Media & Consumerism: Zombies!

Like a Greek Chorus, Zombies represent us. They are us in the mass sense: the public opinion, the zeitgeist of the times. They speak (and eat brains) for us as a collective. They put the mass in mass media. As such, when you watch a zombie film, it is helpful to also watch for the satire that generally tags along. Horrible? Yes. But underlying the disturbing feeling of not being sure how to react to something that is neither alive nor fully dead, is a commentary about us as human beings. This makes Zombies a popular modern symbol.

show Night of the Living Dead...

Consumerism: Big Ideas that Changed the World

Please watch the following clips and respond to the videos in your notebook/journal.

Consumerism, the Musical

George Carlin on Consumerism

Consuming Kids

Story of Stuff Documentary
http://storyofstuff.org/

Zombies: for some of you, let's watch and creatively respond to one of the films.

Sorry about the gore.

HOMEWORK: Respond to the film. Write about zombies, use zombies in your poetry, in your haiku, in your stage plays. Use zombies as a jumping off point to comment about mass society as you see it. Consider some of the concepts we have been talking about regarding taboos, society, culture and counter culture.