Queerowe zombie. Pomiędzy polityką, pastiszem a pornografią

Abstract

The chapter Queer Zombies: Between Politics, Pastiche and Pornography is dedicated to an analysis of the meaning of the eponymous “queer zombie” figure that appears in contemporary films. Jędrzej Burszta draws attention here to the Canadian film-maker Bruce LaBruce and his two recent films: Otto, or Up with Dead People and L.A. Zombie. Drawing inspiration from ideological interpretations of zombie films (focusing on race relations, consumerism, neoliberalism etc.), the author argues that the political potential present in the figure of the zombie can be translated into a man-ifesto of true queerness. Various frightening creatures and monsters depicted in hor-ror films have often been linked to homosexuality through the apparent similarities in their marginal character and status as outsiders in a society which fears everything that is unknown, strange and different. The analysis of LaBruce's films serves to intro-duce a proposal for a subversive challenge to the identity politics of sexual minorities. The essay attempts to prove that the horror genre (here combined with elements of pastiche and pornography) can indeed express complex critique of social relations in the contemporary Western world.