George A. Romero’s 1968 American film Night of the Living Dead and Edgar Wright’s 2004 British film Shaun of the Dead are both distinctive zombie-horror films. They are incredibly recognizable, from the classical zombies in Night of the Living Dead, to the comic characters that appear in Shaun of the Dead. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting eras of the zombie-horror genre, so the development of the genre can be clearly seen. It can easily be argued that Shaun of the Dead is inspired by Night of the Living Dead, as many similar aspects and tropes of the genre can be seen in the two. Romero’s film follows Ben as he hides from the invading zombies, after holding out against the zombies they are eventually killed by the Americans who also accidentally kill Ben. Shaun of the Dead also features a zombie invasion, but a different narrative, as a group of friends, who attempt to hold out against the zombies in a less than ideal location and are eventually saved by the military after the death of most of them.

Theatrical posters

Stills

From Wikipedia (replace with imdb)

Snowpiercer is a 2013 science fiction action film based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho and written by Bong and Kelly Masterson. A South Korean-Czech co-production, the film marks Bong’s English-language debut; almost 85% of the film’s dialogue is in English.

The film stars Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Go Ah-sung, John Hurt, and Ed Harris. It takes place aboard the Snowpiercer train as it travels a globe-spanning track, carrying the last remnants of humanity after a failed attempt at climate engineering to stop global warming has created a new Snowball Earth. Evans stars as Curtis Everett, one of the lower-class tail-section passengers, as they rebel against the elite of the front of the train. Filming took place at Barrandov Studios in Prague, using train car sets mounted on gimbals to simulate the train’s motion.

1)Images 1 (poster)

2)Images 2 (poster)

3)Images 3 (still – IMDB/google)

4)Images 4 (still – IMDB/google)

5)Production information (IMDB/ WIKI) 1

6)Production information (IMDB/ WIKI) 2

7)Director quotes/Practitioner Quote 1 (research library)

8)Director quotes/Practitioner Quote 1 (research library)

9)Theorist quote 1

10)Theorist quote 2

LOGAN

“How do directors depict class struggle in horror films such as The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers, 2019), and Parasite (dir. Bong Joon Ho, 2019)?”

JACK

To what extent do the films Raging Bull (1980) and Million-Dollar Baby (2004) demonstrate how the boxing sub-genre has evolved over time in its exploration of gender?

JOE

How are the struggles of the working-class youth presented in the films Kidulthood (2006) and La Haine (1995)?

NOAH

Research question: How are the themes of class struggle depicted in a dystopian setting within Metropolis (Fritz Lang 1927) and Snowpiercer (Bong Joon-ho, 2013)?

EMILY

To what extent do the films “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (Almodovar,1988) and Love Actually (Curtis,2003) reinforce or challenge patriarchal structures in the societies in which they were produced?

SAM

To what extent do the films Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Night of the Living Dead (1968) demonstrate how independent zombie horror films have developed over time?

LUCY

How are Eisenstein’s methods of montage used as a storytelling device to create dramatic tension in Battleship Potemkin (1925) and Parasite (2019)?

HONEY

How do the films “Gone Girl” (2014, Fincher) and Basic Instinct (1992, Verhoeven) portray the ways in which the character trope of the ‘femme fatale’ has changed over time?

“How do directors depict class struggle in horror films such as The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers, 2019), and Parasite (dir. Bong Joon Ho, 2019)?”

To what extent do the films Raging Bull (1980) and Million-Dollar Baby (2004) demonstrate how the boxing sub-genre has evolved over time in its exploration of gender.

Million Dollar Baby 2004         Dir. Clint Eastwood

Raging Bull                 1980         Dir. Martin Scorsese

SPOILERS BELOW

Research question: How are the themes of class struggle depicted in a dystopian setting within Metropolis (Fritz Lang 1927) and Showpiecer (Bong Joon-ho, 2013)?

To what extent do the directors in Woman on the verge on a mental breakdown (1988) and Love Actually (2003) show patriarchal structures? 

How are Eisenstein’s methods of montage used as a storytelling device to create dramatic tension in Battleship Potemkin (1925) and Parasite (2019)?

– Narrative theory
– Structural/editing theory

How are the struggles of the working class youth presented in the films Kidulthood (2006) and La Haine (1995)