In Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, the humans are as deadly as the zombies.
Laura dissects one particularly terrifying moment…
Im not really one for zombie movies.
Dont get me wrong.
Theyre not really for me.
Both did an excellent job on the film.
And the fact that hes neither makes him all the more terrifying.
So we know that there are rapists who are not out-of-control (since rape is all about control).
But how can a rapist not be a rapist?
Eight days ago, I found Jones with his gun in his mouth.
He said he was going to kill himself because there was no future.
What could I say to him?
We fight off the infected or we wait until they starve to death… and then what?
What do nine men do except wait to die themselves?
I moved us from the blockade, and I set the radio broadcasting, and I promised them women.
Because women mean a future.
Its not about the appeal of the feminine spirit and the pining for lost mothers, daughters and sisters.
Monstrous is the only way to describe the behavior of Wests men.
They taunt them and even make their victims dress up in preparation for their rapes.
Yes, the women escape their attackers, and yes, Jim saves the day.
But consider for a moment.
The Major who has orchestrated the entire thing, this panderer of rapists, isnt just any man.
He is the last representative of the government.
He is a highly trained professional soldier who has sworn to protect the people of Britain.
He is order in the face of chaos.
He reduces them to the role of toys.
Its hard not to see the parallel to the current discourse around men, women and rape.
So why do I enjoy a movie about something so disturbing?
Because I think Danny Boyle is doing something important here.
So we should assume that this was a conscious choice.
Its easy to blame individual men or groups of men for prevailing attitudes towards women on this subject.
To quote Shakespeare: the world must be peopled.
But this isnt about restoring the human race.
That can be done through consensual sex.
Rape is not necessary.
If men want sex, women will be made to provide it.
Its not a particularly well hidden message in the film.
He dresses it in the sanctity of continued life, as so many do.
