior congratulates his shooting. "Nice Shot. Okay, that's another one for the pile", he says. No concern, no doubt, no bothering to identify the target. The credits are interspersed with shots of Ben's corpse, disregarded, thrown onto a pile of corpses and lit ablaze as if he were never a person at all. It becomes a poignant metaphor for police brutality, for bigotry and for racial oppression, and it's important to remember that it's Duane Jones himself who convinced the producers to keep the ending the way it was. It's a truly sobering story about how a black man may live his life well, choose all the right decisions and come out on top, only to be shot down for no reason at all, and noone will bother to remember.
George Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead, implies one specific thing about the social structure of our society in the 1960s that can also relate to our society today. Casting a black actor to play the role of the hero was uncommon in America. Yet, Romero casted Duane Jones, not simply because of his race, but because of his natural talent. However, Jones’s ethnic background was important nonetheless. Jones’s character, Ben, established himself as the leader in a house full of panicked white people. Although his ideas regarding survival were quite reasonable, he was still challenged by other inhabitants of the house, especially Harry. Despite his opposers, Ben stuck to his gut. His strength and perseverance allowed him to escape being eaten alive, but didn’t let him escape being shot between the eyes by the police. Before he meets his fate, Ben’s profile is shown through the window outside of the farmhouse. His figure is nearly centered and the lighting is clear enough to show he is holding a gun, signifying he is alive. His skin color contrasts with everything in this specific shot, such as the white siding of the house and the lightly colored windowpane. To the police officers and civilians outdoors, it has to be obvious he is a living, black man. Ben’s death was caused by those who were expected to save and protect him. The finale of Romero’s film is therefore making a statement on issues of police brutality and racism in America. Even though Ben is both intelligent and intrepid, he is unable to escape the all too powerful, clammy hands of bigotry.
George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”, in addition to its role in making horror films more graphic and bloody, has an implied social narrative as well, which is loosely touched upon throughout the film, culminating at the end of the film at which point the protagonist, Ben, was shot by police who assumed he was a zombie. Outside of the film’s historical context, this scene reads as simply a bummer, as Ben was a good-willed character that did not deserve to be killed. However, it is critically important to understand a film’s historical context when analyzing it. “Night of the Living Dead” was released in 1968, a point of extreme tension in America. With the recent assassinations of important Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, in addition to a continuing struggle for Civil Rights across the United States, was cause for outrage within the black community in America. Romero comments on the black experience in America through how the protagonist Ben interacts with the world around him. He is established early on in the film as a strong leader and individual, who is able to help bring the distraught Barbra to safety. As the film develops, and it is revealed that more people are trapped in the house, Ben further establishes himself as a leader in the face of adversity, both as a result of the zombies and the people in the house with him. The plot seems to be moving towards a story of triumph for Ben, and his power is represented through low angle shots of him juxtaposed with high angle shots of his peers, indicating he has more power than they do. At the film’s conclusion, however, this idea is turned on its head, as Ben is shot by police officers before he can say that he is not a zombie. Here, Romero is creating a metaphor for the black experience in America. Romero is stating that no matter how hard a black man (or woman, but the film uses a man as an example) works to achieve power and/or greatness, he will always be brought down by a system that was built to work against him.
George Romero does some interesting things with the ending of his movie, Night of the Living Dead, made in 1968. In his film where the dead don't stay in the ground, Barbara gets trapped in a house with Ben, a house surrounded by undead flesh eaters. They find five more survivors downstairs and together they try to figure out an escape route. However, each of the survivors get picked off, one by one, as they fall victim to the zombies' unstoppable hunger. Ben is the only one to make it out alive, only to be shot dead by his would-be saviors.
During this time period, the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum. With leaders like MLK Jr and Malcom X leading the charge, people were becoming more aware of the racial discrimination in the country and fighting back against it. One effective way to fight back against racism was through the media, and that's exactly what Romero did. With Ben, his lead actor and the only black man in the movie, he portrayed him as a strong figure, shooting him in low angles to give him power, especially when he was giving orders to the other characters. However, in the final scene, the white men shot him on sight. This was culturally significant because it reflected the racist atmosphere in America at the time—a black man in our country can do everything right and have all the qualities of a strong leader and still be shot down. In fact, such a man might get shot down and silenced because he is strong and opinionated and wants to speak his mind, which is exactly what happened only six months prior to this movie's release with MLK's assassination. Unfortunately, this is a problem that we still face today.
