A glimmer of hope : the presentation of utopia in the modern zombie genre

Abstract

This dissertation analyses the representation of hope as utopian in the modern zombie genre (post 2000) with focus on two texts: Alejandro Brugués’, Juan of the Dead (2011) and Yeon Sang-ho’s, Train to Busan (2016). Both films criticize patriarchal ideologies, and environmental and consumerist causes of the apocalypse through their depiction of societal destruction. However, this is contrasted with a sense of hope presented through: the character development of the protagonist; the narrative strands of masculine and feminine; and the cinematic elements which highlight these changes. This depiction of hope constitutes a Utopia in contrast to the dystopian setting and sociopolitical criticism of each film. There is a culturally distinctive presentation of both disaster and hope in the films which focuses on the criticism of Cuba’s socialist past and international relationships, and South Korea’s swift economic development and mistrust of large corporations. The films’ unique perspectives are also shaped through the context of their production and reception. Interpreted through a psychoanalytical lens (with a focus on Freudian and Lacanian theory as applied to film), the destruction of the symbolic order caused by the zombie outbreak reveals the ‘real’ and causes the survivors to explore their true drive. In each case the antagonism of the zombies gives the protagonists a drive for a new order through repeated trauma. As the film’s progress they present a more benevolent society emerges with more individual freedom and agency.