28 dayslater - 1 KK Carothers English 105 Essay 7 1...


View Full Document Right Arrow Icon
KK Carothers English 105 Essay 7 1 December 2006 “I will make your grave for you are vile”: Digging Faith’s Grave in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and George Romero’s The Dawn of the Dead Director Danny Boyle (born in 1956) considered entering the priesthood and temporarily studied at a religious school as an adolescent. He however soon became skeptical and decided that the monastery did not suit his interests and proceeded to pursue film directing (Wikipedia). Boyle’s background strongly supports the appearances of biblical and religious references in his movie 28 Days Later (2002). George Romero (born in 1940) also integrates allusions in his horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978). Even though both films introduce religious themes, the directors approach faith in a higher source of power differently; Boyle establishes a reliance on modern, Christian beliefs, while Romero emphasizes the importance of a more non-traditional, spiritual principle. Despite these apparent distinctions, the movies nonetheless focus on one major religious aspect; the end of the world and the extinction of mankind. A topic popularly debated upon in society, the directors approach the concept of eternal life on earth and address the issue by using various symbols. They incorporate zombies, or the infected, as a mechanism to force mankind to face the danger of extinction. The “non-living” creatures serve as an unstoppable and omnipotent enemy that threatens to destroy the human species. To examine these villains, which represent the apocalypse, Boyle incorporates biblical references into the knowledge of the main character Jim, while Romero includes 1
Background image of page 1


View Full DocumentRight Arrow Icon
Peter’s spiritual explanation of the zombies’ existence. The variety of reactions to the undead thus highlights the religious stances of the fate of the human extinction. Boyle develops a strong presence of biblical references in the beginning of the movie to illustrate how the infected pose danger to the existence of mankind. When Jim first awakes and aimlessly wanders about the abandoned city, he stops to peruse the bulletin board advertising posters of missing people. During this scene Jim does not know of the fate of the entire London population and how the zombies caused its disappearance. While Jim examines the board, the camera focuses on a particular postcard for a significant amount of time (about three seconds) to allow viewers to read
Background image of page 2
Image of page 3

Page1 / 6



View Full Document Right Arrow Icon
Ask a homework question - tutors are online