It is easy to find believers who say religion is their salvation; it is much more difficult to find people who will say it is their damnation. Directors do not seem to have a problem profaning religion- monster movies have long used religion as an inspiration for their terrifying creations. Of those movies, few have had more thrilling success than the vampire genre. In contrast, zombie movies rarely draw on religious inspiration, preferring to stay firmly grounded in the realm of science fiction. I will examine the religious dimension of the creation of zombies and vampires, analyze the role religion plays in the resolution of the films, and conclude with a few remarks about the genres as a whole. Both Warm Bodies (2013) and Byzantium (2012) …show more content…
Almost all of the elements seem preternatural, if not supernatural. Humans have no control over rock formations, birds, and are unable to turn water to blood. The ominous doppelganger is especially significant; in the real world, they are thought to be omens of death. Assuming that the message translates, the doppelganger is further evidence of the divine. Humans cannot create omens; they are prophetic messages from the divine. Even elements that seem human are not- the cult members are not humans, but vampires themselves. They have already been touched by the power (or as they call it “gift”) of the unnamed saint, which has stripped them of their humanity. They even have a divine purpose- to serve as the “pointed nails of justice.” While the origin of zombies is secular and the origin of vampires is religious, the same does not hold true for their neutralization. Warm Bodies has a happy ending; Byzantium has an ambiguous one. In a cliché resolution that is new to the genre, love is the force that saves the town- and the zombies. R’s love of Julie literally causes his still heart to beat. Seeing their love triggers the re-humanization process in the
The book, Sacred Terror by Douglas Cowan explains the relationship found between horror films and religion. Although Night is not a piece of fiction or a film it does retain some of the aspects Cowan has found. Chapter 5 of Sacred Terror
The group makes efforts to track down Dracula however they begin using more ritualistic measures. Their big success is when
"Looking At The Monster: Frankenstein And Film." Critical Inquiry 24.1 (1997): 133. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
In the article “My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead,” Chuck Klosterman offers profound commentary on why zombies are so popular. One reason Klosterman’s argument is
In “Our Zombies, Ourselves” author James Parker speaks to moviegoers and monster fans about that slow-moving creature of horror known as the zombie. In the essay, he attempts to uncover the reason for the zombie’s sudden and extreme popularity. To do such a thing he unearths the history of the zombies in film, literature, video games, and other media, and he sheds some light on their real origins – which all lead him to the conclusion that zombies are popular because of their “ex-personhood” (345). Throughout the essay Parker uses analytic language peppered with metaphors, description, and colorful references to some of the latest and greatest depictions of zombies, which help to bring the essay and the monsters to life and keep the audience’s interest.
Humans have always wondered what would happen to society if a disastrous event were to occur that would have the ability to wipe out the human race or put it in danger of extinction. We have created numerous theories of different natural disasters that can fulfill this requirement, including supernatural occurrences. Since these events are very unlikely to happen, we have created a way to portray these disasters as a form of entertainment for us to watch ranging from movies, television, and video games. We seem to enjoy watching actors play out in this disastrous scenario and see how they would be able to survive through it and save humanity. Zombies are one type of genre and supernatural event that people love to watch but also fear at the same time.
Many movie characters are proposed to be representations of Jesus Christ or God due to their seemingly greater than life powers such as Phil or the Groundhog from “Groundhog Day”. However, a character doesn’t have to be magical or powerful in order to represent God. A common belief among many religions is that, put simply, God is a being that created the world and helped people during times of great need. In the movie “Edward Scissorhands” by Tim Burton, Edward is a mysterious young man with scissors for hands who lived alone in a mansion for years, overlooking a small, monotonous and very flawed town. After meeting one kind resident, Peg, he resides in her home where he is exposed to the residents’ flaws.
When the film The Sixth Sense, directed by Night Shyamalan debuted in 1999, it mesmerized audiences near and far with its appealing paranormal plot, its deceptive nature and its top-shelf talent from its actors. The film was immensely prosperous and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. However, most casual moviegoers overlooked its underlying philosophical significance. The Sixth Sense is driven by the big questions of life from almost every aspect of philosophy specifically metaphysics and epistemology. In this specific scene Shyamalan relies on subtlety to create a creepy atmosphere of something beyond our ordinary beliefs and understanding.
Although Stuart lacks in fact based situations, he shines light on some important and noteworthy points towards his theses. For example, he begins to explain the occurrence of adventure films, and how todays media has shaped that genre into a progressive form of violence, crime, and structured visualizations on the race of characters, or a character that is portrayed a certain way because of his race. “Another based-image is that of the “native.” The good side of this figure is portrayed in a certain primitive nobility and simple dignity. The bad side is portrayed in terms of cheating and cunning, and, further out, savagery and barbarism.” This quote, along with other quotes in similarity, are indeed noteworthy, but Stuart solely relies on his pathos appeal, and the credibility of his accomplishments.
When one compares two monsters such as a zombie and a vampire it is easy to see the differences between them. Zombies and vampires have more differences than they do similarities. With one being a walking corpse only seeking the consumption of flesh, and the other being a blood sucking un-dead creature with some human qualities. These monsters also represent specific fears that people have, and in return make the people of today so much more drawn to these movies. People like things they can relate to, and people can easily relate to a zombie.
In one of its season, the show was centered around Vodou magic. Things like Vodou sacrifices, rituals, and curses were all presented. Moreover, Vodou has also inspired the creation of movies greatest “monster”-the zombies. The belief of zombies is related to the Vodou religion. They are corpses who have been re-animated and controlled by magical means for some specific purpose, usually labor.
In all three novels “The Feather Pillow” by Horacio Quiroga, “Prey” by Richard Matherson, and “ The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving all have an eloquent amount of elements all including Mystery/ambiguity: and a supernatural force included in their short stories. The authors purpose for these elements are to give the reader a thrill of mystery and supernatural forces that defy the nature of our world and fill the story with action, all wile keeping the reader reading to the end wile keeping them on the edge of their seat waiting to see what happens next. Each novel has supernatural forces teeming inside it ,effecting the novel and also adding -a so called- villain for the novel. First the short story “prey” by Matherson, has a supernatural
In the most extreme times, the biological input implemented by the recent history of the new vampire present people must comprehend that this topic regarding vampires is not something new. In how it seems that this monster has brought us a sense to become to appreciate has this gift of the “panacea of its blood it
Interview Summary How Would One Map the Outbreak? During a zombie apocalypse, a map of the outbreak, where you are, or places you want to go would be useful. For each outbreak, building maps would help to answer questions such as: Where are tools to fight against the zombies found? Where do the outbreaks start?
Religion, much like most of the conceptual world, is a construct-- brought into existence solely for the purpose of supplying an immediate meaning and understanding in the slightest to create some kind of consultation from the crisis of our existence. It freely shapes the morality of people and society by establishing a primal institution of what we are and aren 't supposed to do, and thus paves way for a rather compliant and impressionable public. This concept of religion is explored by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel the "Cat 's Cradle," where he creates a milieu where the only thing society has is faith and trust in a false pretense. In this post-apocalyptic novel, Vonnegut discusses the greatness that lies within the flaw of man-made religion. A writer named John travels distant places in an effort to produce an accurate account of what Americans were doing on the day of Hiroshima 's bombing to only witness first hand the damaging effects of the vicious cycle known as human idiocy.