Jamie A. Thomas
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#languagestory blog

Video & perspectives on communication, intercultural learning & the impact of anthropological research.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Title Delivers (A Little Too Much)

3/13/2016

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by Romeo Luevano and Gretchen Trupp 

Romeo and Gretchen's movie review comes after our field trip to see the new movie, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), as part of our Spring 2016 seminar, Languages of Fear, Racism, and Zombies at Swarthmore College. **SPOILER ALERT**
The film is so White that we can mistake it as one of this year’s Oscar nominations. 
Key zombie character from the movie.
Winners of *most memorable zombie duo* from the movie.
From the beginning of the movie, it seemed fairly clear that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies would carry a healthy dose of all the title promised, some of it being from the producers rather than content of the book itself. The zombie virus itself came from “the colonies”, and could be transferred by a bite. Having the virus come from European colonies and then affect the greater London area seems to indicate fears that the colonizers had about their own power and who they were trying to control. For the first few hours (up to days depending on individual circumstance), the zombie would blend in with humans-- only their decaying flesh would give them away. Most of the zombies bitten while alive retained their speech capabilities and memories-- a trait not often seen in zombie movies. A big part of this seemed to be for shock and horror value, as the violence appeared to be pretty gratuitous for a PG-13 rating.

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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Part 2: A Movie Review

3/2/2016

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by Alexander Jin

Alexander's movie review is a response to a field trip to see the new movie, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), as part of our Spring 2016 seminar, Languages of Fear, Racism, and Zombies at Swarthmore College.
Seminal moment from 2016's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Preparing for Bingley's ball: Equal parts well-placed daggers, and signature empire waist.
In essence, I found this movie to be eh. Overall, the film struggles to find the appropriate balance between the aristocratic romance presented by Jane Austen's original novel and the absurd (somewhat comedic) zombie motif. 

The film does a relatively good job in creating the alternative history setting but fell short when it attempts to provide additional information surrounding the rise of the zombies. For example, a little bit of 'pride and prejudice' may have affected the decision to convey that the zombie infection originated from overseas territories, when ironically the opposite was true. In reality, White explorers brought all sorts of diseases that ravaged indigenous populations through their expeditions. Additionally, the description of the sisters' training unnecessarily eroticizes 'The Orient' and the knowledge of faraway lands. Even if one is to disregard the fact that having specialized training in East Asia makes absolutely no socioeconomic sense, the manner in which all of the characters fight in the movie is distinctly Western.

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Somewhere Under the Rainbow

12/18/2015

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by Rhiannon Smith & Gretchen Trupp
"The ancient battle cry was 'We're Queer and We're Here.'
Now, it's a marketing scheme. It's a place to come and shop."

Watch the Video.

An Exploratory Critique of Philadelphia's Gayborhood.

Picture
Our video project surveys an area of the city of Philadelphia called the Gayborhood, which is located in Washington Square West covering about 9 blocks, and which has rainbow street signs and crosswalks in addition to rainbow flags on many establishments. There are a variety of buildings in the Gayborhood, ranging from subsidized housing to historical bookstores to LGBTQ-specific health clinics to luxury apartments, restaurants, stores, and clubs. While a variety of different people live in the area, its original intended purpose was as an inclusive neighborhood space with a higher queer population* and to offer support and solidarity for these persons. 

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    Main Author

    Jamie A. Thomas is a linguistic anthropologist and digital media producer. Her forthcoming book Zombies Speak Swahili is all about the undead, videogames, and viral Black language. She teaches at Santa Monica College.

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