Zombies and Radical Romance---Response Paper 10/14/10

Ashly Nelson

October 14, 2010

English 313, TTh 11:00 

Response Paper

Zombies: Radical and Romantic

     Zombieland is a film about an earth that has been ravaged by homicidal zombies.  The film follows geeky loner Columbus with a long list of rules on how to survive Zombieland.

  He begins his journey to Columbus, Ohio to find his parents.  Along the way he meets bad-ass, Twinkie loving Tallahassee and the beautiful and tough Wichita and her little sister, Little Rock.  Columbus quickly falls for Wichita.  I offer the argument that although the film centralizes around survival in this Zombieland, the film reinforces traditional romance under quite radical circumstances.

     In traditional romantic comedies the “boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” formula is always employed McDonald 2) .  Often the leading man is handsome, strong and masculine.  In Zombieland, the leading man does not embody any of these qualities; rather he is cute, quirky, smart and witty.  He is likeable and you quickly find yourself rooting for him as the underdog.  The leading lady in traditional romantic comedies is beautiful and relatable.  Wichita is certainly beautiful but she is a tough con who will not allow anything to stop her and Little Rock from surviving.  It’s at first hard to relate to Wichita but like Columbus you find yourself liking her more and more as her personality is uncovered.  A common trope or narrative pattern used in romcoms is the “meet cute”.  The “meet cute” between Columbus and Wichita happens in an abandoned grocery store.  Wichita and Little Rock pull a con Columbus and Tallahassee to gain their truck and weapons.  Columbus is immediately drawn to Wichita.  For her the attraction comes on slower.  Columbus definitely has a few Woody-Allen-esque neuroses.  He is afraid of clowns and has an almost OCD type list of survival techniques that he swears by. 

     Not long after meeting Wichita, Columbus is faced with the option of leaving Wichita and continuing his journey east solo.  Columbus realizes that “…where this girl [Wichita] is where I wanted to be” (Zombieland). Soft, melodic music plays in the background after Columbus’s subconscious narrates his feelings and the way Wichita regards him almost immediately softens.  The music and soulful looks at each other are examples of specific iconography that is displayed in all romcoms.  Another example of romcom iconography is the scene where Columbus and Wichita are expected to share their first kiss.  They are sitting in a shadowy candlelit room in Bill Murray’s (possibly the greatest cameo ever) sharing a bottle of wine.

  It is a scenario that can be scene in just about every romantic comedy.  The mood is set and kiss is just about to happen…. And then of course the moment is ruined by some intrusion.  In this film Tallahassee fumbles the moment and as always the moment can never be rekindled until the perfect moment usually at the end and after some heroic feat.  After the awkward almost kiss, Wichita and Little Rock take off leaving Columbus and Tallahassee.  Columbus boldly decides to go after her.  Although the film’s main theme is survival against all odds, it must be noted that Columbus’ actions from this point on are driven by his love for Wichita. 

     In the traditional romantic comedy, after the boy loses the girl he must win her back through some lavish declaration of his love for her.  In Zombieland, what better way to profess love than by saving the damsel in distress from flesh hungry zombies? 

 In the film’s climax Columbus must face his fear (clowns) and break all the rules he sets forth for himself.  During the film Columbus narrates, “I really want to impress Wichita, but it would be a direct violation of rule #17, maybe the most important rule of all. Don’t be a hero.” But this is exactly what he does.  Columbus loves Wichita and he must prove that by completely abandoning all his hang ups to save her.  This reinforces the idea that love will conquer all.  Columbus’s actions “…continue to reinforce the old fantasy” (McDonald 14).  The film amidst all the blood and gore has a happy ending in which the nerd gets the hot girl.  In real life it’s hard to believe that someone like Columbus could land a girl like Wichita. But the circumstances that they fall in love are so radical in nature that you begin to believe anything could be possible.  

Works Cited

McDonald, Tamar Jeffers. Romantic Comedy. Great Britain:

     Wallflower Paperback, 2007.

Zombieland. Dir. Ruben Fleischer. Perf. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody

     Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin. Sony Pictures, 2009