Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth

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Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth

by Kim Paffenroth (Goodreads Author)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 108 ratings · 15 reviews

This volume connects American social and religious views with the classic American movie genre of the zombie horror film. For nearly forty years, the films of George A. Romero have presented viewers with hellish visions of our world overrun by flesh-eating ghouls. This study proves that Romero's films, like apocalyptic literature or Dante's Commedia, go beyond the surface...more

Hardcover, 195 pages

Published October 1st 2006 by Baylor University Press (first published January 1st 2006)

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Apr 29, 2013 Nicholas rated it 5 of 5 stars

Paffenroth's offering is fascinating, insightful, and intelligent enough to rival any published examination of social and religious sciences as they relate to genre cinema, a thinker's companion piece to the films themselves, and without its presence on the book case shelves of a true zombie fanatic you can deem his library incomplete. From the introduction, Paffenroth states "....the monstrous zombies created
by our imaginations, whether in a logician's thought experiment or a director's frame,...more Paffenroth's offering is fascinating, insightful, and intelligent enough to rival any published examination of social and religious sciences as they relate to genre cinema, a thinker's companion piece to the films themselves, and without its presence on the book case shelves of a true zombie fanatic you can deem his library incomplete. From the introduction, Paffenroth states "....the monstrous zombies created
by our imaginations, whether in a logician's thought experiment or a director's frame, may yet save us from our own misguided and arrogant urge to degrade and dehumanize ourselves into soulless machines." But aside from social comparisons to zombies themselves, the author takes us into a clear and detailed analysis of other important elements the films display-- the human characters, their symbolisms, interactions, and a study of the world around them on both personal and global scales.

For myself, personally, this work offers a refreshing and enlightening perspective on Christian ideals as they relate to a subject most Christian fundamentalists view very adamantly as Satanically inspired, something Christ demands us to ignore, to stay away from, to have nothing to do with. In stating his case, Kim takes measures to present the subject matter in a very Christian reader-friendly way, for as graphic and exploitive as these films can be, he takes great care to keep his content clean, concise, entertaining, providing valuable lessons for us all to pay attention to and learn regardless of our beliefs.
That said, there are reasons why it seemed difficult writing this review as well as Maberry's Ghost Road Blues, until I combined them. You see, I have the same things to say of both authors, and I always veer away as best I can from being redundant, so now I can say it all here:
I had an epiphany not very long ago involving doing these book reviews, and up until then I hadn't done one since high school. I can't imagine being paid to do one, and part of my motivation in doing them in the first place was to discipline myself into reading, period, and perhaps to teach and give an ear to books rejected for reviews elsewhere because of their self-published status. But as I've often taught in lectures or in providing simple advice to writers who wish to go that route, the real value I see personally in doing reviews lies beyond acquiring free books and flexing your literary muscles to voice opinions about them, to have them quoted on the backs of other's books so your name can get around. Letting the
world know you do reviews exposes you to a deeper appreciation of the works of others and invites potential greatness to your doorstep. Not having heard of them previously, both Jonathan Maberry and Kim Paffenroth, within maybe a month of each other, came to me to review their works. It's commonplace these days for anyone to approach me for a review, and I have to this date indeed reviewed some pretty damn good stuff. But in reading their works, and through some correspondence, in seeing what these two are about on their websites and perusing over their accomplishments, I can say
concerning the both of them that greatness has found its way to my doorstep, and it probably wouldn't have been the case if not for doing reviews. Call it an affirmation.
Check out their books, check out their websites, and you'll see what I mean.

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Dec 02, 2012 Holden Attradies rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie, non-fiction

There really isn't enough zombie non-fiction out there, although with the explosion that the zombie lit genre is going through I suppose this number is going. This is one of those, and it is exemplary as an entry into the genre.

Any discussion of the zombie genre has to pretty much start with Romero and his films, because in a very real sense he created the genre with his movies. The view we have of zombies comes from those movies (see Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Zombies). It was ama...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Patrick D'Orazio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading this book gave me a good perspective on one man's views of the works of George A. Romero and the zombie movie genre as a whole. Dr. Paffenroth presents a well researched analysis of these stories as they relate to faith and religion in our society of today.

Books such as this and "The Philosophy of the Undead" are intriguing to me because they provide both insights and opinions that I can appreciate on the undead. I have my own views on the meanings behind it all, since I have read quite...more Reading this book gave me a good perspective on one man's views of the works of George A. Romero and the zombie movie genre as a whole. Dr. Paffenroth presents a well researched analysis of these stories as they relate to faith and religion in our society of today.

