Abstract | The zombie narrative, typically thought of as an American creation, has its roots in the Caribbean Island of Haiti. The Haitian zombie trope therefore served as an ideal inspiration for the further development of the “Romeran”, Hollywood zombie. George Romero, or the father of the modern zombie narrative successfully modernized the narrative that we are all familiar with today. He transformed the zombie from a mindless, slave-like creature into a cannibalistic, blood-driven living dead eager to attack its victims. The zombie trope therefore represents a metaphor for all fears and anxieties that have troubled the American audience for a long time. It serves as a symbol and critique of capitalism and consumerism which eat away the humanity, the white patriarchal system, misogyny, the destruction of family and traditional family and moral values, as well as critique of the uncontrolled violence of the Vietnam War, racial issues, and societal changes. All these symbols are subtly hidden in Romero’s movies, all while giving them a deeper meaning. The zombie narrative was successfully implanted in the horror genre in general, given the fact that zombies have spread into all areas of American popular culture such as movies, TV shows, comic books, video games, and even music. George Romero has popularized the narrative and provided the horror fans with an interesting sub-genre which has, for decades, dominated all areas of popular culture. |
Abstract (croatian) | Zombi narativ, kojega se često smatra američkom tvorevinom, vuče svoje korijene s karipskog otoka Haitija. Haićanski je zombi stoga poslužio kao idealna inspiracija za daljnjeg „Romeranskog“, holivudskog zombija. George Romero, prozvan ocem modernog zombi narativa uspješno je modernizirao narativ koji nam je svima poznat danas. Romero je preobrazio zombija iz bezumnog roba u kanibalističkog živog mrtvaca željnog napada. Zombi stoga predstavlja metaforu za sve strahove i tjeskobe koje već duže vremena muče američku publiku. Zombi služi kao simbol i kao kritika kapitalizma i konzumerizma koji izjedaju čovječanstvo, bjelačkog patrijarhata, mizoginije, propasti obitelji i razaranja tradicionalnih obiteljskih i moralnih vrijednosti. Također služi kao kritika nekontroliranog nasilja u Vijetnamskom ratu, rasnih pitanja i društvenih promjena. Svi ti simboli suptilno su skriveni u Romerovim filmovima te im daju dublje značenje. Zombi narativ se uspješno uklopio u horor žanr, budući da su se zombiji proširili na sve sfere američke popularne kulture poput filmova, televizijskih emisija, stripova, videoigara pa čak i glazbe. George Romero je popularizirao narativ i ljubiteljima horor filmova ponudio zanimljiv podžanr koji već desetljećima dominira na svim područjima američke popularne kulture. |