Zombieland - Narrative and Scene Analysis

IV. Narrative

The film is constructed as a simple story line where a teenaged boy is trying to find his way safely away from zombies. Silent moments like dialogue between two characters are added so that the movie can be prolonged. This movie would have consisted of only zombie killing if it weren't for character backgrounds being introduced into the story. Without these profiles, the story would b dry.

The film uses a new and different way of narrating the story. At the beginning of the movie, several rules are introduced so that as spectators we know what to expect. In a sense this is a foreshadowing tool. Rules such as 'check the back-seat' come in handy when the boy looks in the back of a Hummer and finds a bag filled with guns. Another situation is the rule 'double tap' where you shoot a zombie once and then one more time for good measure. Throughout the movie, when situations arise that include these rules the rule pops up on the screen (sort of like a "i told you so" moment).

V. Film Language and Representation

The issue in the film is introduced at the very beginning where the main character explains how an infection of mad-cow disease went extremely crazy causing a chain of zombie mutation. Later, in the film issues are given to you on a silver plate (so to speak) and you have to find out instantly what it is. It is simple enough to understand right away.

The acting was great because everyones body built suited everyones character. The shots do not have deeper meaning because they were simple wide shots and close-ups. One classic scene reveals itself at the end of the film. All our lives we've known the train running over a person scene. The same parallel action is present at the climax of the movie where the main character saves the girl he likes and his sister from a zombie climbing up at them. We see the boy fighting a zombie clown and at the same time the director cuts to the helpless girl being attacked by a zombie and so on.

Zombieland - Historical and Institutional Factors

1. Institutional factors for the making of Zombieland was to actually get 'extras' who would play the parts of the zombies. This was a decent production where it was important to have all of the factors needed or else the movie would have failed. For example, the carnival where the sisters create there own retreat is necessary because it is essential to the climax. The carnival set a stage where the heros finally kill off most of the zombies and they get a sense of relief as if everything is going to peaceful now. In addition, the carnival is known as a 'fun thing' so in this case it represents the fun in fighting zombies in other words... adding comic relief to the intended horror in these creatures.

2. After WWII, atomic warfare and rumors of alien visitations expanded the zombie genre into the realm of science fiction. In Creature with the Atom Brain(1955), a sterling artifact of this era, ex-Nazis use atomic zombies to murder the district attorneys cops and gangsters who get in their way. The films historical context consist of African and Haitian voodoo. The first 'zombies' were known as silent souls who behaved as slaves who were seen working the night shift in Haitian bakeries, mills and factories. The sight of these unsettling imaginations of the night formed a prototype for cinematic zombies. Now a days zombies are taken for granted, they are incorporated in video games and basic media to the point were people are used to the idea; the excitement has worn out.

III. Socio-Cultural context

Zombies are known to be the flesh-hungry undead whom were often in the form of ghouls and vampires. They come from the world of mythology and date back to The Epic of Gilgamesh where the goddess Ishtar promises: "I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld,/ I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down,/ and will let the dead go up to eat the living! / And the dead will outnumber the living!

Religion also played a roll in the creation of zombies. According to West African Voodoo a dead person can be revived by a sorcerer. They stay under the control of the sorcerer since they have no will. Often times, zombie souls were kept in vials for good luck and were sold to clients and later God himself would come to take back the soul. It is said that if you feed a zombie salt then it returns to the grave.

Sound Design Short Film- Brainstorm and Treatment

1. At a lunch table or anywhere there is a group of friends where there is always one person who kills a joke with something stupid and they eventually kill him in a bathroom stall.

3. Explain how the film meets the requirements below.

Narrative:

1. Sound Design plays an important role in the development of character because we hear an echo every time he talks. this echo is at first loud and isolated then it becomes even more quite when it leads to a climax.
2. Subtext is emphasized in the use of dialogue when one of the annoyed characters tells the annoyer:"i got something for you in the bathroom." he eventually pulls out a water gun and shoots him with it. the audience thinks its a real gun but the comic relief is that the annoyer only gets sprayed with water but he actually falls on the ground.

Production Elements:

1. Foley Sound Effects incorporated in film are used when the annoyed characters have there eyes wide open and you hear a burning sound thats how much it scars them, the words that the annoyer is saying.
2. Rhythmic match at some point in the film is present when it is froma wide-shot to close up to extreme close-up as the head is turning towards the annoyer.
3. Sound Bridge as a scene transition is when an annoyed character gets up from his bed and you here school bells or cars on a road next to a restaurant and that is where the group is to hang out. the sound brings us to the place where the characters are going to be annoyed.
4. the Leitmotif tied to the character is a ringing that is suspensfull but you already know what is going to happen.

Zombieland - Genre and Audience-

1. The genre of "Zombieland" is zombies and the tradition of the undead army is criticize real world social ills such as slavery, greed, and exploitation (or the selfish utilization for profit). These characteristics have been apart of human culture for centuries. Even though we know zombies do not exist we feel that we should deviate from normal human life and create a monster that is relatable.

2. The scenes in the movie relate to apocalypses which will forcefully incorporate action and suspense. The features determining genre are the type of characters in the movie. For example, it is very obvious that not only does the title says Zombie in "Zombieland" but there are zombies in the movie.

3. Zombies date back to the year 1932 where the first ever Zombie film came out. The name of this zombie movie was "White Zombie" and it was arguably the first mainstream zombie film that took cues from real life ancient religions like voodoo. Over the years zombies have been symbols of nuclear experiments, alien invasions, the rotting undead, and Nazi-voodoo. One other feature movie Zombieland relates to is 2012. Both these movies describe the world nearing an end. Both movies focus on a group that is trying to survive, they face many challenges like food and shelter.

4. The comedic film was Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Produced by Gavin Polone, Written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese

The reason for making this film is unapparent but this movie idea was in the directors heads for four years before production in the pre-production phase. There script was updated every week constantly with new ideas.

5. What we notice about these movie writers is that they are very childish as in they ridicule and mock the end of the world. We as an audience know that if everyone was a zombie that there would be no one to crop for food therefore the food supply is limited. The directors turned the end of the world into some type of comedic game. Ruben Fleischer never wanted to be a director growing up but after working as an assistant on a movie he wanted to see what it was all about.

This fits in with the directors other work because his new pation led him to make bigger and better productions that audiences actually enjoyed.
The theme that this film describes is to create your own code or set of rules to abide by so that you can survive and never be lost in the world.
The target audience is anyone who is interested in science fiction or zombies.