Abstract

Zombies have always represented sharp criticisms of state and capital. From their roots in slavery in the Caribbean colonies to George Romero’s zombie films, which can be read as criticisms of racism and consumerism, this article proposes that zombies have embodied both the “mindless” labourer deprived of soul and forced to work eternally as well as the fetishised consumer in a capitalist world. By the end of the first decade of the current century, zombies began to appear in films which were neither Hollywood-style nor, indeed, American at all. This article argues that these non-American zombie films portray the zombie apocalypse as a crisis of contemporary global capitalism. It will closely examine four international zombie films, Backpacker (Thailand, 2009), Seoul Station (South Korea, 2016), Cargo (Australia, 2017), and Little Monsters (Australia, 2019). The zombies in these international films reveal several aspects of capitalism such as illegal migration, the precariat or disposable workers, and the ecological crisis. Moreover, these films also reflect the way out of the zombie/capitalist dystopia which touches upon not only revolutionary but also indigenous and generational politics.

摘要

僵尸一直代表着对国家和资本的尖锐批评。从加勒比殖民地奴隶制的根源到乔治·罗梅罗的僵尸电影（这些电影可以被解读为对种族主义和消费主义的批评），本文提出，僵尸既体现了被剥夺灵魂、被迫永远工作的“无意识”劳动者，也体现了僵尸。资本主义世界中被迷恋的消费者。到本世纪第一个十年末，僵尸开始出现在既不是好莱坞风格的电影中，也不是美国风格的电影中。本文认为，这些非美国僵尸电影将僵尸末日描绘成当代全球资本主义的危机。它将仔细研究四部国际僵尸电影，《背包客》（泰国，2009）、《首尔站》（韩国，2016 年）、Cargo（澳大利亚，2017 年）和Little Monsters（澳大利亚，2019 年）。这些国际电影中的僵尸揭示了资本主义的几个方面，例如非法移民、不稳定或可抛弃的工人以及生态危机。此外，这些电影还反映了摆脱僵尸/资本主义反乌托邦的出路，这不仅涉及革命，还涉及土著和代际政治。