Racial tension in George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” is noticeable throughout the film until it boils over and leads to an unexpected and depressing end critical of race relations in the United States circa 1960. The narrative is extremely daring given the time period in which it was written. A black authority figure in a house full of white people was daring enough, not to mention the scenes in which Ben, the black main character, tells a white man to “Get the hell down in the cellar” after he challenges him, or the scene in which Ben slaps a white woman who was going mad. The final scene in which Ben is shot is certainly the most gut wrenching in the film by far. Ben is shot by an all white mob hunting the living dead, and it is certainly because they believed him to be a threat. One of the members of the mob even interjects “that’s another one for the fire.” Romero’s commentary on race relations in the United States at the time suggests that the real evil lies in society, not within the living dead.
The final scene in Night of the Living Dead is reminiscent of the internal turmoil plaguing the United States in the 1960s. The film was released in 1968, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, prominent leaders during the movement had been assassinated shortly before the film came out, and violence toward African Americans was still common in American culture. At the end of the movie, Ben, played by black actor Duane Jones, was unceremoniously murdered by a police officer who assumed that he was one of the zombies. By this point, Ben was the only person in the house who managed to survive, fighting off the masses of zombies that had surrounded the house. Compared to the other characters, Ben made far better choices and was resourceful enough to guarantee his own survival. In addition, he was concerned with the safety of the others in the house, doing what he could to protect all of them. He did everything right, but in the end law enforcement took one look at him and shot him, suspecting that he was one of the monsters. This scene serves as an important social commentary, because it implies that, as a person of color, it didn't matter what you did or how you acted; you would be treated as the enemy for simply existing. The scene cuts between shots of the police making their way toward the house, shooting zombies as they go, and shots of Ben leaving his hiding place because he believes that they have come to rescue him. During this sequence, there is no soundtrack or other nondiegetic sounds; the only being the gunshots of the police. The editing and sound design make it clear to the viewer what is about to happen, but it is not exactly a dramatic buildup. After Ben is shot between the eyes, we see still images of his body being mutilated and set on fire the same way that the zombies were. This abrupt and undignified portrayal of Ben’s murder represents the ongoing problem of unprompted violence against black men in the United States.
George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead deals with racial implications especially due to the time period this film was released in. The ending of this movie ends with the male protagonist, Ben, getting murdered by the police who had mistaken him for one of the zombies. This ending is significant because it reveals far more about the context of the film than if it were to end differently. For example, this film was released in 1968 in which the Civil Rights Movement was still in full effect. Many years after the abolishing of slavery, many African Americans were fighting for basic civil liberties which were still not being given to them. Segregated facilities and the practice of “separate but equal” laws prohibited African Americans from being completely immersed into the American society. Such injustices sparked the arrival of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King who assured these people of a life where this would not occur. However, even with MLK’s assassination, it did not stop the violence and injustice towards African Americans. They still continued to be looked down upon and this still exists to this day to some extent. Given all this context, this ending scene is important and extremely significant because it illuminates the social injustices faced by African Americans in the United States during the time the film was released. For example, throughout the whole movie, Ben was the character who had the most strength and courage to beat the zombies and was successfully able to survive from being attacked by them. One by one, each of the survivors died but Ben was the only resilient one remaining. This signifies his strength and ability to survive. However, it is a bit ironic to the viewer that Ben was able to survive from the zombies yet became fatal to his own kind; humans. This simple fact illustrates how although the zombies were the evil and terrifying force in this film, African Americans were still considered a threat. In a sense, they could be regarded just as scary and terrifying as the zombies were. It emphasized America’s view towards African Americans and how the majority did not view them as humans.
