(***After writing all of this, I realize now that the blog post prompt is not nearly as limiting as I first perceived—but I hope that this contains enough substance regardless!)
Author and professor Peter Dendle has produced a high volume of works surrounding the zombie and its history, including a chapter of Monsters and the Monstrous titled “The zombie as barometer of cultural anxiety.” It considers the varied significance of the zombie in media, depending on location and time: and depending on what widespread cultural fears are present. Dendle possesses an extensive body of work on the zombie beyond this individual chapter, however, and demonstrates such variety that NPR has featured his work on zombies. I recently read it, so it was on the brain as a portion of my reading list I wanted to explore; though I struggled to find reviews on the author’s work or biographies of the author, I wanted to evaluate some of the range of his work and how his previous writings form a sort of “biography” of his study of the zombie.
Included in his works is “The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia,” an overview and analysis of over 200 zombie movies from 16 countries—Amazon’s description lists the book as the “first exhaustive historical overview of zombie films” (“Amazon”). Some similar material from this book is (rightfully) included in “The zombie as a barometer of cultural anxiety,” including in-depth analyses of a number of Western zombie films. The film “White Zombie,” for instance, is discussed in detail as not only the first “zombie movie,” but for its connections to the West African folklore that majorly shaped the composing of our contemporary concept of the zombie. Dendle highlights the use of the zombie as a laborer forcibly robbed of their soul and free will, specifically to work in a sugar cane factory (46). He moves in chronological order, additionally exploring Depression-era, wartime, Cold War, consumerist, and even September 11th 2001-adjacent zombie films. He does not assign solely one metaphor or symbol that the zombie stands for to each time period, instead exploring (as the films have) multiple avenues by which the zombie stands in for relevant cultural anxieties: for example, the movie Ouanga contains themes of labor as well as themes of race and slavery, both of which are explored by Dendle (47).
Considering Dendle cites his book The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia within “The zombie as a barometer of cultural anxiety,” their structural similarities make perfect sense. In both, Dendle uses chronological order of historical events, and his respective analyses of prominent anxieties that incorporate a number of secondary sources, to explain the popularity of selected zombie films and argue for the zombie as a method of exploring forms of dehumanization and the loss of individuality. In “The zombie as a barometer for cultural anxiety,” he instead narrows his focus to Western zombie films, especially those that became particularly popular, explaining their popularity by relating “cultural anxiety” to the films’ times of composition and release. The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia features a compilation of movies with objective information, such as the director, cast, and release date, then followed by Dendle’s impressions and review of the film. His book chapter seems to condense the summary portion of these films, and perhaps expand upon the review and analysis portion—a fitting choice in getting across his claim of the zombie as reflective of societal fears, for which an author must expand upon a multitude of analyses of a film.
Peter Dendle’s book and article even focus on similar time frames: around 1930 to 2000. The main difference in terms of chronology is that “barometer of cultural anxiety” goes beyond the year 2000 into the most recent resurgences of zombie media, even briefly mentioning videogame franchises and their prominent role in the larger collection of zombie media. Reviews of The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia mention confusion regarding the exclusion of these more recent films or franchises from the book (“Goodreads”), leading me to wonder if there is some sort of connection between that exclusion and the following inclusion of 2000s-era zombie films in “Zombies as a barometer of cultural anxiety.” This “outdatedness” is the most common complaint among reviewers, while the most common compliment is in favor of Dendle’s personal analyses of each film, and his lengthy introductory criticism and overview of zombie-history. This strength is what forms the basis of “a barometer of cultural anxiety,” allowing Dendle to expand upon selected films.
I don’t want to reduce the book chapter to simply an offshoot of or response to the book, considering their multitude of differences and Dendle’s extensive experience writing about zombies (and a large number of other popular “monsters”). I am interested in the connections between these two works and how these connections speak to what each work aims to do: the book as a general overview linked closer with film-specific study, and the book chapter as a direct argument for the importance of the evolution of the “zombie.”
“Amazon.Com: Peter Dendle: Books.” Amazon.Com, www.amazon.com/Books-Peter-Dendle/s?rh=n:283155,p_27:Peter+Dendle.
Dendle, Peter. “The zombie as barometer of cultural anxiety.” Monsters and the Monstrous. Brill, 2007. 45-557.
Dendle, Peter. The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Co., 2001.
“The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia.” Goodreads.Com, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/903305.The_Zombie_Movie_Encyclopedia.
This is such an interesting blog post! Your overview of Dendle’s ideas of the zombie as a “barometer of cultural anxiety” reminded me a lot of another common trope in horror films; I’m not really sure what to call it, but there’s definitely a theme of haunted pregnancy/mother/babies in horror media. The popularity of horror movies surrounding pregnancy seems to parallel cultural anxieties surrounding reproductive justice. Though Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 and Rosemary’s Baby came out in 1968, you can certainly point to a specific cultural moment in second-wave feminism that was deeply concerned with questions of bodily autonomy and motherhood. In recent times, I would point to Immaculate (2024) as a response to the overturning of Roe v Wade. Throw in a dash of intense religious trauma and ask: what happens if a woman is forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term? Horror seems like a responsive genre.