1 Lani Chung The Ethics of the Apocalypse Nora Lambrecht Writing Assignment 2.2 October 5, 2013 Assignment 2.

2: Merits and Flaws In her critical article 28 Days Later: A Horror to Sit Through, Ann Hornaday develops an argumentregarding Danny Boyles film titled 28 Days Laterthat contains its fair share of both merits and flaws. One aspect of her argument that deserves merit is her claim that the film was developed for a very narrow slice of the movie-going public (Hornaday). She explains in her article that the excessively violent and bloodstained action caters towards only those who find specific interest in the zombie genre. There is a great deal of validity in this claim as the film includes a variety of disturbing scenes that many viewers might find unappealing and difficult to watch. Hornaday specifically gives an example of one such scene when she mentions the scene in which the infected black soldier was found chained to a wall, his eyes bloodshot, his mouth trickling blood, bellowing with homicidal fury (Hornaday). Her description of this scene is both accurate and effective in supporting her claim because although its generally an objective presentation of what had happened, the brutality and gore of the scene are still preserved, regardless of the lack of flowery detail. Hornaday also goes on further to describe the disconcerting sound effects made by the zombies as the gagging sounds of feral pigs (Hornaday). Through her depictions of the unsettling imagery and sounds that are found in the film, Hornaday makes it very clear that the film may not be appealing towards the general masses, which validates her aforesaid claim. Despite the merits of Hornadays article, there are also flaws that manifest when her claims cannot be completely substantiated. An example of one such claim is that [Danny Boyles] cardinal point seems to be that anger is bad for people and other living things

2 (Hornaday). Although it may be true that the danger associated with emotions of rage was a message that Boyle wanted to emphasize through his film, it wouldnt be completely accurate to assert that it was his cardinaland thereby most importanttheme. There were definitely other underlying thematic aspects of the film that Hornaday might have failed to recognize in her analysis of it. For instance, Boyle seemed to place a strong emphasis on expressing social issues through the use of his film as a larger social allegory. Gender and religion were two very essential topics that appeared to have clear significance in the grand scheme of Boyles film. The fact that the Major had promised the soldiers women was an obvious indicator of how lowly females were regarded. The females had little control over their individual destinies at the mercy of the soldiers and their sexual desires, which helps to point towards the mistreatment of women in contemporary society. Religious allegories were also present in the film during the scenes in which Jim had wandered into an abandoned church. Right as he enters, viewers can see that the church is shrouded in darkness. And as Jim finds the great masses of dead and infected people piled up upon each other in the sanctuary, and through the way he faces an infected priest who seems intent on going after him, it is made clear that the church is no longer the safe haven that he had expected upon arrival. This entire scenario allows Boyle to convey a message regarding corruption in the church as well as its slow death in the modern age as well. When you put into consideration the other thematic ideas that are present in 28 Days Later aside from the whole concept of rage being a negative attribute of both humans and all of society, Hornadays claim begins to fall through and hold less validity, making it apt to label Hornadays claim as a flaw in her argument.

3 ******Revised Version One aspect of her argument that deserves merit is her claim that the film was unrelentingly grim, unremittingly gross, and unforgivably unattractive (Hornaday). There is a great deal of validity in this claim as the film includes a variety of disturbing scenes that are both unappealing and difficult to watch. Hornaday specifically gives an example of one such scene when she mentions the scene in which the infected black soldier was found chained to a wall, his eyes bloodshot, his mouth trickling blood, bellowing with homicidal fury (Hornaday). Her description of this scene is both accurate and effective in supporting her claim because although its generally an objective presentation of what had happened, the brutality and gore of the scene are still preserved, regardless of the lack of flowery detail. Hornaday also goes on further to describe the disconcerting sound effects made by the zombies as the gagging sounds of feral pigs (Hornaday). Through her depictions of the unsettling imagery and sounds that are found in the film, Hornaday makes it very clear that the film is repugnant due to its near-constant assault of blood, gore, and morbid action (Hornaday). Despite the merits of Hornadays article, there are also flaws that manifest when her claims cannot be completely substantiated. An example of one such claim is that [Danny Boyles] cardinal point seems to be that anger is bad for people and other living things (Hornaday). Although it may be true that the danger associated with emotions of rage was a message that Boyle wanted to emphasize through his film, it wouldnt be completely accurate to assert that it was his cardinaland thereby most importanttheme. There were definitely other underlying thematic aspects of the film that Hornaday might have failed to recognize in her analysis of it. For instance, Boyle seemed to place a strong emphasis on expressing social issues through the use of his film as a larger social allegory. Gender and religion were two very

4 essential topics that appeared to have clear significance in the grand scheme of Boyles film. The fact that the Major had promised the soldiers women was an obvious indicator of how lowly females were regarded. The females had little control over their individual destinies at the mercy of the soldiers and their sexual desires, which helps to point towards the mistreatment of women in contemporary society. Religious allegories were also present in the film during the scenes in which Jim had wandered into an abandoned church. Right as he enters, viewers can see that the church is shrouded in darkness. And as Jim finds the great masses of dead and infected people piled up upon each other in the sanctuary, and through the way he faces an infected priest who seems intent on going after him, it is made clear that the church is no longer the safe haven that he had expected upon arrival. This entire scenario allows Boyle to convey a message regarding corruption in the church as well as its slow death in the modern age as well. When you put into consideration the other thematic ideas that are present in 28 Days Later aside from the whole concept of rage being a negative attribute of both humans and all of society, Hornadays claim begins to fall through and hold less validity, making it apt to label her claim as a flaw in her argument.