Night of the Living Dead was created during a troubled time in American history. The late sixties were rife with civil upheaval, which was echoed throughout the film, especially the ending. I believe it to be quite a conscious decision that the main, and undoubtedly most deserving to live, character is a black man. From the first time he entered the frame he was in charge and in command, an unusual role at the time period. Throughout the movie he surpasses his white counterparts in work ethic and drive to survive, possibly a commentary on the lengths a black person has to go to survive in comparison to white people. Ben was the best bet option to survive and the character most tied to the audience for his good will and intelligence. Which was catalysed by ben’s instant portrayal by the camera. From the moment he steps into frame he is larger and taller than Judy, creating a low angle shot is he climbs the stairs. From then on he was frequently shot at low angles, made possible by Ben’s height compared to the other actors. Ben was also used to juxtapose Judy and vice versa which clearly cemented him as the hero who would deservedly make it to survive at the end. After an hour and a half of Ben proving how much he deserves to live he is shot in the final scene by the sheriff who automatically assumes ben is a Zombie. This is utilized to draw a parallel between the scene and police brutality. In the sixties the civil rights movement was officially taking form and police brutality was thrown into the spotlight. Directly before the film was created MLK had been shot and killed. In the same manner as many people at the time, Ben is assumed guilty and shot without hesitation and remorse. In his final moments he is seen at extremely low angles. I would say this was nothing more than coincidence due to the nature of the shots but possibly it would be to further show Ben as the hero before he is murdered. The last scene of the movie is a still of Ben being dragged by hooks out of the house, a further parallel to the ill treatment of black people that was going on in the sixties.
The social implications of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" was heavily influenced by the state in which society was at the time of production. Romero’s film being made in 1968, was made right in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, that took place from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s. At this point in time, African Americans were not seen as equals, often viewed as less than their Caucasian counterparts in society and in film, so Romero’s film having a hero protagonist that just so happened to be African American was almost unheard of in the film industry at the time. In the scene where Ben was shot, the officers that were hunting the zombies were more focused on taking out the threat rather than saving those who weren’t. The shot of Ben right before he was killed was a close up with low-key lighting emphasizing the tension in the scene; Ben knows that he is once again in a life or death situation without any knowledge of those people outside being a threat to him or not. I think what Romero is implying with the end of the film is that even though Ben was the very last to survive, being the most resourceful, that still wasn’t enough to save his life from the injustice of those who were sent to save him.
Night of The Living Dead was released in 1968 during the time of The Civil Rights movement. This movement had leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. who had both been assassinated before the film came out. George Romero used this movie to speak about racial injustice by using the only African American character as one of the main characters. He portrayed the character Ben as a very strong and intelligent character who led the stranded group. Throughout the film Romero uses low angle when looking at Ben to show his strength and power. That gives parallel to the powerful men who were head of the Civil Rights movement. George Romero also hints at the media representation of the Civil Rights movement. He uses the tv and radio reports to act as the media although showing light of the movement, paints it as everything is going to be ok and solved. But later we see how just like the injustice of African Americans continuous, the zombie infection spreads to everyone in the house except for Ben. Ben is hurt and we see him now from high angles as he struggles up the stairs for help. When he reaches the window looking out, the “rescuer” deputes shoot him, signifying the assassination not only of the infamous Malcolm X and Dr. King, but of every African American during this period of time. This end implies the unsolved fight for justice. The long fight, no matter how dedicated, thought out, and strong, society still overlooked the racial injustice and "killed" the movement all while letting white society perceive it as solved.
In class, we talked about the social implications of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Towards the end of the film, Romero chooses to ungracefully kill off the main character who he had worked so hard to develop. This film was released in the final year of the civil rights movement and George Romero was most likely trying to make a political statement. By having the main, black character go through such a struggle to stay alive only to be shot dead in his tracks by the cops, a parallel was made to the blatant racism and struggles African Americans had faced during this time period. It’s interesting how Romero used parallel editing to show the cops shooting at the zombies and Ben leaving the basement at the same time. By cutting between shots of the cops and shots of Ben in the house, the audience expects what’s soon to come, so when Ben dies it’s not really a surprise, although at the same time, it's still disappointing/annoying that the hero was killed. Also, Duane Jones, the actor who played Ben, had a part in convincing Romero to have this jarring ending. Jones felt that the shock factor of having the main hero die and of the hero being black “seemed like a double-barreled whammy.”
