Zombies! The Origins of the Undead

In the late 1960s, nine Pittsburgh natives started a production company and made an obscure independent horror film titled 'Night of the Living Dead'. Though it seemed to be revolving around a expanding pool of human flesh-eating undead beings, it sort of reflected the political and social climate of the US Civil Rights era. Night of the Living Dead's co-writer & director George A. Romero not only made one of the greatest horror films of all time, but also unwittingly initiated a pop-culture phenomenon, later identified as 'zombies'.

In the 21st century, the zombie infection in pop-cultural landscape has rapidly progressed. However, 'zombies' have entered into the mainstream and into Hollywood, a few decades before Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead.' Besides, there's more sociopolitical and cultural layers within the original belief and idea of 'zombies'. The above video essay briefly looks at the dark origins of zombies, and how it has evolved over the decades.

Chapters:
0:00 Zombies are Everywhere!
2:06 The Early Evolution of Zombie Myth
4:17 Voodoo Zombies strolls to Hollywood
7:12 The Rise of Romero's Living Dead
9:26 Blitz of the Undead Continues...

References:
The Magic Island by William Seabrook, Published January 1929

Where do zombies come from? BBC Culture
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/2...

Haitian Art Society
https://haitianartsociety.org/blog/zo...

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