Photo Credits: Disney
Disney movies are often dismissed as entertainment for children, and the 2018 movie Zombies is no exception. Many people remember the movie for the upbeat music, impressive dancing, and a forbidden romance. Look a little closer though, and the story begins to look familiar. A society where a group of people are forced to live separately, labeled as dangerous and different, and treated as inferior until some brave teenagers challenge those beliefs? That’s not just a zombie movie: it’s a reflection of America’s very own Civil Rights Movement.
The main characters, a blonde, blue-eyed human named Addison and a green-haired zombie named Zed meet during a lockdown. Her first instinct is to punch him, because she has been taught her whole life that every zombie is dangerous. This hostility is what many white parents taught their children about African Americans. Throughout the movie, Addison’s friends and family pressure her to stay away from Zed, claiming that being seen with him would be bad for her reputation. In the same way, many white citizens during the Civil Rights era feared social backlash if they showed kindness or support toward African Americans. Zed continues to pursue Addison, however, and a group of human students orchestrated his arrest because of it. While this scene wasn’t violent, it does seem similar to the Emmett Till case where an African American boy was murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman.
In this movie, zombies are forced to live separately in a rundown neighborhood called “Zombietown.” Though the area’s inhabitants did their best to stay upbeat about their homes, they were clearly worn down and in need of repairs, especially compared to the human neighborhoods. The zombie children attended a school in this area, previously having not been allowed to enroll in the human high school. This separation is a direct echo of the laws enforced during the Jim Crow era. These laws forced African American citizens into separate neighborhoods and schools for safety, in areas that were underfunded and rundown compared to the white neighborhoods and schools.
The movie begins with a group of zombies being allowed into the human high school, similar to the group of nine students who attended Little Rock High School in 1957. Though the zombies now attend the same school as humans, they were prohibited from joining any school teams or organizations. Prospective students for the Little Rock High School had been told in advance they would not be permitted to join any school groups. Additionally, they were not allowed to go to the school’s prom. While not mentioned in the first Zombies movie, that scenario does happen in the second, when monster laws are put into effect and zombies are banned from Prawn (their school’s version of prom). The zombie students faced harassment and isolation from their human peers, just as the Little Rock Nine faced from their white peers. The insults often included comments about their different colored hair and their appearance, a direct reflection of the insults the Little Rock Nine heard.
In addition to the segregation at school, zombies faced discrimination in their jobs as well. Throughout the movie, zombies are seen working in maintenance and industrial jobs, while humans hold jobs in government and public safety. This mirrors the actions during the time period of the Civil Rights Movement, when many African Americans were restricted to similar jobs, regardless of skill or ability.
Though Zombies may look like just another teen Disney movie, beneath the surface is a story rooted in real history. It is more than just entertainment; Zombies is a reminder of the courage found in opposition and the never-ending fight for equal rights.
