BLACK HORROR SURVIVORS, THE LL COOL J FEVER DREAM, AND THE BODIES WE LEFT BEHIND

WHAT IS REC ZOMBIE?

MODEL BEHAVIOR

REC ZOMBIE, a hybrid archival and advocacy resource project, was born from a commitment to restorative justice, visibility, and radical accountability.

+Understanding past human societies/Cultures.

+Moving away from tradition, embrace ever-evolving approaches that address cultural blind spots.

[EX: civil rights, indigenous movements, feminist theory, etc.]

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION

FRINGE CONNECTION

Honor the history and transformative impact of the Horror genre.

The process of transformation that accompanies radical innovation.

WHAT THE WORK MEANS TO ME

Horror has saved us all from ourselves. Whether you're a fan of horror tv shows, classic films, new-age nightmares, or to escape into a world where consequences match the gravity of real-world actions. Horror films always take our fears-- and gift wraps them for us.  Horror holds ground where we cannot.

WHAT CAN WE GAIN FROM THIS?

This work is founded on restorative justice, visibility, and radical accountability; it's a didactic framework.

[IN DEVELOPMENT] REC ZOMBIE ARCHIVE [DIGITAL]

REC RETRO HORROR AWARDS

Reimagining the Academy Awards from 1932-date, detailing what horror films deserved a nomination, which movies would have won, and why

REC ZOMBIE HORROR APPRECIATION LIST

A digital archive focused on acknowledging the Horror genre and all the careers it's launched. We owe horror thanks for giving us Tom Hanks, Leonardo Dicaprio, Brooke Shields, etc. They were given their first chance/role in a horror film; the rest is history.

REC ZOMBIE ARCHIVE (DIGITAL)

The anthropology canon focuses on what makes us human and how horror portrays our darkest instincts.

Social-cultural anthropology uses a holistic strategy—linking local, global, past, and present approaches to understanding contemporary challenges.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?: PROOF OF THE PROBLEM/ NATURE OF THE PROBLEM/ EVIDENCE OF THE PROBLEM

Use the resource below to DEVELOP AN APPRECIATION FOR my project approach; OUR lived experiences work in tandem with horror entertainment, making real-world moments a precursor to change.

[SOME OF] THE RESEARCH MATERIAL

+Freaks (1932) +Night of the Living Dead (1968) +Get Out (2017) +A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Only two of these movies have prominent black characters, but Ben (Duane Jones) as the leading man still holds up as the most significant.

PROVE IT: NAME THE ISSUE

MISREPRESENTATION AND DEGRADATION

By design, films thrive on stock characters; they're familiar to the audience. However, black characters are incredibly niche. The black male friend doesn't believe in anything he can't see with two eyes. The black female best friend is protective and resilient.

FALSE CULTURAL NARRATIVES

Black People tend to die first, but horror films are the definition of a red herring. Black characters have been surviving horror films as far back as 1932.

This cognitive dissonance proves how cultural beliefs can turn into fact; we create our reality from assumptions and willful ignorance.

THE DREAM/ THE RULES/ THE AUDACITY

THE DREAM

THE AUDACITY

INFAMOUS HORROR RULE #1- Black Characters Always Die First.

+No Sex

+ NEVER SAY: “I’ll be right back.”

+Avoid the police

+Do not drink or use recreational drugs

+EVERYBODYS A SUSPECT

+Never Split Up

+Always Assume Your Attacker Is Still Alive

+An Industry/Culture that supports the genre's existence and impact.

+A culture that acknowledges Black Horror as America’s Most Powerful Cinematic Genre- based on a history of mutated degrees of discrimination, violence, and scarcity.

A CULTURAL EDUCATION

This project will challenge our cultural comprehension and offers a restorative experience that demands you fact-check even the smallest of assumptions.

it's STANDARD: the foundation of black HORROR cinema

+Blacula (1972) +Sugar Hill (1974) +Sweetheart(2019) +Eve's Bayou (1997) +Lucky Ghost (1942) +Abby (1974) +Holla (2006) +Bad Hair (2020) +Nailed (2007) +Master (2022) +Beloved (1998) +Candyman (2021)

+The Zebra Killer (1974) +Fight for Your Life (1977) +Crazy As Hell (2002) +Blade (1998) +Black box (2020) +Blade II (2002) +His House (2020) +Ganja & Hess (1973) +Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976) +Def by Temptation (1990) +The People Under the Stairs (1991) +Candyman (1992)

+Tales from the Hood (1995) +Bones (2001) +Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019) +The First Purge (2018) +J.D's Revenge (1976) +Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) +The Boy Behind the Door(2020)

+Poverty +Racial Profiling +Sexual Discrimination

+Sex Discrimination +Racism +War +Ethnic Cleansing +Economic Assassination +Social [In]Justice +Environmental Assassinations +Unemployment/Underemployment +School Shooting +Societies violent response to those without housing +Food Insecurity/Food Deserts +Religious Abuse +Glamorizing Mental Illness +Fat Phobia

MAN-MADE HELL 🔥

project principles, values, and frameworks

the mind map(S)

INSTITUTIONS/INDUSTRIES🏴‍☠️

+A Cultural Obsession with the exception, not the rule

+Reproductive rights/Abortion

+Inconsistency

+The Psychopathy of the American healthcare system

+Medical Barbarism

+Pharmaceutical Violence

+Criminality +Colorism

+ Mindmap of horror genres, themes, and cultural boundaries

BELIEF SYSTEMS⛪️

+Harm Reduction +The Fight/Flight/or FREEZE mentality +Criminality as Tradition: America’s thirst for real-world violence +How our culture anchors Gender & Sexuality as precursors for criminality

[this list is not exhaustive]

CORE STRUGGLES OF EXISTENCE

+Trauma and Addiction +Postpartum depression as an invisible epidemic +Denial +Dishonesty +Sustainability +Corruption +Power Dynamics +Ego +Savior/Hero Syndrome +Stockholm Syndrome +Berlin Syndrome +Isolation +Peer Pressure

PRACTICE MAKES TRAUMA 🏥

APPROACHES🔐

MOVIE CHALLENGE FRAMEWORK: DEFINE BIPOC AND POST 9/11 FILM TRENDS

DEFINE BIPOC

BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Pronounced “bye-pock,” a term specific to the United States, intended to center the experiences of Black and Indigenous groups and demonstrate solidarity between communities of color.

