Rhetoric of Modern Death in American Living Dead Films

Outi Hakola is Lecturer in North American Studies in the Area and Cultural Studies Programme at the University of Helsinki.

• Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Cultural Context: Change of Death-Related Attitudes1.2. The Material: Living Dead Films1.3. Theoretical Departure Points: Understanding Textual and Generic AddressingChapter 2: Modality of Living Death2.1. Embodying Death2.2. Narrating Death2.3. Symbolizing DeathChapter 3: Classical Living Dead Films3.1. Dracula – Horrifying and Unnatural Death3.2. White Zombie – Distancing and Alienating Death3.3. The Mummy and Scientific Death3.4. Idealization of Modern DeathChapter 4: Undead of the Transitional Era 4.1. Familial and Americanized Vampires4.2. Mummy – Scientific Control of Natural Death4.3. Getting Out of Control – Zombies, Violence and Death4.4. Challenging the Ideals of Modern DeathChapter 5: Post-Classical Undead 5.1. Mummies and Body Horror5.2. Mistreatment of Dead – Zombies and Death Industries5.3. Desire for Self-Expressive Vampires5.4. Ambiguous Return of Ordinary Death Chapter 6: Digitalized Living Dead 6.1. The Mummy and Aesthetics of Trivial Death 6.2. Discomforting Position of the Viewer in Zombie Apocalypses 6.3. Vampires and Death as Part of Personal Identity 6.4. Obsessive Interest in Death Chapter 7: Transforming Traditions of Rhetoric of Death Filmography Bibliography