ReplyDeleteGeorge Romero's filmography has been long ripe with poignant social commentary hidden under layers of chilling horror, even up to his first film "Night of the Living Dead"-even if it wasn't intentional. It's important to remember the social and racial climate of 1968: beloved civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had only recently been murdered by white terrorists, police brutality and mob violence was as prominent as ever, and the Chicago Riots had begun. And in Hollywood, the idea of casting your main character as a person of color was scandalous at best. This is important to consider, as even though George Romero would later claim to not have intended the racial commentary in this film, it was his decision to go against Hollywood and social expectation and hire Duane Jones, a black man, as his intelligent, educated and competent protagonist, Ben. Ben acts through the entire film as the sole source of reason and survival, providing good arguments and working towards survival even as his white costars display cowardice, confusion, and even plain ignorance in the face of danger. Ben, for the entire film, makes all the right choices and says all the right words, and he is alone as he survives the night in the cellar. Yet despite all this, as he survives supernatural monsters and interpersonal conflicts, he becomes a victim anyway out of sheer ignorance for no reason all, and is shot in the head as he moves to meet his rescue party. The rescue party themselves, composed of police officers and southern gunmen, are shot almost as a mob more than an organized group, shooting indiscriminately and congratulating each other for a job well done. When a member of the posse sees Ben in the house, he doesn't even bother to confirm if he's dead or not-just one shot clean through the head as his superior congratulates his shooting. "Nice Shot. Okay, that's another one for the pile", he says. No concern, no doubt, no bothering to identify the target. The credits are interspersed with shots of Ben's corpse, disregarded, thrown onto a pile of corpses and lit ablaze as if he were never a person at all. It becomes a poignant metaphor for police brutality, for bigotry and for racial oppression, and it's important to remember that it's Duane Jones himself who convinced the producers to keep the ending the way it was. It's a truly sobering story about how a black man may live his life well, choose all the right decisions and come out on top, only to be shot down for no reason at all, and noone will bother to remember.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead, implies one specific thing about the social structure of our society in the 1960s that can also relate to our society today. Casting a black actor to play the role of the hero was uncommon in America. Yet, Romero casted Duane Jones, not simply because of his race, but because of his natural talent. However, Jones’s ethnic background was important nonetheless. Jones’s character, Ben, established himself as the leader in a house full of panicked white people. Although his ideas regarding survival were quite reasonable, he was still challenged by other inhabitants of the house, especially Harry. Despite his opposers, Ben stuck to his gut. His strength and perseverance allowed him to escape being eaten alive, but didn’t let him escape being shot between the eyes by the police. Before he meets his fate, Ben’s profile is shown through the window outside of the farmhouse. His figure is nearly centered and the lighting is clear enough to show he is holding a gun, signifying he is alive. His skin color contrasts with everything in this specific shot, such as the white siding of the house and the lightly colored windowpane. To the police officers and civilians outdoors, it has to be obvious he is a living, black man. Ben’s death was caused by those who were expected to save and protect him. The finale of Romero’s film is therefore making a statement on issues of police brutality and racism in America. Even though Ben is both intelligent and intrepid, he is unable to escape the all too powerful, clammy hands of bigotry.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”, in addition to its role in making horror films more graphic and bloody, has an implied social narrative as well, which is loosely touched upon throughout the film, culminating at the end of the film at which point the protagonist, Ben, was shot by police who assumed he was a zombie. Outside of the film’s historical context, this scene reads as simply a bummer, as Ben was a good-willed character that did not deserve to be killed. However, it is critically important to understand a film’s historical context when analyzing it. “Night of the Living Dead” was released in 1968, a point of extreme tension in America. With the recent assassinations of important Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, in addition to a continuing struggle for Civil Rights across the United States, was cause for outrage within the black community in America. Romero comments on the black experience in America through how the protagonist Ben interacts with the world around him. He is established early on in the film as a strong leader and individual, who is able to help bring the distraught Barbra to safety. As the film develops, and it is revealed that more people are trapped in the house, Ben further establishes himself as a leader in the face of adversity, both as a result of the zombies and the people in the house with him. The plot seems to be moving towards a story of triumph for Ben, and his power is represented through low angle shots of him juxtaposed with high angle shots of his peers, indicating he has more power than they do. At the film’s conclusion, however, this idea is turned on its head, as Ben is shot by police officers before he can say that he is not a zombie. Here, Romero is creating a metaphor for the black experience in America. Romero is stating that no matter how hard a black man (or woman, but the film uses a man as an example) works to achieve power and/or greatness, he will always be brought down by a system that was built to work against him.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Romero does some interesting things with the ending of his movie, Night of the Living Dead, made in 1968. In his film where the dead don't stay in the ground, Barbara gets trapped in a house with Ben, a house surrounded by undead flesh eaters. They find five more survivors downstairs and together they try to figure out an escape route. However, each of the survivors get picked off, one by one, as they fall victim to the zombies' unstoppable hunger. Ben is the only one to make it out alive, only to be shot dead by his would-be saviors.
