Recently I watched my first zombie movie. It was called “Dawn of the Dead.” It was quite an experience. I don’t say that as a recommendation. It is like saying having liver for dinner is an experience. There are some things in life that one taste is enough to last a lifetime. It is probably one of those times when a truly wise person would learn from the experiences of others. On the positive side there was some good acting, character development and definitely conflict.
On the negative side, I kept wondering, “Why?” What was the point of this nonsense? How many ways can you portray creatures with eyes hanging out and blood splattering. And the total lack of logic. At one point they had a guy safely locked in his gun store. He had all the guns and ammo he could want and was a crack shot. It was shown that he could pick off zombies in the crowd below with no response from the rest. Why didn’t they just have him take them out one at a time from a safe distance? Why all the drama? You are supposed to be smarter than a zombie. I guess it is the movie going, twitter generation we are talking about.
I think one of the reasons I don’t like this kind of thing is because of my Christian faith. The idea of Zombies finds no possible place in my view of the universe. That is my problem with fantasy as a genre and an increasing amount of science fiction. I can accept demons and angels because they at least have a logic and purpose even if you don’t accept the logic. But creatures that come back to life and walk around with no purpose except to kill and eat humans is beyond me. What happens when all the humans are killed and eaten. It seems like a dead end niche in the scheme of evolution. But then I don’t think evolution makes sense either.
In reading a review of the movie they mentioned the original version being done tongue-in-cheek. I can see that except the cheek had a big hole in it. (Excuse me, a little zombie humor there.) I was amazed at two points. First, they remake these things? Amazing. And they think Christians always splitting and starting new denominations are weird. Second, they write reviews of these things? Even more amazing. It is an amazing world we live in.
I was worried that the images would stick in my mind and give me bad dreams. Instead I dreamed about directing a giant teen choir and having a standing ovation performance. Evidently my sub-conscience realized that the zombie thing was a bit too silly to get upset about.
Recently I watched my first zombie movie. If I have my way, it will be my last.
homo unius libri
I guess I'm strange. Even though my folks would have let me watch horror and sci-fi if I'd chosen (within reason), they just never appealed to me. Give me a good western; they're unrealistic enough.
ReplyDeleteI like a good story. I also like to separate my reading. When I read or watch something for entertainment, I don't want to need to think, I want to enjoy. When I read a book on theology or politics I want to think.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed Louis L'Amour but could never get into Zane Gray(Grey?).
Grace and peace.