Ever watched Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead in the same day? If you ever get a chance, you might notice that in addition to being absolutely phenomenal zombie flicks, they, when looked at as a set, say a great deal about the differing cultures of America and the UK.
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| Zombieland (2009) |
First, look at the idea of safety as put forth by each movie. In Shaun of the Dead, safety takes the form of the local tavern. This makes complete sense, as the pub is often a center of socialization and culture in smaller town British life. For years, the pub has meant more to British society than simply a place to drink.
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| Shaun of the Dead (2004) |
In Zombieland, the characters look to the flashy thrill of a theme park for their safety and security. It might be a leap, but to me this seems to say something about America’s eternal youth, its ability to take comfort in both innocence, familiarity and flash.
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| Zombieland (2009) |
The weapons are also a huge commentary on our two societies. In Shaun of the Dead, the heroes wield cricket bats. When they finally procure a gun in the climactic moments of the show, no one knows how to use it in the slightest. The Brits are not a gun-toting group. Their policemen carry batons for goodness sake.
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| Shaun of the Dead (2004) |
In Zombieland, everyone has a gun. The freaking twelve year old is proficient in her usage of a shotgun. America loves their guns, and this is abundantly clear in Zombieland.
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| Zombieland (2009) |
Next, look at the theme. In Shaun of the Dead there’s an emphasis on family. Shaun’s first instinct is to pick up “mum”. The urban setting only compounds a feeling of togetherness and familiarity. It’s an island and you’re never far from the ones you love. Hell, I once took a bus from Edinburgh to London that took a measly 7 hours.
But in America, we’re all spread out. Our families live days and days away from us, and there is a far greater sense of isolation and independence. This theme seems to be the central thesis of Zombieland. Americans are cut off, disconnected, isolated. Just look at the film’s barren landscape. Nothing says “new frontier” like the Southwest. Also, the characters are not only almost all strangers, but they also refuse to share names with one another. Now that’s isolated.
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| Shaun of the Dead (2004) |
Lastly, there are the final moments of each film. You don’t get a better microcosm of British and American culture than that. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t seen these movies, stop reading now.
The Brits are an older civilization. They’re tougher, more used to the cruel humanity of the world than us: their thin-skinned, toddler children. We still want the world to be a happy place, while they’ve been convinced of its villainy and ugliness for centuries. And that is completely mirrored in these films.
Shaun of the Dead isn’t afraid to kill of the vast majority of the cast in a single, Romero-esque montage of gore. It seems to actually look forward to it. But Zombieland can’t bear to part with any of its heroes. Even when Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) volunteers to be a clearly suicidal distraction for the zombies, he manages to somehow make it out of the fracas intact. Us Americans, this isn’t the first time we needed a rosy ending, and it won’t be the last.
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| Zombieland (2009) |
So that’s that. My overly analytical take on Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead, two of the best zombie movies ever made. Who knew zombie flicks could say so much and be so funny at the same time? Or maybe I’m just thinking WAY too much into it. Lol. Probably.
Pictures of Shaun of the Dead were acquired from IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/mediaindex) and are copyright of Rogue Pictures (2004)
Pictures of Zombieland were acquired from IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156398/mediaindex) and are copyright of Columbia Pictures (2009)
