INTRODUCTION
Zombieland is a movie which released on year 2009.
It actually is an American zombie horror film directed by Ruben Fleischer and
written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. This Zombieland film was a critical
and commercial success, grossing more than $60.8 million in 17 days and
surpassing the 2004 film “Dawn of the Dead” as the top grossing zombie film in
the United States until World War Z in 2013.
THEORY
TO BE DISCUSSED
First of all, the main theory to be discussed is the Semantic Approach.
The Semantic Approach brought out the meaning of the list of common traits and
attitudes, characters, shows, locations, sets and so on which bringing very
much the visual aspects of the film. In another word to describe the Semantic
is the Visual. In fact, the semantic approach can be related to the
mise-en-scene. Furthermore, the particulars which included in mise-en-scene are
the locations or settings, makeup and costume, lighting and actor’s behavior
and movement. As Zombieland film is a horror film, so the semantic approach
theory is quite related to this film.
SYNOPSIS:
The world’s surviving humans remain locked in an
ongoing battle against the hungry undead after a virus turns more people into
zombies. The four survivors who are Tallahassee and his companions Columbus,
Wichita and Little Rock comply with a list of survival rules and zombie-killing
strategies as they make their own way toward a rumored safe haven in Los
Angeles. It focuses on how the survivors found the way to survive a world
overrun by zombies. And the fear of survivors who afraid to be eaten by the
zombies also a way that keep them alive.
ANALYSIS OF
THIS FILM
1. GENRE OF
THIS FILM
This
Zombieland film actually is a horror film which counted as one of the major
genres. The horror genre film have categorized into few sub genres which are the unnatural, the psychological and the massacre or slasher flicks. In fact, this
Zombieland film is under the unnatural category due to this film was included
the bodily mutilations form. Bodily mutilations form can be define as an injury
that causes disfigurement or other important body part. In addition, there is
one of the items which fall under the bodily mutilations such as blood suckers.
As we know that the zombie can be called as the blood suckers. Furthermore,
this Zombieland film is not only a horror film but it also added in a few
genres such as the adventure and the comedy. As an example in this film, the
world is full of zombies and the four survivors had gone through an adventure
experience as they have to kill all the zombies to survive. And all along this
Zombieland film, there are plenty of rules which created by Columbus to stay
alive in the world that full of zombies such as rules 4# fasten your seatbelt,
rules 2# double tap and so on are also bring out the comedy genre programme.
When the horror, adventure and also the comedy genre were combined together in
this film, it means that this film is a hybrids and genre mixing which make the
film content and narrative more interesting.
2. SEMANTIC APPROACH
As this Zombieland film, in order to bring out the
zombies character, the bodily mutations and mutilations for example like the
zombie’s make up really needed the makeup artist who are familiar with the
zombie’s makeup techniques so that can make the zombie’s character look more
real. Not only this, the lighting also need to adjust well so that it really
can bring out the horror film feel towards the audiences. For example, from the
beginning of this film, where the Columbus was in the public toilet, and the
lighting inside the public toilet was not that bright as well so that can make
the audiences feel scare in this kind of setting. This kind of lighting would
actually provide a horror atmosphere. Furthermore, the behavior of the four
survivors also changed as well. This is because they had gone through the
zombies-killing journey and end up they became good friends. For instance, the
Wichita and Little Rock (the both siblings) had lied to the Columbus and
Tallahassee. The both siblings were confiscate the weapons and car of Columbus
and Tallahassee and it make the both guy angry. But all along the journey, they
met up and gone through all the zombies-killing experience, end up they became
partners.
3. DIEGETIC/ NON-DIEGETIC MATERIALS
Diegetic materials is a sound whose source is visible
on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the
film such as the voices of characters, sounds made by objects in the story and
so on (Carlsson, S.E. (n.d.)). In
another word, we can said that diegetic sound is any sound presented as
originated from source within the film’s world. For instance, Columbus and
Little Rock turn on the screen and watch the “Ghostbuster”. Whereas for the
non-diegetic sound, it’s represented as coming from the source of the outside
story space such as narrator’s commentary, mood music and so on (Carlsson, S.E. (n.d.)). For example,
the Columbus did not really voice out his word but as like a narrator’s voice
when he talk about the rules of stay live from being eat by zombies. This kind
of sound was actually only heard by the audiences.
CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, semantic theory and other point as
above mentioned somehow really do make the film become more interesting and
also do play an important role in making film as well. I suggested that the
future’s film should continue with this hybrid and genre mixing way so that the
film will become more and more interesting and can attract lots of audiences.
REFERENCE
Carlsson, S. E. (n.d.). Diegetic and
non-diegetic sounds. Retrieved February 13, 2017,
from http://filmsound.org/terminology/diegetic.htm
The main genre in this film is the Horror. The unnatural horror which fall under horror genre was shown in this film where there are the existence of seven victims Zombies and also the witch who called Agatha. Furthermore, the threat to normalcy also can be found in this film. The first situation which fall under the threat to normalcy is when the seven victims zombies came into the town of Blithe Hollow which with the presence of human beings. And for the second situation for threat to normalcy is where the seven victims zombies assumed that Agatha, the witch is a threat to normalcy because she can see the ghost and end up was sentenced to death by the Seven Victims Zombies. 