BIPOC + POST 9/11 FILM TRENDS

WHY A MOVIE CHALLENGE?

This movie challenge uses an innovative archival framework to aid community dialogue, peer-to-peer learning, and cultural education. This restorative experience demands that you fact-check even the smallest of assumptions.

+Torture and the pleasure of pain

+ Remakes, Reboots, Sequels, and Prequels

+Apocalyptic Euphoria

+Caught on Tape

+Home as Hell

BLACK HORROR SURVIVORS MOVIE CHALLENGE

EVENT/CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION

Of all film genres, horror has the most loyal fanbase on the spectrum; some stick to what they know. Everyone knows that in horror, the black characters always die first. It's so ingrained as pop culture knowledge that many don't know it's a lie. Black people have been surviving horror films as far back as 1932, and it's time everyone gets caught up.

This movie challenge experience breaks into three modules. Participants will receive a content packet complete with curated resources to walk through the history of horror and black bodies. Resources will include:

+ Mindmaps that explore traditional horror content, a list of my focus areas categorized by the lens I'm using to anchor it. This resource addresses America's obsession with the black body across key cultural/criminal history moments, the real-world moments of cultural violence, and cinematic release.

(EX: Candyman 1992 Rodney King)

+Streaming locations for each film/ TV episode/piece of content.

THE PRIZE

As a closing activity, participants and the broader social community are invited to is encouraged to write a 150--300-word response, including the following:

+ Favorite Film From The Challenge

+Favoite Black Horror Survivor

+ Select up to two of Rec Zombie's Project Principles - and tie them into your submission.

Those who submit a response can win any Horror film text/film/tv show in the format of their choice and $200 per person [2 winners]. Submissions are due by October 23, 2023, @ 5 PM ET. From October 23, 2023-to October 29, I'll review submissions and announce the winners on October 30, kicking off the Halloween season.

PARTICIPANTS WILL LEAVE THIS EXPERIENCE WITH THE FOLLOWING:

+ Educational Ammunition

+ A deeper understanding of Black representations in media

+A comprehensive knowledge of Creative Destruction

+ A certificate of completion upon request

sPeak for yourself

Participants, and the broader social community, are invited to vote for their favorite film /tv episode at the end of the challenge. This data will be used to execute a castle report, mapping critical moments of cultural violence and cinematic release.

A Castle Report is the blueprint for reading between the lines, promoting proactivity alongside self-advocacy, and encouraging mutual accountability.

You can view a sample report on my site if you like.

THE RISE OF BIPOC AND POST 9/11 HORROR: BLACK HORROR SURVIVORS, THE LL COOL J FEVER DREAM, AND THE BODIES WE LEFT BEHIND

MODULE 1: SEX, TRAUMA, AND GOING NUMB

[February 2023-April 2023]

MODULE 2: PART II SALT OF THE EARTH

[JULy 2023-August 2023]

MODULE 2: PART 1-THE THIRD DEGREE/SEEKING PAIN ABROAD

[May 2023-JUNE 2023]

+ Silence of the Lambs [1991] +Dawn of the Dead [2004] +Night of the Demons [1988] +The People Under the Stairs [1991] + Saw VI [2009]+ Gothika [2003] +The Shining [1980] + Friday the 13th part 5 [1985] + 1408 [2007] +Psycho 4 [1990] +Death Proof [2007] + Doctor Sleep [2019] +Candyman [1992]

+Aftershock[2012] +Cloverfield [2009] +Cloverfield 2 [2016] +The Thing [1982] + Anaconda [1997] +The Cave [2005] +Bones [1997] +Seven [1997] +Final Destination [2006] +The Devils Rejects [2005] + Halloween [2007] +Bodies! Bodies! Bodies! [2022]

+ Hostel [2005] + Hostel 2 [2007] + I Still Know What You Did Last Summer [1999] +Spell [2020] +And Soon the Darkness [2010] +The Ruins [2008]

MODULE 3: PART 1 NOW YOU SEE ME:

[SEPTEMBER 2023]

MODULE 3: PART 1I THE LESSON REPEATS AS NEEDED

[OCTOBER 2023]

+Get Out [2017] +US [2019] + Tales from the Hood [1995] +Tales from the Hood 2 [2018] +Tales from the Hood 3 [2020] +Th13teen Ghosts [2001] +Childs Play 3 [1991] +First Purge [2018] +The Purge [2013] +Bone Collector [1999] +Day of The Dead [1985]

+ Scream 2 [1997] + The Faculty [1998] + House on Haunted Hill [1999] +Freaks [1932] + Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight [1995] + Halloween [2018] + Stigmata [1999] + Halloween H20: 20 Years Later [1998] + Urban Legend [1998] +Urban Legends: Final Cut [2000] +28 Weeks Later [2007] +Antebellum [2020] +Ma [2019] +Halloween Ressurection [2002] +Hatchet [2006], +Hatchet 2 [2010] +Hatchet 4 [2017]