ReplyDeleteDuring this time period, the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum. With leaders like MLK Jr and Malcom X leading the charge, people were becoming more aware of the racial discrimination in the country and fighting back against it. One effective way to fight back against racism was through the media, and that's exactly what Romero did. With Ben, his lead actor and the only black man in the movie, he portrayed him as a strong figure, shooting him in low angles to give him power, especially when he was giving orders to the other characters. However, in the final scene, the white men shot him on sight. This was culturally significant because it reflected the racist atmosphere in America at the time—a black man in our country can do everything right and have all the qualities of a strong leader and still be shot down. In fact, such a man might get shot down and silenced because he is strong and opinionated and wants to speak his mind, which is exactly what happened only six months prior to this movie's release with MLK's assassination. Unfortunately, this is a problem that we still face today.
Racial tension in George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” is noticeable throughout the film until it boils over and leads to an unexpected and depressing end critical of race relations in the United States circa 1960. The narrative is extremely daring given the time period in which it was written. A black authority figure in a house full of white people was daring enough, not to mention the scenes in which Ben, the black main character, tells a white man to “Get the hell down in the cellar” after he challenges him, or the scene in which Ben slaps a white woman who was going mad. The final scene in which Ben is shot is certainly the most gut wrenching in the film by far. Ben is shot by an all white mob hunting the living dead, and it is certainly because they believed him to be a threat. One of the members of the mob even interjects “that’s another one for the fire.” Romero’s commentary on race relations in the United States at the time suggests that the real evil lies in society, not within the living dead.
ReplyDeleteThe final scene in Night of the Living Dead is reminiscent of the internal turmoil plaguing the United States in the 1960s. The film was released in 1968, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, prominent leaders during the movement had been assassinated shortly before the film came out, and violence toward African Americans was still common in American culture. At the end of the movie, Ben, played by black actor Duane Jones, was unceremoniously murdered by a police officer who assumed that he was one of the zombies. By this point, Ben was the only person in the house who managed to survive, fighting off the masses of zombies that had surrounded the house. Compared to the other characters, Ben made far better choices and was resourceful enough to guarantee his own survival. In addition, he was concerned with the safety of the others in the house, doing what he could to protect all of them. He did everything right, but in the end law enforcement took one look at him and shot him, suspecting that he was one of the monsters. This scene serves as an important social commentary, because it implies that, as a person of color, it didn't matter what you did or how you acted; you would be treated as the enemy for simply existing. The scene cuts between shots of the police making their way toward the house, shooting zombies as they go, and shots of Ben leaving his hiding place because he believes that they have come to rescue him. During this sequence, there is no soundtrack or other nondiegetic sounds; the only being the gunshots of the police. The editing and sound design make it clear to the viewer what is about to happen, but it is not exactly a dramatic buildup. After Ben is shot between the eyes, we see still images of his body being mutilated and set on fire the same way that the zombies were. This abrupt and undignified portrayal of Ben’s murder represents the ongoing problem of unprompted violence against black men in the United States.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Romero’s Night of the Living Dead deals with racial implications especially due to the time period this film was released in. The ending of this movie ends with the male protagonist, Ben, getting murdered by the police who had mistaken him for one of the zombies. This ending is significant because it reveals far more about the context of the film than if it were to end differently. For example, this film was released in 1968 in which the Civil Rights Movement was still in full effect. Many years after the abolishing of slavery, many African Americans were fighting for basic civil liberties which were still not being given to them. Segregated facilities and the practice of “separate but equal” laws prohibited African Americans from being completely immersed into the American society. Such injustices sparked the arrival of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King who assured these people of a life where this would not occur. However, even with MLK’s assassination, it did not stop the violence and injustice towards African Americans. They still continued to be looked down upon and this still exists to this day to some extent. Given all this context, this ending scene is important and extremely significant because it illuminates the social injustices faced by African Americans in the United States during the time the film was released. For example, throughout the whole movie, Ben was the character who had the most strength and courage to beat the zombies and was successfully able to survive from being attacked by them. One by one, each of the survivors died but Ben was the only resilient one remaining. This signifies his strength and ability to survive. However, it is a bit ironic to the viewer that Ben was able to survive from the zombies yet became fatal to his own kind; humans. This simple fact illustrates how although the zombies were the evil and terrifying force in this film, African Americans were still considered a threat. In a sense, they could be regarded just as scary and terrifying as the zombies were. It emphasized America’s view towards African Americans and how the majority did not view them as humans.
