THE RHETORICAL SITUATION

Purpose

Audience

Rhetorical appeals

Modes & media

Purpose

The filmmakers’ main purpose is to entertain—and scare and gross out—their viewers. They tell a simple and bleak horror story, set in rural Pennsylvania, in which a group of people are devoured by zombies. Another purpose may be to offer social commentary on life in the U.S. in the 1960s (the film was released in 1968 against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement). For example, the zombies might be read as signifying cultural fears of death and outsiders or “otherness.”

Audience

Romero and Russo geared the movie toward a general audience, particularly (according to interviews) drive-in theater-goers. In 1968, many viewers were shocked by the gore and some complained it was upsetting to children (the film was not rated). Now considered a classic—it’s one of the most downloaded movies on the Internet—this grainy black and white film attracts a wide audience including horror buffs, film students, and social critics.

Rhetorical appeals

Romero and Russo establish a gritty kind of ethos through many of their editorial and technical choices, including their use of black and white film, shaky camera work, and a stark landscape in which to set their story. While the film may be seen as technically amateurish, this very quality contributes to its impact. The filmmakers also appeal to viewers’ pathos by tapping into primal human fears and creating suspense as the characters barricaded in the farmhouse try to escape the slow-moving but persistent cannibalistic undead; Romero called them “ghouls.” For example, in the “Safe House” scene, an unsteady camera follows Barbara as she discovers she is cut off from help (the phone is dead) and that not only have ghouls been in the house, they are headed toward it again.

Modes & media

Mode = audio and visual. The filmmakers combine audio (dialogue, music, and sound) and visuals to tell their story. Music and sound effects are crucial to this film in terms of reinforcing emotion. In the scene “Safe House,” deep thunder rumbles as Barbara tiptoes into the living room. The camera suddenly cuts to the animal trophies hanging on the wall as the music crescendos in classic horror-movie style; this moment is a warm-up for the real scare that awaits Barbara on the second floor landing.

Medium = film. As a medium, film can be used as the basis for new compositions, such as mash-ups and film trailers, and can be shared as video in any digital environment. A quick Google search reveals plenty of Night of the Living Dead mash-ups and remixes on the Internet, including a music video and a repurposing of a scene to critique recent U.S. wars.