A Horror Movie Classic That Echoes America’s Racial Underbelly
The film “Night of the Living Dead” directed by George A. Romero leads the foundation for numerous horror films such as “Halloween” (1978), “Friday the 13th" (1980), and so on. This movie attempted to create a different narrative of what a black man in a horror film looks like but is trapped in America’s propensity for shooting black men in cold blood.
The movie starts out with a brother and sister paying respect to their family grave. In an instant, the apocalypse begins, and the brother is struck down by a zombie, forcing the sister to flee from the scene. The sister takes refuge in a house that is empty and tries to collect herself but is unsuccessful. She lacks the composure and the awareness to spearhead this film with confidence.
We are then introduced to the main character, Ben. He takes the leadership role in forfeiting the house, finding a gun, and being the emotional support for the rest of the characters. He is a tall, well-groomed and mild manner man that happens to be Black. Ben is highly capable of protecting himself as he slays the many zombies before him.
Ben is the rock on the tumultuous shores that are in this film. He galvanizes the survivors hiding in the basement of the house. He is patient and willing to hear different opinions unlike his white counterpart Mr. Cooper, who throughout the film undermines the tiresome efforts that Ben showcases in developing the shelter.
The relationship between the two characters is the core conflict of the film. Society and its stubbornness are the main adversity to overcome. The zombies clawing at the windows are merely a backdrop for the main stage.
Mr. Cooper is a white impatient husband who believes only his ideas are valid. He does nothing but complains while the steady and sedulous Black man does all the work. He cowers behind the paranoia of his idea being wrong, rather than focusing on the safety of the group.
The story goes on to explain why people are suddenly rising from the dead to devour human flesh. Ben and the rest of the survivors listen to the TV as the announcer reveals that a rag-tag- local militia is being sent to eradicate the zombie outbreak.
These so-called brave men are advertised as saviors. However, the local militia is out on a search-and-destroy mission. This is an all-white unit of men in arms sent out to bring peace back to the American people. During the last 30 minutes of the film, I could not shake the feeling that these soldiers were going to be the problem rather than the solution.
Their collective thrill from gunning down a zombie as they marched in a wolf pack made my stomach churn. The imagery of white men wielding weapons while sporting smiles insinuated the ending of this film for me.
The idea that a Black man being the main character of a horror film was unheard of, especially in the 1960s. They cast Duane Jones who played Ben with humility, wisdom, and sensible strength that I rarely come across in my many viewings of horror films. I was hopeful that the writers would uphold their refreshing take on a Black protagonist in cinema, that was until the last five minutes of the movie.
The remaining survivors’ luck runs out as the zombies break their way through the house’s barricades that Ben single-handedly put together. They are picked off one by one as the zombies pounce on their prey. All seems lost. However, Ben remains vigilant with his gun, defending his life as he retreats to the basement and locks himself in. Here is where I thought Ben would wait out the horde of monsters above him and see the sunrise.
The film cuts to a wide shot of the local militia gunning down zombies outside of the house. The jubilant band of brothers fires without a second thought. Ben hears the sounds of gunshots coming from outside. He aims his gun firmly as he steps out of the basement. Slowing walking toward one of the windows that were partially boarded, and he peers through the window.
From Ben’s perspective, we see a row of white bodies shoulder to shoulder. Instead of a hoard of zombies waiting for Ben, it is a trigger-happy troupe of white men eager to strike. And they do just that. The gunmen notice Ben's rifle sticking outside the window of the house and fire, shooting Ben right between the eyes.
My heart sinks as I watch the hero of the film get murdered by the very people that were supposed to save him. With no remorse, one of the gunmen can be heard saying “Well done boys” as they stand over Ben’s body.
One of the last shots of the film is white men towering over a black man while stabbing him to make sure the job is done. It had me petrified. Ben being slain after all his valiant efforts of survival and perseverance felt pointless.
I was left pondering the point of this movie. The zombies were never really a danger for Ben. He could easily gun them down or smash their head with a hammer. His true adversary was the militia that possessed the American mentality of shooting first and asking questions later.
“Night of The Living Dead” could have been a frontrunner for positively displaying a Black protagonist in a horror movie. In some cases, it did. The director could have chosen to portray a world in which a Black man could survive against all odds but preferred the white supremist narrative.