Hernandez 1 Katherine Hernandez Genre Essay Lynda, Hass October 28, 2013 Zom-com Columbus: Oh, America.

I wish I could tell you that this was still America, but I've come to realize that you can't have a country without people. And there are no people here. No, my friends. This is now the United States of Zombieland. (Zombieland) The director of the Zombieland is Ruben Fleischer this was his first horror/zombie movie. Fleischer said in an interview the he did know much on zombies and that he did not like all of the horror aspects, but that he did not want to disappoint zombie fans. The movie was rated R so it targeted seventeen year olds and up. It was released on October 2, 2009 it was a zombie genre, which helped make the movie popular. Zombieland is a zom-com movie; it starts with a post apocalyptic situation caused by zombies and through out the movies there is comic relief. The comic relief happens through out the whole film when zombies appear out of nowhere and the characters react to it in a comic way. Zombieland also fits the horror genre because of the zombies appearances and the way the audience reacts t when the zombies appear unexpectedly. Zombieland is about a group of survivors: Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock they are survivors of the disease that turned people into zombies. They want to get to a save haven, which is an amusement park in Los Angeles called Pacific Playland. At first, the group did not want company but through the movie, they get close and create a family bond that helps them survive. When they get to their save haven they discover that it is infested with zombies. They escape Pacific Playland by helping each other and helps them realize that they are better together then alone. Zombieland has the common conventions of after post-apocalyptic setup, group of survivors, getting

Hernandez 2 surrounded, women end up being damsels in distress (Zombie Renaissance) Nol Carroll is a famous philosopher that wrote about horror genre and some conventions he mention were: ugly looking monsters and an isolated setting like a city or mall (Nature of Horror pg. 53). Some comedy conventions are that Tallahassees affinity with Twinkies and the character reactions to the zombies. Zombieland fits into the zombie genre because it has many of the common conventions with a comedy twist, a group of survivors, an apocalypse, and the appearance of the zombies. However, it differs from other zombie movies because it is a video game like movie. Most of the zombie movies start with a group of survivors or revolves around a group of survivors. The group of survivors is what makes Zombieland fit into the zombie genre. Most zombie movies have a group of survivors that have different backgrounds or that are opposites of each other. None of them knew each other before the apocalypse that is what brings them together. In most movies, the group ends up having a disagreement or hiding something from each other and that is what puts them in danger. A good scene to show the convention of group of survivors is where Wichita and Little Rock take over the Hummer that Tallahassee and Columbus had just gotten. In this scene, they all agree to travel together because it was the best way to survive. This is when they start to bond Little Rock talks about her safe haven being Pacific Palyland and how there are no zombies there. Tallahassee was about to make a comment on how there where zombies there but Wichita gave him a look. What Wichita wanted to say with the look is that she knew there where zombies there but she did not want to disappoint her sister. Columbus asks Wichita if she knew anything about Columbus, Ohio and she says that it is a ghost town. After this Tallahassee gives her the look to tell, Wichita that was the place Columbus was heading to. This makes Wichita realize that that is why Tallahassee called him Columbus. Tallahassee did not want any emotional attachment that is why when he meet Columbus he say that it was better to be called after the place they where headed to. Wichita also

Hernandez 3 apologizes and tells him that they could help him find a car so that he can go see for himself. Wichita finds him a ride but he decides to stay with them. There is voice over when Columbus is silent after what Wichita say and in the background, you hear him narrating his thought. The lighting is dark to set a serious mood when they talk about where they are headed. In the scene medium close ups are done to show the characters expression and body language. With this, Little Rocks excitement is noticeable and Columbus shock. The camera also changes positions to show the character that is talking to make it seem like their talking to the audience. Zombieland is different because it has voice over and the rules appear through the movie. The pop-up bit works precisely because Zombieland unspools like a game(Levin). The voice over is new to the zombie genre because not a lot of zombie movies have it. Many zombie movies do not have rules that a character sets because they are more concentrated on escaping. It can be infer that Columbus is a gamer because he said "Friday night, third straight week indoors, World of War Craft, leaning tower of pizza boxes, code red mountain dew, pride nowhere, dignity long gone, virginity totally justifiable to speculate on."(Zombieland) which is why he came up with the rules. The best scene for the voice over is the opening scene where Columbus narrates what happened to the United States. In the beginning is where Columbus states This is now the United States of Zombieland. At the beginning of the movie, you here Columbuss voice in the background explaining the rules and why they should be followed. As he does this main scenes and highlights what is happening in America are occurring in a montage. Normally to show the entire scene that occurs at the beginning takes longer. The lighting is dark but the color stand out this adds dramatic effect to the rules Columbus is mentioning in the background. There is a lot of zoom in on the zombies to show their appearance. When the scene is happening in slow motion the zombies look gross but at the same time funny. There is a fat guy running and

Hernandez 4 this shows why cardio is the one important rule, the double tap to make sure they are dead. This scene is important because it helps to set up the mood and setting of the movie. This also ties back to the group of survivors because one of the rules is to get a kick ass partner. Wichita and Little Rock are partners and Tallahassee and Columbus are partner. Then they end up becoming a group to help each other get to their save haven. Zombieland is like a game because in most games the avatars are talking to the gamer to help them out through the game. Something that is comic is when Tallahassee kills the zombies and his obsessed with Twinkies. He kills zombies with the car door, a bat, and anything he can hit and that kills them. Another thing that adds to the comedy is the characters personalities and how they react to their new world. (taken out was incorporated into the essay in a different way.) Over all Zombieland shows many of the common zombie conventions that other movies have. It has the group of survivors, the zombies, and they become surrounded. However, what really helps the movie fit into the genre is that it is similar to Shawn of the Dead. Shawn of the Dead is a British zom-com; Zombieland is the American version of it. Thankfully, what precedes and follows The YKnow is arguably brilliant, and worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the genre-leader, Shaun Of The Dead.(Hewitt) ZOMBIELAND keeps the bar that was set by SHAUN OF THE DEAD still elevated high, making zom-coms a genre to be reckoned with.(Given) One of the themes of the movie is fitting in because though out the whole movie Columbus just wanted a place where he belonged. At the end Columbus said the he had finally found a place where he belong with is new/different family.

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Works Cited Bishop, Kyle. JPF&T (n.d.): n. pag. 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. Carroll, Nol. "The Nature of Horroe." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. Given, William Allan. " ZOMBIELAND Helps Define the Zom-Com Genre and Is One of the Year's Funniest Films |. N.p., 02 Oct. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Hewitt, Chris. "ZombielandHarrelson and Eisenberg save the World in a Biting Comedy." Empireonline.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Levin, Josh. "Zombieland Reviewed." Slate Magazine. N.p., 07 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.