Review of Land of the Dead (2005) by Gordon T — 06 Jun 2010

I have a theory that some people do actually read this stuff. Or maybe some people will read this stuff in the future after I've gone on to something else.

LAND OF THE DEAD.

Glossary of Working Definitions:

Allegory.

A. The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.

B. A story, picture, or play employing such representation. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Herman Melville's Moby Dick are allegories.

2. A symbolic representation: The blindfolded figure with scales is an allegory of justice.

Abstract.

1. Considered apart from concrete existence: an abstract concept.

2. Not applied or practical; theoretical. See Synonyms at theoretical.

3. Difficult to understand; abstruse: abstract philosophical problems.

4. Thought of or stated without reference to a specific instance: abstract words like truth and justice.

5. Impersonal, as in attitude or views.

6. Having an intellectual and affective artistic content that depends solely on intrinsic form rather than on narrative content or pictorial representation:

Metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin) is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. In the simplest case, this takes the form: "The [first subject] is a [second subject]." More generally, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope that describes a first subject as being or equal to a second subject in some way. Thus, the first subject can be economically described because implicit and explicit attributes from the second subject are used to enhance the description of the first. This device is known for usage in literature, especially in poetry, where with few words, emotions and associations from one context are associated with objects and entities in a different context.

Jihad (pronounced /dʒɪˈhɑːd/; Arabic: جهاد‎ [dʒiˈhæːd]), an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād is a noun meaning "struggle." Jihad appears frequently in the Qur'an and common usage as the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of Allah (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)".[1][2] A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is mujahideen. Jihad is an important religious duty for Muslims. A minority among the Sunni scholars sometimes refer to this duty as the sixth pillar of Islam, though it occupies no such official status.[3] In Twelver Shi'a Islam, however, Jihad is one of the 10 Practices of the Religion.

Jihad is also a slang verb meaning blow up a building or something: as in, "I'll Jihad his ass!" or "I'll pull a Jihad on his ass!" (used by the Cholo Character in the film George A. Romero's Land of the Dead).

What NPR (National Public Radio)-the equivalent of Al Jazzera in The United States of America-cast off as a "simple, zombie-flick," perhaps the final: TWILIGHT OF THE DEAD part of George A. Romero's Zombie Quadrilogy is probably the most insightful Horror Film of the 21st Century's first decade.

In abstract terms LAND OF THE DEAD metaphorically communicated to me in the form of allegory EXACTLY why "they" blew-up THE WORLD TRADE TOWERS: towards the end of the movie.

John Leguizamo's Cholo DeMora says: If Kaufmann doesn't pay me back my money I'm going to Jihad his ass-for three years Kaufmann had me take care of his dirty work to the tune of 5 MILLION DOLLARS and now he turns his back on me and sits up in his tower while you guys and me rot in this city.

Cholo DeMora has gigantic missiles aimed to blow apart a huge tower of luxury condominiums and high-end stores situated in the middle of Pittsburg. Kaufmann played by Dennis Hopper who "runs" The Tower (Fiddler's Green) IS the establishment; and, as the script say, Kaufman has his fingers in every vice and business in the city.

Kaufmann promised wealth and, perhaps a condominium to Cholo in the "sacred den of capitalism" (The Tower: Fiddler's Green) as Cholo "took-out; dispatched; extinguished; killed" Kaufman's enemies in the city outside of the tower. When Cholo completed his duties for Kaufmann and demanded to be compensated for the hard work (killing people and feeding them to the zombies), Kaufman tried to assassinate him. In response, Cholo sets-out to blow apart the tower that has since become a symbol of status and wealth barred from him; I.e. Kaufman says that Cholo is not the "right Kind of human" to occupy a legitimate place in The Establishment" even though Cholo "broke his back" helping Kaufmann for the duration of The Tower's existence and now, since Kaufmann "turned his back" on Cholo and indeed tried to have Cholo killed by people Cholo trusted, Cholo wants to "Jihad" (verb) the building that was wielded over his head.

Lo and BEHOLD ladies and Gentlemen readers, The above description metaphorically illustrates the relationship The United States of America maintained with Osama Bin Laden in the Afghanistan invasion by the Soviet Union; according to BBC news (15 February 2009), The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on 12/24/1979. Shortly thereafter, The United States of America recruited Osama Bin Laden to lead a US-financed resistance against The Soviet Union (according to an April 22, 1988 article in the WASHINGTON POST). The United States of America provided Osama Bin Laden with weapons (including the FIM-92 Stingers-Land to air missiles that could be launched at Soviet Air Strike Helicopters and jet fighters to prevent The Soviet Union from penetrating deep into the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan) and military training to Prevent with Extreme Prejudice a Soviet Union takeover of Afghanistan. Essentially, The United States used MONEY (acquired from rampant excesses of capitalism) to manipulate Osama Bin Laden and the citizens of Afghanistan into becoming "Allies" (or friends) of The United States of America. After The Soviets withdrew its invading forces from Afghan borders, The United States decided it had no more need for Osama Bin Laden and company and cut funding altogether (This sounds a little like Kaufman "paling-around" with Cholo in LAND OF THE DEAD when Cholo was of some use to Kaufmann and then, when Cholo demonstrates an desire in solidifying a more permanent relationship with Kaufman suddenly "changes his tune" and tries to have one of The Tower's Security Guards assassinate Cholo in cold blood).