ReplyDeleteNight of the Living Dead was created during a troubled time in American history. The late sixties were rife with civil upheaval, which was echoed throughout the film, especially the ending. I believe it to be quite a conscious decision that the main, and undoubtedly most deserving to live, character is a black man. From the first time he entered the frame he was in charge and in command, an unusual role at the time period. Throughout the movie he surpasses his white counterparts in work ethic and drive to survive, possibly a commentary on the lengths a black person has to go to survive in comparison to white people. Ben was the best bet option to survive and the character most tied to the audience for his good will and intelligence. Which was catalysed by ben’s instant portrayal by the camera. From the moment he steps into frame he is larger and taller than Judy, creating a low angle shot is he climbs the stairs. From then on he was frequently shot at low angles, made possible by Ben’s height compared to the other actors. Ben was also used to juxtapose Judy and vice versa which clearly cemented him as the hero who would deservedly make it to survive at the end. After an hour and a half of Ben proving how much he deserves to live he is shot in the final scene by the sheriff who automatically assumes ben is a Zombie. This is utilized to draw a parallel between the scene and police brutality. In the sixties the civil rights movement was officially taking form and police brutality was thrown into the spotlight. Directly before the film was created MLK had been shot and killed. In the same manner as many people at the time, Ben is assumed guilty and shot without hesitation and remorse. In his final moments he is seen at extremely low angles. I would say this was nothing more than coincidence due to the nature of the shots but possibly it would be to further show Ben as the hero before he is murdered. The last scene of the movie is a still of Ben being dragged by hooks out of the house, a further parallel to the ill treatment of black people that was going on in the sixties.
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ReplyDeleteThe social implications of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" was heavily influenced by the state in which society was at the time of production. Romero’s film being made in 1968, was made right in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, that took place from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s. At this point in time, African Americans were not seen as equals, often viewed as less than their Caucasian counterparts in society and in film, so Romero’s film having a hero protagonist that just so happened to be African American was almost unheard of in the film industry at the time. In the scene where Ben was shot, the officers that were hunting the zombies were more focused on taking out the threat rather than saving those who weren’t. The shot of Ben right before he was killed was a close up with low-key lighting emphasizing the tension in the scene; Ben knows that he is once again in a life or death situation without any knowledge of those people outside being a threat to him or not. I think what Romero is implying with the end of the film is that even though Ben was the very last to survive, being the most resourceful, that still wasn’t enough to save his life from the injustice of those who were sent to save him.
ReplyDeleteNight of The Living Dead was released in 1968 during the time of The Civil Rights movement. This movement had leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. who had both been assassinated before the film came out. George Romero used this movie to speak about racial injustice by using the only African American character as one of the main characters. He portrayed the character Ben as a very strong and intelligent character who led the stranded group. Throughout the film Romero uses low angle when looking at Ben to show his strength and power. That gives parallel to the powerful men who were head of the Civil Rights movement. George Romero also hints at the media representation of the Civil Rights movement. He uses the tv and radio reports to act as the media although showing light of the movement, paints it as everything is going to be ok and solved. But later we see how just like the injustice of African Americans continuous, the zombie infection spreads to everyone in the house except for Ben. Ben is hurt and we see him now from high angles as he struggles up the stairs for help. When he reaches the window looking out, the “rescuer” deputes shoot him, signifying the assassination not only of the infamous Malcolm X and Dr. King, but of every African American during this period of time. This end implies the unsolved fight for justice. The long fight, no matter how dedicated, thought out, and strong, society still overlooked the racial injustice and "killed" the movement all while letting white society perceive it as solved.
ReplyDelete