Race and Class in Romero's Films

[LeaveUrHeadOn]

Hi Everybody -

I am writing my Master's Thesis on Gender, Race and Class in horror movies. Theres a boatload of materials on gender but about class and race I didn't really find anything about. Now obviously there's a lot of commentary on race and on racism in Romero's Films, but does anybody know of any publications on it I could cite in my thesis (stuff about Race and Class in other scary movies is also highly appreciated...)?

Thanks a lot everybody! :)

Nic

[bassman]

I'm not quite sure about whether or not it will cover your subject, but I've heard of a book that is basically behind the scenes of Romero's films called "The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh".

That might help, though I'm not sure.

[Tullaryx]

There's this book on George Romero and his films you could check out. It's very heavy on academia-speak, but it does deconstruct his films to show the sociological and political undercurrent in the films.

The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1903364736/qid=1147795237/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7179097-9683256?s=books&v=glance&n=283155)

[LeaveUrHeadOn]

"The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh" is pretty much impossible to get here in Germany :( Knight of the Living Dead sounds definitely worth reading for my needs, thanks a lot! ...any other suggestions?

[axlish]

Knight of the Living Dead and The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh are the only books regarding Romero. For collegiate research, I would definitely start with Knight of the Living Dead, although I disagreed with the author on most points. The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh is a better book by a long shot, but I doubt that you'll get much of what you are looking for in it.

[Eyebiter]

Inner Library Loan

Don't know if they have it in Europe though. Here in the US your local library can obtain copies of rare books from other lending libraries.

You might review some of the papers presented at the Monsters and the Monstrous 2005 conference.
http://www.wickedness.net/Monsters/M3/s2.htm

A google search to get you started
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22george+romero%22+class+race+zombie+pdf

[Danny]

damn ,what subject is that?, that said i love how free the options get the further on we get in education, i had to write scripts and crap last year based on soaps for a/s media then we get told next year we only have one coursework and we can do what we want, from screenplay, s.a to flash animation.

god damn being a lazy ass student rocks!:D

[Eyebiter]

Wish they had classes like this when I was in school

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English 3722: Contemporary Science Fiction:Literature and Film of the Apocalypse

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic scenarios have been integral to science fiction from its inception, and have alsoproven popular with writers and filmmakers not consistently associated with the genre. The end of the world, in otherwords, is a science fictional scenario that appeals more broadly, perhaps, that some others, and so would offer a usefulway to discuss science fiction as a genre, and its interrelationship with “mainstream” literary and film culture. Thiscourse will offer some general background, but our focus will be on texts and films from the cold war period and later,by artists with a range of relationships to science fiction as a genre. We will explore how artists develop relatednarratives in a variety of forms: novels, short stories, films, and graphic novels.This course is an elective for the English Programme. It will assist students in the development of theirreading and writing skills, their oral expression, their understanding of the English discipline, and the speculativeelements of the tradition. Students are expected to have already successfully completed at least 9 ch of Englishintroductory courses.Course Format:The class will meet twice a week for three hours each session. We will follow a seminar format; the instructor willpresent material each week, but every member of the class will be expected to participate through discussion, aseminar report, and participation on online.

Texts:
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (2003) Douglas Coupland, Girlfriend in a Coma (1998)
George R. Stewart, Earth Abides (1949)
Brian K. Vaughan; art by Pia Guerra and José Marzá, Jr., Y: The Last Man, Vols. 1-4 (2002-2004).

[Tullaryx]

Wish they had classes like this when I was in school

----------------------------------------------

English 3722: Contemporary Science Fiction:Literature and Film of the Apocalypse

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic scenarios have been integral to science fiction from its inception, and have alsoproven popular with writers and filmmakers not consistently associated with the genre. The end of the world, in otherwords, is a science fictional scenario that appeals more broadly, perhaps, that some others, and so would offer a usefulway to discuss science fiction as a genre, and its interrelationship with “mainstream” literary and film culture. Thiscourse will offer some general background, but our focus will be on texts and films from the cold war period and later,by artists with a range of relationships to science fiction as a genre. We will explore how artists develop relatednarratives in a variety of forms: novels, short stories, films, and graphic novels.This course is an elective for the English Programme. It will assist students in the development of theirreading and writing skills, their oral expression, their understanding of the English discipline, and the speculativeelements of the tradition. Students are expected to have already successfully completed at least 9 ch of Englishintroductory courses.Course Format:The class will meet twice a week for three hours each session. We will follow a seminar format; the instructor willpresent material each week, but every member of the class will be expected to participate through discussion, aseminar report, and participation on online.

Texts:
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (2003) Douglas Coupland, Girlfriend in a Coma (1998)
George R. Stewart, Earth Abides (1949)
Brian K. Vaughan; art by Pia Guerra and José Marzá, Jr., Y: The Last Man, Vols. 1-4 (2002-2004).

I'm surprised they picked Vaughan's Y: The Last Man instead of Kirkman's The Walking Dead.

[Murat365]

i found an interesting essay on nihilism in GAR's films the other day

although it probably won't help much, theres a bibliography at the end

Notes
(1) - Night of the Living Dead, in Variety, 9/16/68.
(2) - Midnight Movies, by Stuart Samuels. Collier Books, 1983. pg. 52.
(3) - The Gay Science, by Friedrich Nietzsche. Vintage Books, 1974. pg. 167.
(4) - Michael Allen Gillespie on the other hand contends that historically, the nihilistic impulse stems not from the death of God, but from "...a new concept of divine omnipotence and a corresponding concept of human power in the late Middle Ages." According to Gillespie, modern nihilistic thinkers were highly influenced by William of Ockham's conception of an omnipotent God who is free from the constraints of reason. See: Nihilism Before Nietzsche, by Michael Allen Gillespie. The University of Chicago Press, 1995.
(5) - For Nietzsche's views on active and passive nihilism see especially: Genealogy of Morals, pgs. 479 - 480 and pgs. 531 - 532, In Basic Writings of Nietzsche. Modern Library, 1968; The Gay Science, pgs. 285 - 290. Vintage Books, 1974; Will To Power. Random House, 1967. For Camus' views on nihilism see especially: The Rebel. Vintage Books, 1956; The Myth of Sisyphus, in The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. Vintage Books, 1955.
(6) - Will To Power, by Friedrich Nietzsche. Random House, 1967. pg. 17.
(7) - For instance, in The Crazies (where a virus epidemic causes homicidal behavior which must be countered by survivors), and Monkey Shines (where a wheelchair bound man must at first rely upon, and then battle, a helper monkey).
(8) - George Romero, personal correspondence.
(9) - See: George Romero: Cinema's Dark Dreamer Steps Into The Light, in Questar, number 4, August 1979. pg.18.


some are philosophical- some are zombie related- perhaps a couple could help you though