1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,320 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 1: show that resurrects the past one day at a time. 4 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Bluesier, and today we're talking about how zombies 5 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: first shambled their way onto the big screen and how 6 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: they've since taken on new life as the embodiment of inhumanity. 7 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: The day was July twenty eighth, nineteen thirty two. The 8 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: pre code horror film White Zombie premiered at the Rivoli 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: Theater in New York City. It's now considered to be 10 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: the first feature length zombie movie ever made, though its 11 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: titular monster isn't a flesh eating fiend like the zombies 12 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: were used to today. Rather than being the result of 13 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: a toxic event or virus, the zombies in this film 14 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: are the product of Haitian voodoo, or at least Hollywood's 15 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: crude interpretation of it. Technically, they are reanimated corpses, just 16 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: like modern zombies, but they aren't rotting or gory, and 17 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: they aren't driven by an all consuming hunger for brains. 18 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: The Living Dead and White Zombie are victims, not villains, 19 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: and any acts of violence they commit are performed unwillingly 20 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: and always at the direction of their master, the man 21 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: who strip them of their agency and the true monster 22 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 1: of the film. The kind of zombie folklore depicted in 23 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: White Zombie can be traced back to the seventeenth century, 24 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: when hundreds of thousands of West African people were enslaved 25 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: and forced to work on sugar cane plantations in what 26 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: is now Haiti. The religion of Voodoo spelled v O 27 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: do o u was created by those enslaved Africans, and 28 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: it featured borrowed elements from a wide range of West 29 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: African traditions. In fact, the word zombie may derive from 30 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: any number of West African languages. For example, the Mitsogo 31 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: word for corpse is no zombie, and the Congo word 32 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: for spirit or ghost is no zombie. That said, the 33 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: zombie of Voodoo was a creation altogether different. It was 34 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: most often depicted as a soulless human shell, a corpse 35 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,959 Speaker 1: that had been revived by a potion or some other 36 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: form of enchantment, and then compelled forevermore to do the 37 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: bidding of its master. The idea of zombies was clearly 38 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: rooted in the real life horrors of enslavement. The cruel 39 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: conditions of their existence led voodoo practitioners to imagine a 40 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,959 Speaker 1: fate worse than death, one in which their bondage would 41 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: continue even beyond the grave. The mythology of zombies went 42 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: mainstream in the early twentieth century thanks to the US 43 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: invasion and occupation of Haiti. American soldiers, travelers, and explorers 44 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: brought back vivid accounts of voodoo rituals, many of which 45 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: were based on misconceptions and racial stereotypes. These tall tales 46 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: peaked the public's interest in all aspects of voodoo, but 47 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: particularly in zombies. The theme appeared in several notable works 48 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: of the era, including William seabrooks nineteen twenty nine travelog 49 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: The Magic Island, and in Kenneth Webb's nineteen thirty two 50 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: Broadway play Zombie. Those works also served as the direct 51 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: inspiration for the first film to bring zombies to the 52 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: silver screen, nineteen thirty two's White Zombie. The low budget 53 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: film was independently produced by Edward Halpern and directed by 54 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: his brother Victor Halprin. It starred horror icon Bela Lugosi, 55 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: fresh off his star turn and drag Quila, which had 56 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: been released by Universal Studios the previous year. Some of 57 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: the scenes in White Zombie were even shot on the 58 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: same sets as Dracula and Frankenstein, and Legosi's character bears 59 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: more than a passing resemblance to the famous vampire, both 60 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: in his appearance and in his powers. The story of 61 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: the film follows a young couple, Madeline and Neil, as 62 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: they arrive in US occupied Haiti, where they're set to 63 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 1: be married. The following day, they travel to their lodgings 64 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: at the estate of a lonely white landowner, Charles Beaumont, 65 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: who quickly becomes infatuated with Madeline. Later that night, Beaumont 66 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: seeks the advice of Monsieur le Gendre, a fellow plantation 67 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,279 Speaker 1: owner known to the locals as Murder. It's quickly revealed 68 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: that Le Genderrre's sugar mill is operated day and night 69 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: by a zombie work force, men whom he killed and 70 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,720 Speaker 1: brought back to life through voodoo. Le Gendere offers the 71 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: same dark service to Beaumont, pledging to raise Madeline from 72 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: the dead as his eternal love slave, provided that Beaumont 73 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: slips her the deadly potion himself. He refuses at first, 74 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,919 Speaker 1: but ultimately takes the deal and poisons the woman he 75 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: supposedly loves. However, once her zombification is complete, Beaumont discovers 76 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: it's tough to have a fulfilling relationship with a soulless husk. 77 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: I thought beauty alone would satisfy, he laments, but the 78 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: soul is gone and I can't bear those empty, staring eyes. 79 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: Beaumont begs le Gendere to restore Madeleine's humanity, but he 80 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: winds up being tricked into becoming a zombie himself instead. 