Zombies. The world is obsessed with them right about now. From TV shows, to movies to novels, they’re everywhere. Zombies have become fairly uniform. Meaning they have the same traits and weaknesses. So when I watched Up with Dead People I expected a specific type of zombie. And yet, the film surprised me. Actually, that may be an understatement, because there were moments that actually freaked me out a little bit. The films focus on Otto and his undead life was interesting. Otto is a zombie who thinks he is dead and doesn’t realize it is possible for him to attempt a normal life. One where love, sex, and companionship can be attained. There are a few things I’d like to take a look at more indepthly. As in evolution in regards to being queer.

“Definitions of pornography, especially in contexts of artistic expression, have historically been a contentious and continually shifting topic of debate”(Vangundy, McGlotten 103). And this film most assuredly fits right into that. A movie with pornographic, even slightly contentious pornographic element. And yet, it was thoroughly artistic and deeply meaningful. So deeply meaningful, that trying to talk and understand the whole film is impossible. There were many ideas and class discussions I wish I could delve into. But one of the ideas really struck me. The idea of gays being an evolutionary byproduct of the changes taking place on earth. And then adding that idea to gay zombies from the movie we watched.

So what exactly is this theory? It’s that humanity is running into overpopulation, lack of food. And thusly human sexual preference is genetically changing to have more individuals who will be attracted to multiple genders and who are not entirely straight. So when this was brought up about Otto and the other gay zombies I thought it was fairly interesting. So I thought to myself, what made these zombies more evolved? And I think there was a couple things that would point to that conclusion. I admit that I got the fake zombie film that was being made in the film confused with Otto and the other zombie encounters. So for the sake of simply talking about all the zombies I’m not going to worry about Otto’s reality in comparison to the inception type zombie art film.

So to start out these zombies were obviously much different than those before. For instance the gay zombies showed a very intense want of sexual encounters. Otto really didn’t but the ones in the secondary film did. The scene started with an individual killing themselves then turning. His boyfriend showed up and there was an immediate sexual connection. During this sexual process the boyfriend is torn apart and turned. Then they of course proceed to have intercourse via the hole in one of their sides. I believe this sexual focus (without reproduction) could be an evolved trait for the zombies. According to the woman who is making this zombie art movie the zombies were willing to go to any extreme to feel anything. To feel something. And I think that also relates to Otto.

Some would argue that Otto isn’t even really a zombie. However, going off of the premise that he is. His memories, sense of humanity and many other aspects seemed like they were more evolved than previous ideas of zombies. When it shows Otto having sex for the first there is blood everywhere and it’s a very interesting scene… It seemed very impulsive and I kind of saw Otto evolve as the time went on. The last sex scene where it was with a human and there was no blood involved I saw that as zombies being able to integrate themselves into normalized relationships in a normalized society.

I feel like I could delve even more into this but to finish off, Otto was a Prince. He would inherit the world. Thusly, him and the rest of the zombies being the final evolution. Otto asked Medea why she brought him to the dump, and she replied, “Because, my dead darling, this is the kingdom you will inherit— someday all of this will be yours,” Which of course implied that the “zombies and the queers, whose behavior she believes to be ‘the only logical response to a dead and sterile world,’ will be the only ones left to try to redeem the waste and rule over the ruin of post- capitalist consumer culture”(Vangundy, McGlotten 116). The final evolution. Queer individuals especially queer zombies. Now simply to await this evolution.