Mellifera

Happy #BlackFriday y'all!

Did y'all know that the OG zombie movie, Night of the Living Dead, has a black protagonist? Neither did I. Apparently, George Romero didn't write the part of Ben as black, it's just that Duane Jones was that good.

I hadn't watched Night of the Living Dead before now because, with very few exceptions, I do not do body horror. I can't even watch surgery shows, fuck watching a bunch shambling dead people run around in various states of decay with bits rotting off. 🤮

Still, I wanted to see it because (even though they never say the Z word) it's the flick every zombie movie is trying to be. Even though I was forced to see peoples insides on their outsides, 🤮 it was excellent. The fact that Ben is black gives it an interesting undercurrent that changes the movie from a low budget yet terrifying monster flick to a commentary on racism and Civil Rights. With monsters.

Definitely worth the watch. It's available in B&W or colorized on #Tubi and YouTube.

https://youtu.be/MQ8ZKw7YIfQ

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Night Of The Living Dead (George A. Romero) HD Full Movie Remastered [1968 En; Subs: En-Fr-Es]

YouTube
Jul 14, 2023 at 8:49pmWeb
Show threadanniethebruceJul 14, 2023

@mellifera @BlackMastodon @[email protected] @horror I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that when I finally watched this movie.

Apparently the civil rights angle was not intended even after they cast Jones, but sometimes the context of who is performing something can in and of itself have implications beyond the creators intentions.

Show threadToon Van de Putte 🍉Jul 14, 2023
@mellifera @BlackMastodon @[email protected] @horror The ending is also very provocative, I think. Very much an underestimated movie that was ahead of its time.
Show threadCharles22a203Jul 14, 2023
@mellifera @BlackMastodon @[email protected] @horror I haven't watched it in quite awhile but from what I remember its not particularly gruesome, fwiw
Show threadPaul ChernoffJul 14, 2023

@mellifera @BlackMastodon @[email protected] @horror I remember seeing it a few times when it came out as a college student. I always took it, especially the end, as related to civil rights.

For those more put off by horror see it in a movie theatre. At least when I saw it there was audience participation a la Rocky Horror. The audience jokes help take the edge off of the movie.

Show threadPaul ChernoffJul 14, 2023
@mellifera @BlackMastodon @[email protected] @horror I should add that I’m a white cis guy and wasn’t that enlightened at the time, so the movie must have made a strong impression, intended or not.
Show threadPhoenixSerenityJul 14, 2023
@mellifera @BlackMastodon @[email protected] @horror I actually watched it twice because of that fact ❤
Show threadRicardo HarvinJul 15, 2023

@mellifera @[email protected]@chirp.social @[email protected]@a.gup.pe @horror When it was released, I was 10. It's the only movie to give me nightmares, and I don't like most horror to this day.

I did finally rewatch it last year, and it's still tough for me to watch (the daughter 😱) but it did create the genre, was an absolute groundbreaker with a Black hero, and, in Black and White, still a compelling story that looks appropriately eerie.

Show threadSpicewallaJul 15, 2023

@mellifera @BlackMastodon @[email protected] @horror

Mr Rogers was a fan too.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80353/when-mr-rogers-gave-george-romero-his-first-paying-gig

When Mr. Rogers Gave George Romero His First Paying Gig | Mental Floss

Romero called 'Mr. Rogers Gets a Tonsillectomy' "the scariest film I’ve ever made." Rogers called 'Dawn of the Dead' "a lot of fun."

Mental Floss
Show threadSapphireJul 16, 2023

@mellifera

Weirdly I'm fine with surgery shows, but I can't do horror. It's not the gore, it's the *suffering* that bothers me. I don't like watching people suffer. This is why most Quentin Tarantino movies are just Not For Me.