81 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: At just over an hour, the film concludes rather abruptly, 82 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: with good triumphing over evil. The young couple are reunited 83 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: through Beaumont's sacrifice, and le genderre meets a grisly end, 84 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: plunging off a cliff alongside his zombie Hoarde. The movies 85 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: chilling plot and moody atmosphere won over audiences and made 86 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: a good bit of money for its independent producers. Critics, however, 87 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: were less impressed. They thought the story was ridiculous and 88 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: complained that the acting style and set design were better 89 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: suited to a silent film than a state of the 90 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: art talkie. Hollywood took note of the tepid response to 91 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: White Zombie, and as a result, zombies and voodoo only 92 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: appeared in a handful of films throughout the nineteen thirties, 93 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: including in Halperin's unsuccessful sequel Revolt of the Zombies. Other 94 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: zombie movies were made in the decades that followed, but 95 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: all of them more or less followed the basic rules 96 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 1: established by White Zombie. They were set in exotic tropical locales, 97 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: prominently featured black actors as zombies, and involved some kind 98 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: of supernatural voodoo. In all of those cases, the zombies 99 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: themselves were only a threat when ordered to kill by 100 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: their masters, and even in those cases, they never once 101 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: ate a brain. But then George Romero came along. His 102 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty eight classic Knight of the Living Dead is 103 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: considered the birthplace of the modern zombie, even though the 104 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: film never once uses the Z word. In fact, the 105 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: director referred to the film's undead creatures as ghoules, not zombies, 106 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: and that makes sense when you think about it, because 107 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,280 Speaker 1: they really didn't fit the mold of zombies up to 108 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: that point. They weren't confined to the Caribbean, restored to 109 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: life by voodoo, or commanded to kill by a master. 110 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: Romero's ghouls were instead driven by their own relentless hunger, 111 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: which they sought to satisfy by eating the flesh of 112 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 1: the living That said, George Romero did eventually embrace the 113 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: term zombie, and in doing so, he redefined what it meant. 114 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: Although not completely released at the tail end the civil 115 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: rights movement, Knight of the Living Dead provided an unexpected 116 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: exploration of racial tensions in America. The lead character Ben 117 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: was portrayed by a black actor named Dwane Jones. He 118 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: spends most of the movie hold up in a farmhouse 119 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: with a group of white strangers, and after skillfully warding 120 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: off wave after wave of undead attackers, he dies in 121 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: the film's final moments, But in a shocking twist, it's 122 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: not the bite of a zombie that does Ben in 123 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: it's the bullet of a white sheriff, one of the 124 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: very men meant to save him. Although likely unintentional, the 125 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: subversive ending hearkens back to a theme present in White 126 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: Zombie more than thirty years earlier. In that film, the 127 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: black locals who have been zombified aren't the real threat 128 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: to the film's protagonists. Legenderres is the true monster, the 129 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: colonial invader who stole the lives of indigenous people and 130 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: consigned them to eternal labor. In that way, both films 131 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: suggest that supernatural evil may not be the most insidious 132 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: threat that mankind faces. Our own inhumanity toward one another 133 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 1: can be just as destructive, if not more so. I'm 134 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know a little more 135 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,560 Speaker 1: about movie history today than you did yesterday. You can 136 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 137 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 138 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: any commons or suggestions, feel free to pass them along 139 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks 140 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to 141 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again soon 142 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: for another day in History class.