Essay On Another One For The Fire

In her essay, “Another One for the Fire: George. A. Romero’s American Theology of the Flesh” Linnie Blake talks about how Romero’s horror movies was a reflection of the decay in the American civic body. She discusses his movies such as ‘ The Crazies (1973)’, ‘Martin (1976)’ and ‘Dawn of the Dead (1978)’and argues that these movies were not only an allegorical depiction of the horrors of the seventies but also embodies an historical sense that can be traced to Winthrop, a former governor of New England.
Blake begins the essay quoting Winthrop who called for a new society that must be knit together. He said that the settlers must be one and not pursue individualistic needs as it would lead to the wrath of God. This unity according to him would help in building a new civilization in a hostile environment. Blake then moves onto describe the political and economic turmoils in America during the seventies. She explains how the consecutive presidents used Winthrop’s ideas to justify a costly war and how it lead to social and economic turmoil. Using Winthrop’s statements as a backdrop, Blake argues that the idea of a community or working towards the common cause was lost during the seventies and the civic body by then was corrupted. Romero’s works, says Blake, reflects this degeneration of the the civic body as well as the country where it no longer acts as a moral beacon for the free world and any claims just sounds hypocritical. She argues that Romero’s works are an indication that the threat for the country was not from outside sources but from within. ‘The Crazies’ according to Blake is a product of the Nixon government, the Sioux protest against civil right violations and the disastrous Vietnam War. The residents of Evans city in the movie are victims of the nexus between the government and the business class as well as the machismo of the military. Rather than admit their mistake the government decides to kill the citizens as well as the virus by bombing them. The script reflects the reality of America in the seventies. In the movie Martin, Blake argues that Romero bring out how the decay in the past makes the present blighted and the future thwarted. Just like the protagonist in The Crazies, Martin is also alone. The film showcases the social stratification of the American Society in the seventies. In ‘Dawn of the Dead’ the whole country is on the verge of a collapse. If the plight of the native Americans were touched upon in ‘The Crazies’, the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ touches upon the institution of slavery. Blake says that the decay in the American civic body and its eventual fall is an enactment of Winthrop’s prophecy. A community that is corrupted and works towards individualistic needs and not for the common good. The movies are a reflection of America’s history and how slowly the country inflicted upon itself the fatal blows- by killing its own people, denying them their civil rights, create a sharp class division and act in cahoots with the military and the business class.
Thus Blake argues that Romero’s horror movies are a commentary on America and its decay. The self interest of the people turn everyone into loners fighting for their own survival. Any attempt to save others is thwarted by the government. The fall of the country is not precipitated by any external forces but from the moral decay within. The movies reflect not only the death of the country but also the death of the dreams of its founders.