Living Dead (1968), The Director George Romero Described The Creatures in His Film As

Critique for Descriptive Essay:
This essay made me wondering of the mysterious things that happened and will
happen in our planet earth. It is a realization that there may or may not be some other
creatures, aside from us, that are alive and are interested in Earth. Because some have
evidences that these wonders of the earth are made by human, and their available tools,
they have proved that humans are artistic in every way. Though the writer made the reader
interested in reading this essay, there are some errors that I have noticed.
This sentence, “Built and expanded on from the third century B.C” is an improper
sentence because it is a cut sentence. A sentence should contain a subject, and after that is
the verb, and will be followed by an objective. And that sentence has no subject. In this
phrase, “gigantic statue of Buddha in Leshan: located in Sichuan, China”, this should be
complete. Instead of using the colon (:), the writer should use “that is located”, so that the
readers, who are not fund of using flowering symbols and words, can understand. The verb
of a sentence must agree with the subject in number and in person. So instead of using
“Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China, or the Leshan Buddha prove there is no limit and no
obstacle for human inspiration and innovation.” consider using “Stonehenge, the Great Wall
of China, or the Leshan Buddha prove that there is no limit and no obstacle for human
inspiration and innovation.”. In this sentence, “The people who raised Stonehenge had no
written language, their origins are unknown”, it has a thought but it is not connected. So, it
should be, “The people who raised Stonehenge had no written language, and their origins
are unknown”.
Zombie (Definition)
The word “zombie” is not as clear cut as one might think. It can infer a fictional,
undead creature, a state of stupor, or an act of mindless devotion. The term has been a part
of popular culture the world over for over a century. Not only is a zombie an appealing
character for horror films, it is often seen as a metaphor for our way of living. In the
following paragraphs, I will flesh out the word “zombie” in its intricacies in order for
readers to comprehend what this word means to us on a more profound level.
The English language usage of the word “zombie” first appeared in writing in
1819 when poet Robert Southey was putting together a history of Brazil. He wrote
about “zombi,” and was referring to Zumbi, an Afro-Brazilian rebel leader (Radford,
Benjamin). Essentially, it is a misprint, but the Oxford English Dictionary tells that
the origin of the word “zombie” derives from the Kongo words “nzambi” (god) and
“zumbi” (fetish). Also, in Haitian folklore, a zombie or “zonbi” is a corpse raised from the
dead, usually by witchcraft (Oxford English Dictionary). How the word “zombie” started to
be used in popular western culture is difficult to trace, however with the film Night of the
Living Dead (1968), the director George Romero described the creatures in his film as
“zombies” in interviews, though there is no direct mention of this term in the film. But
with Dawn of the Dead (1978), Romero exclusively used the term “zombie” in the script.
These zombies were disconnected from their African roots, unlike the zombies portrayed
as early in films such as White Zombie (1932). It is said that with Night of the Living Dead,
though, that the word “zombie” became mainstream and “western” (Maçek III, J.C.).
An informal usage of the word “zombie” in English corresponds to a state of
stupor. If you want to say you are extremely tired, you can say, “I feel like a zombie,”
or “I’m a zombie right now,” and other such phrases. Whether or not this is tied to the
term’s West African roots is unclear, but it is most likely connected to the western
interpretation of a zombie devoid of its voodoo history. Often, when someone wants to
refer to themselves as a zombie, he or she even puts on an act as if he or she is an actual
zombie. Though this infers extreme tiredness, the word “zombie” can mean a mindless
devotion as well.
When we want to express that people are following the status quo without a bat of
an eye, we often use the term “zombie” for these types of individuals. In fact, there are even
protest marches or demonstrations where people dress up as zombies. Called “zombie
walks,” these events parody political extremism or apathy (Colley, Jenna). The term being
used as a metaphor for a citizen’s lifeless state within a government’s clutches is more
popular than ever. According to Vox, “For 80 years, the undead have been used by
filmmakers and writers as a metaphor for much deeper fears: racial sublimation,
atomic destruction, communism, mass contagion, globalism — and, more than
anything, each other. Fear, which once compelled us to appropriate the zombie, has
also governed the new symbology we’ve given it over the years. This makes the zombie
not only a fascinating study of our country’s historical fears but also a window into how
foreign ideas adopt new meaning when stripped of their original context over time”
(Zarracina, Zachary Crockett and Javier). Like most metaphors, the term “zombie” has
transcended its roots, and has become a portrayal of our deepest fears and regrets.
Though the term “zombie” is commonly associated with a fictional creature
displayed in films and included in literature, the term “zombie” most likely came from
Haitian folklore, and was later appropriated by western culture. Besides a zombie being a
fictional creature, people often employ the term to describe themselves as tired, and also as
a person who blindly follows authority. I do not know if Haitian witch doctors would be
rolling in their graves if they saw what would be happening to their zombies, but it is for
definite that zombies have infiltrated western cinema, literature, and language.

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