From Cholo's perspective, the reason Kaufman's Tower (Fiddler's Green) is as successful as it is is because of Cholo's own sacrifices of blood, sweat, and tears in doing Kaufman's bidding. And Osama Bin Laden did the United States of America's bidding by "killing" Russians between 1979 and 1989 (according to the aforementioned WASHINTON POST article)-apparently Osama felt dejected by The United States of America a lot like Cholo felt dejected by Kaufman and set out to destroy The World Trade Towers (a symbol of the capitalistic monies The United States of America wielded over Osama Bin Laden). In the end, Osama Bin Laden did pull "a Jihad" (verb) against the United States of America of blowing-up The World Trade Towers (i.e. ultimate symbols of capitalism) as PAYBACK for Osama Bin Laden's resentment toward The United States of America's essential exploitation of Osama Bin Laden's efforts, culture, and religious beliefs-and Cholo's efforts to eliminate Kaufmann were "de-railed" and ultimately "re-envisioned" (not to give away the ending).

So, what (fuckin' NPR) casts off as a "forgettable" "zombie-flick," was MORE EFFECTIVE in communicating to me EXACTLY WHY organizations The United States classifies as "terrorist groups" want to kill us! "The Terrorists" can be metaphorically COMPARED to The Cholo Character in LAND OF THE DEAD: people The United States called "friends" during the times The US needed them to fight the US's enemies and when the US's enemies are defeated, the United States of America, like Kaufman says coldly to Cholo: I no longer have any use for you. And as for our being friends and buddies, I have a board of directors to which I must answer to and my Board of Directors wouldn't be so inclined as to having a spick like you as a member in our Group.

Cholo is somewhat heartbroken that Kaufman made Cholo feel like Cholo was a peer or an equal to Kaufman, but in the end, Kaufman "threw-away" Cholo friendship like scrap-metal and (again) attempted to extinguish Cholo's life via one of The Tower's henchmen. (After Presidents Reagan and Bush left office, Bill Clinton mentioned trying to assassinate Osama Bin Laden in several base camps, a little like Kaufman's enticement Cholo into doing dangerous work for Kaufman and, when the work was over, hiring someone else to eliminate Cholo. Ultimately, when the "stairwell assassination attempt" on Cholo fails, Kaufman literally hires Cholo's former boss to eliminate Cholo;.

Thank God Cholo's former boss realizes that Kaufman is exploiting Cholo's Boss almost exactly as Kaufman exploited Cholo and Cholo does not die in vain.

To ramble on:

I LOVE how George A. Romero's "Dead Quadrilogy" (Night of the Living Dead [1968], Dawn of the Dead [1978], Day of the Dead [1985], and Land of the Dead [2007-and marketed by Universal as NOT being an official entry in George A. Romero's The Dead Trilogy because [George A. Romero's reportedly "stingy" ex-business partner selfishly owns the Trademark Rights to The Dead Films]) documents the EVOLUTION of our American Culture's ideological beliefs and sensibilities regarding "Blacks" (minorities) and women:

In Night of the Living Dead (1968): the hero was a Negro (who valiantly held his position against the conflicting humans some of whom were more dangerous than the Living Dead themselves); there were three illustrations of American Women (Helen [a strong, opinionated, somewhat repressed housewife headed for divorce]; Barbara [a spinster-type "screamer/crier"-a stereotypical portrait of women]; and Judy ( the young, naively-VIBRANT type of woman, willing to "brave" danger and "ride in the ghoul-surrounded truck with "The Negro" (Ben) and Her Boyfriend Tom .

In Dawn of the Dead (1978): There's Peter "The Black" and the mentally strongest of the survivors; Fran "The Professional Woman in a Support Position (and also divorced and pregnant). In the 1970s and the 1980s Negros were referred to as Blacks here in North America, and the "The 1970's Woman" was more progressive and independent.

In 1985's DAY OF THE DEAD: The Woman (Sarah) is not only well-educated but is also a leader and "boss" of a Scientific Division where the John Amplas character answers to her. Sarah's boyfriend is Miguel (a Hispanic) indicating the "blooming" of interracial relationships in the 1980s that were taboo in the NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD-era. "The Black Guy" is John, also a professional, the profession: helicopter pilot and an equal to his co-pilot McDermott-no, actually Bill McDermott is the Radio Operator.

