Night of the Living Dead, Year of the Living Violence
George Romero and production company Image Ten’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead is much more than the beginning of the modern zombie movie franchise. This film, whether it intended to or not, contributed immensely to the conversations on civil rights and violence that were taking place in 1968. The extreme violence and gore in the film was shocking to audiences in 1968. In this year, many were seeing real violence and gore in photographs and videos from the Vietnam War. It is hard to imagine the shock of seeing violence and death in images or film for the first time when today, in 2018, we are immersed in a society that has seen so much violence that it barely phases us anymore.
The fictional violence in Night of the Living Dead is a testament to the real violence that was showing up on television screens in the same year, but in Hollywood, they could at least tether the film’s horrors with restrictive ratings. This film, along with a few other questionable movies at the time, pushed the Motion Picture Association of America to restrict young viewers with ratings for films. Night of the Living Dead was rated R…a month after children ran screaming and crying from theatres in fear when it was released.
Among the violence of the film there was also a controversy that surrounded the film. The director, George Romero, and the other producers of the film selected black actor Duane Jones to fill the strong lead role in the movie. In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, his role had significant meaning, whether this was the intention of the producers or not. His character was strong and bold, willing to take the lead in dangerous, and horrific situation. He triumphantly survives most of the film and out lives all of the white men and women in the film, only to be shot by a group of white, male rescuers in the end. His life and death within the film are all the more meaningful in relation to the important movements happening in 1968 for racial equality.
Today we look back on Night of the Living Dead fondly as horror movie fans. We see the film as the birth of the modern zombie. In 1968 many movie critics did not care about this step forward in horror. Many found the film much too violent and grotesque for viewers. Critic Roger Ebert comments on the death of the film’s hero in his 1969 review of the film: “At that age, kids take the events on the screen seriously, and they identify fiercely with the hero. When the hero is killed, that’s not an unhappy ending but a tragic one: Nobody got out alive. It’s just over, that’s all” (Ebert, Night of the Living Dead). Night of the Living Dead was not just an on screen horror, but a reflection of the violence and tragedy that filled the year 1968.
Works Cited
“George A. Romero & Tom Savini Documentary .” Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show, 18 Mar. 2013.
Graham, Renée. “What ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Taught Me about Race — The Boston
Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 21 July 2017.
Kenny, Glenn. “Guess What’s Back From the Grave? ‘Night of the Living Dead’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Oct. 2016.
Russo, John. Night of the Living Dead. Continental Distributing, Inc., 1968.
TIFF, director. George A. Romero: Night of the Living Dead. YouTube, TIFF Originals, 24 Jan. 2013.
Zinoman, Jason. “Jordan Peele on a Truly Terrifying Monster: Racism.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Feb. 2017.
Image:
Pullin , Gary. “Night of the Living Dead.” Mondo.