Books such as this and "The Philosophy of the Undead" are intriguing to me because they provide both insights and opinions that I can appreciate on the undead. I have my own views on the meanings behind it all, since I have read quite a few stories and seen many, if not all, of the movies out there related to zombies. I do not spend a great deal of time on message boards/chat rooms pouring over the minutia of these works though. I also do not have any personal friends or family members who have any interest at all in the genre. So grabbing a book like this and studying it adds shades of complexity to my own understanding of these dead things that have come back to life and how they impact our own society and world.

Does this mean I agree with everything Dr. Paffenroth states in this book? Definitely not, but gaining new insights means you come from a different place than the person who offers new information. Kim did a great deal of research and his proposals are well thought out on the religious and faith based ramifications of Romero's works. I am no academic and I am also a lapsed Catholic so to say I have a different perspective is probably an understatement. But that makes this book all the more interesting because of that.

Zombies are interesting protagonists. They hold up a gritty and cracked mirror, perhaps of a fun house variety, to us and we get a look at what we potentially could become, or maybe already are. The Romero movies all used a pretty harsh tone of criticism of western civilization and more specifically American culture. Our take on religion and faith are a part of that and this books taps into it.

I myself like a good debate. Not just arguing to prove someone else wrong, but being able to just present my own views and go back and forth with someone else. A book vs. face to face is not as satifying for debating various points of interest, but it still gives me something to gnaw on as far as the undertones of the zombie genre.(less)

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Jul 11, 2008 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars

Much to admire about this book--as one who loves zombie movies, to see a book outside of the ever-famous _Monster Theory_ take a serious critical eye to Romero's quadrilogy (and then some) of _Dead_ movies, as well as to put them in a critically religious light, is interesting stuff. Also, that the author of this book, PhD and Associate Professorship and all, would grace the cover among the hoard of zombies bathed in green light hopefully defines for all time the true fandom of Kim Paffenroth.

I...more Much to admire about this book--as one who loves zombie movies, to see a book outside of the ever-famous _Monster Theory_ take a serious critical eye to Romero's quadrilogy (and then some) of _Dead_ movies, as well as to put them in a critically religious light, is interesting stuff. Also, that the author of this book, PhD and Associate Professorship and all, would grace the cover among the hoard of zombies bathed in green light hopefully defines for all time the true fandom of Kim Paffenroth.

I also enjoy the serious effort to join Dante to Romero, for the associations have been loose and occasional, even in the subject movies themselves, but Paffenroth delves into the association and explores the connections, even if unconscious on Romero's part.

But this book does fall into the faults of most any critical work, and that is to overgeneralize the efforts of characters in order to apply the end results to a critical school. It would be hard to note some examples here without sounding nit-picky, but perhaps that is my reaction. In conveying the focus on greed in the original _Dawn of the Dead_, Paffenroth portrays the acts of the characters as being mostly oriented on the obtaining of goods, while I tend to think that the motivations were a bit wider than that (though I wouldn't go so far as to say there was NO aspect of greed involved). But rather than explore the range of character motivation, Paffenroth applies this to his critical viewpoint for the chapter, which is pretty common to see in critical works.

Romero's exception to symbolism noted, it seems that the drive of any work, whether 'literary' or 'genre,' is essentially driven by character, and that is of course the central hub of interest in any of Romero's _Dead_ films, whether it was a revisitation of female characters in the _Night of the Living Dead_ remake, or the re-exploration of the future of humanity in the _Dawn of the Dead_ remake (far less superior than the original in philosophy, by my standards, though lauded by Paffenroth as as an example of "how good a remake can be"), or the stripping down to base nature in _Day of the Dead_, it is through character that these ideas are ultimately explored and twisted and worked back upon themselves--something occasionally ignored in critical view.
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Dec 06, 2008 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-goal-list, cuy-co-pub-lib, finished

Kim Paffenroth, Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Vision of Hell on Earth (Baylor University Press, 2006)

I have to say that just about the last book I ever expected to see would be a religious deconstruction of George A. Romero's zombie flicks. And yet that's exactly what we have here; divinity student Paffenroth (who has since graduated into horror-writing himself) offers up a dissection of Romero's films that is quite unlike any other I've ever seen-- he's looking for the religious si...more Kim Paffenroth, Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Vision of Hell on Earth (Baylor University Press, 2006)

I have to say that just about the last book I ever expected to see would be a religious deconstruction of George A. Romero's zombie flicks. And yet that's exactly what we have here; divinity student Paffenroth (who has since graduated into horror-writing himself) offers up a dissection of Romero's films that is quite unlike any other I've ever seen-- he's looking for the religious side of Romero's messages about life, the universe, and everything. And while Paffenroth does make some of the same mistakes a number of other amateur film critics do, especially when discussing Night of the Living Dead (there's this odd belief among amateur film critics that the casting of Ben Jones was some sort of attack on the evil empire, rather than a last-minute casting decision because Jones happened to be the only guy around who could act well enough—the guy originally cast for the part was white, and the racial element of the film is entirely accidental, as has been repeatedly stated in more scholarly discussions of the film), it's hard not to be impressed with Paffenroth's logic. The guy's obviously done his homework. Most of it, anyway.

