The comparison of different concepts
Popular culture tends to reflect social-cultural, economic, and political changes in a way that might seem shallow at first, yet appears to contain hidden layers of ingenuity when examined closer. “The Night of the Living Dead” is eerily similar to “’V’ for Vendetta” in its themes when viewed through the lens of Marxism. For instance, the monsters portrayed in “The Night of the Living Dead” may be seen as the Marxist representation of the ultimate development of Capitalism, with people being turned into mindless zombies due to the force of consumerism. In a similar vein, “’V’ for Vendetta” addresses the Marxist notion of the Capitalist society being mummified, although this time, metaphorically, and the masked vigilante represents its saving grace.
In turn, the Postmodern interpretation of the movies in question allows for a shift in the analysis paradigm. Viewing both movies from the Postmodern stance, one will discover that both address the idea of the internal conflict versus the external one, namely, the suffocating regime restricting one’s freedom and the constraints of one’s personal beliefs (Walsh, 2018). Likewise, using the lens of psychoanalysis, one will find a range of similarities between the two movies. However, the psychoanalytical perspective will also help to see the differences between the movies. For instance, while in “The Night of the Living Dead,” the use of psychoanalysis allows disclosing the dissipation of the traditional nuclear family in American society, “’V’ for Vendetta” conceals an underlying message of the conflict between the perception of self as “Id,” “ego,” and “superego.”
However, the movies also have evident differences between them when viewing them from the three perspectives above. Namely, the Postmodern approach challenges different notions in each movie, juxtaposing societal norms and family values (Deamer, 2016). The Marxist perspective is also represented differently, with zombies being a more obvious metaphor. Finally, the Freudian idea of the conflict between the three components of the mind is explored more clearly in “’V’ for vendetta,” whereas “The Night of the Living Dead” only touches upon a fragment of the theory.
“Dissent” in popular culture products
Although the idea of dissent has always been a popular theme in mainstream fiction, allowing it to target young and rebellious readers without making any actual effort of providing a coherent statement, the opportunities of addressing the specified notion in a meaningful way have always been limited. Due to the need to conform to the established ideas and standards so that mainstream diction could receive the support needed for publishing and the related expenses, the emergence of mainstream literature that could offer a dissenting opinion is highly unlikely (Storey, 2018). Therefore, it appears that mainstream fiction is doomed to an existence devoid of an unadulterated revolutionary spirit.
The probability of fiction developing a radical idea decreases with the rise in its popularity among mainstream audiences. As long as a specific kind of fiction remains insular and niche, it can, and, most likely, will produce ideas that can be considered as challenging, radical, or even inappropriate by general audiences’ standards (Storey, 2018). However, as soon as a particular type of fiction gains mainstream popularity, the willingness to maintain the stream of profits constant will eventually defeat any dissenting thoughts that could be present in the said piece of fiction.
However, with the recent opportunities for self-publishing and the increasingly large influence of social media as the vehicle for change, the opportunities for introducing radical ideas into mainstream fiction have been expanded. Since modern audiences can have a say in what they would like to see in their books, as well as protest against the attempts of authorities to dominate the mainstream discourse, the possibility for change in mainstream literature and, particularly, fiction, has increased. Therefore, the likelihood of dissent in mainstream media has increased slightly over the past few decades.
References
Deamer, D. (2016). Deleuze’s cinema books: Three introductions to the taxonomy of images. Edinburgh University Press.
Storey, J. (2018). Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction. Routledge.
Walsh, R. (Ed.). (2018). T&T Clark companion to the Bible and film. Bloomsbury Publishing.