In 2007's LAND OF THE DEAD (an obvious fourth installment in the DEAD QUADRILOGY), An African-American is none to be found among the human survivors (Somewhere, its reported that Romero said he did not cast a Strong Black Human hero, to "argue a point" that "casting-blacks as the heroes" was not an "intent" of the Zombie-Films. HOWEVER, the Lead Zombie: The Genius Zombie who can "see" and "intellectualize" the "collective-role" of The Zombies (i.e. "The Stenches") is AFRICAN-AMERICAN!!!! (Nick-named "Big Daddy;" when I re-watched LAND OF THE DEAD while being laid-up, I truly CONNECTED with Big Daddy's spectrum of emotions {let's find This Guy's Name: actor EUGENE CLARK}. Now I can gripe and mention and demand that this guy EUGENE CLARK be hired in MORE MOVIES!!!!).

---FUNNY: When I saw EUGENE CLARK (aka BIG DADDY in LAND OF THE DEAD) at the HORROFINDWEEKEND dot com convention in August 2006, Eugene Clark (the guy who played BIG DADDY in LAND OF THE DEAD-I'm repeating EUGENE CLARK'S NAME so I can commit his Great Impression to long-term memory) looked at me like I was a Ghost!!!!

Sometimes (not all times) I really FREAK PEOPLE OUT-at times I have a really strong Aura and I even drain the batteries of watches and walkie-talkies. Even though EUGENE CLARK has seen literally tens of thousands of people since Looking at Me Like I was A Ghost, I'll always remember That Encounter:

"I, The Weird, "creepy at-times" Gordon Franklin Terry, Sr. FREAKED-OUT BIG DADDY (again, again, again played by EUGENE CLARK) at some Baltimore Horror Movie Convention. TOO FUNNY.

In LAND OF THE DEAD, epitomized by the appearance of ASIA ARGENTO, la bella, figlia profondamente carismatico dei imitabile Dario Argento , "The Role of The Woman in America" has fully evolved: All the women in LAND OF THE DEAD are as TOUGH and as STRONG as The Men!!!!

In fact I found LAND OF THE DEAD to be ANNOYINGLY EXPOSITORY for the first 30 Minutes (enough to make me roll-my-eyes and "hate-on" the movie): the characters explain SKY CANDLES as being Fireworks 3 or 4 times and some "phony-sounding" actor says a dumbly delivered line: I expected a battle, not a massacre. PRETTY STUPID!!!!! Indeed.

Then, Coinciding with ASIA ARGENTO'S vivacious entrance, LAND OF THE DEAD's narrative "becomes intelligent" and not "patronizing" in tone, having to explain everything to me like I'm a retard;.

Regarding the first 30 Minutes of LAND OF THE DEAD:

"Mainstream," "commercially-released" films MUST entertain around 40 MILLION PEOPLE (i.e. sell 40-Million Tickets (including DVDs, Blueray discs, and "ON DEMAND" "rentals"] to be successful-and TV series must capture at least 18 MILLION viewers weekly to be considered successful by Studio Executives).

As I explain somewhat frequently, the Average IQ (Intelligent Quotient )of a United States (of America) Citizen is 98 according to wik dot answers dot com/Q/What_is_the_average_American_IQ. Therefore movies and TV series must "be Stupid" in order to ATTRACT consumers with IQ's of 98.

I think my IQ is higher than 98 (some days at least ha ha ha) and I feel as though movies and TV shows of Late are "talking-down to me" and "jiving-me.".

The Studio Executives are "all" IVY LEAGUE graduates and ass-ume that "all of us viewers" are "stupid" people (with IQs of 98); so these "Ivy League University educated Executives" esteem us ("i.e. The Mindless Rabble of TV and Movie Watchers) as being "retarded" and make "retarded Shows" and "retarded Movies" for us to watch.

My family is/was a Studio Executive and is quoted some pretty "silly" philosophy supporting a particular show's "entertain-ability." The viewers thought The Show was "stupid" and that show was also canceled in mid season and my "Brilliant, IVY LEAGUE-educated family is NO LONGER a Studio Executive.

Serves The Dude right: HOLLYWOOD (Los Angeles) assumes that you, the Dear, Constant and Beloved Reader and avid tv and film viewer is "Stupid" and screws-up perfectly good movies by making them stupid-enough to be understood by a "stupid" wide audience.

TOO MUCH COFFEE at BARNES and NOBLE . . .

But its good to free-write and get some observations and ideas down on paper.

--.

(. . . [I'll include the following:].

I'm glad I was laid-up sick in bed watching LAND OF THE DE.