Paffenroth opens his chapters (each is dedicated to a specific film; he considers Romero's first four zombie films and Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead for comparison purposes) with a summary of the film he's looking at, and then a pretty standard deconstruction of Romero's criticisms of contemporary society. (This is where the whole overrating of Ben Jones' stature comes into play, obviously.) Where Paffenroth differs from most critics is that he's looking at all this through the lens of being a divinity student. I don't mean to suggest that he's tossing in altar calls at random places, but the Christian viewpoint on things is different than the viewpoint one is likely to find in most film criticism. I grant you, sometimes it's a pretty subtle difference, and critics of the book (metacritics?) who have had a tough time seeing the difference between Paffenroth's take on Romero and that of any hundred others who have written articles about the similarities between zombies and mall shoppers are worth reading; you may find yourself having the same difficulty. I don't believe that makes this book one iota less worth reading, but your mileage may vary. ****
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May 18, 2008 Jon rated it 4 of 5 stars

new review:

I've finished it. I decided in the end that the book is pretty great. Some of the things I found interesting were, the author's over enthusiastic appraisal of the Dawn remake- I found the remake rather bland and formulaic, he found it motivational- and his take on Day, which is both critical and reverential. (sp?)

Paffenroth is a rare thing, theologian and a zombie scholar. I'm anxious to read his zombie fiction.

Old review:

Thoroughly researched and superfluously footnoted, this book is...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Alexis Winning rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies

I read this on the plane to Mexico...most people think I'm weird.

I really enjoy Kim Paffenroth's whole intellectual analysis of the genre. Although he focuses on George Romero's work, we can obviously generalize to the genre (since Romero started the whole modern zombie movement)

Why are there so few zombie non-fiction books?!!! I eat this stuff up. Paffennroth uses religion and standardized Christian themes to analyze the modern zombie story. He outlines how these themes pertain to the human co...more

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Sep 06, 2007 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great book by a professor of theology. He takes all of the Romero movies plus the remake of Dawn of the Dead and subjects them to social and theological criticism. He uses Dante's Inferno in this criticism. The author's outlook can best be described as left-wing Christian so his social and political analysis of the movies is quite good. At times his drawing Christian lessons out of the movies is a bit forced but this is usually not the case. A great read for any fan of Romero and the zombie ge...more

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Sep 18, 2007 Joseph rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: zombie fans

This book was more about zombies than it was about religion. While Paffenroth has some really cool insights and interpretations into zombie movies . . . there's nothing here that I don't think I could have thought of myself.

I can't understand why Baylor Press put SO much effort into promoting this book. They mailed me a postcard through my AAR membership and then at the convention they had posters everywhere. Strange.

Anyway, if you're really into zombies you need to read this book.

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Jun 28, 2009 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars

A bit heavy on synopsis. The analysis is not terribly deep, but frequently references Dante, which is pretty awesome. While definitely worth reading, the criticism lacks the feminist-marxist element that I feel is necessary in any analysis of contemporary horror cinema.

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Jul 20, 2007 Rick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, philosophy-religion

An excellent overview, analysis and criticism of Romero's living dead movies. The book examines how the zombie movies draw on literature and religion, such as Dante's Inferno, to study human sin and societal failings.

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Jun 16, 2011 Kayleigh Murphy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Informative, interesting, and well written. A great book for anyone interested in the more academic side of Zombie culture

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Aug 03, 2011 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I felt wicked smart about all things Romero and sin after this book. Here's to the uncertainty of the afterlife!

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Sep 17, 2007 Josh T rated it 3 of 5 stars

Reads like a thesis. Much zombie movie discussion, little gospel tie-in. Author's sleeve photo not to be missed.

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Jun 12, 2008 Chris Pederick rated it 3 of 5 stars

04/30/2008

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About Kim Paffenroth

I am a professor of religious studies, and the author of several books on the Bible and theology. I grew up in New York, Virginia, and New Mexico. I attended St. John's College, Annapolis, MD (BA, 1988), Harvard Divinity School (MTS, 1990), and the University of Notre Dame (PhD, 1995). I live in upstate New York with my wife and two wonderful kids. In the horror genre, I have written Gospel of the...more

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