This article has been subjected to double blind peer review

This article has been published in: Ocula 35, Zombesque. Sociosemiotics of a cultural epidemic

author: Eduardo Grillo (Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Economia e Comunicazione (GEC), Lumsa, Palermo, IT)

Becoming-zombie. From Haiti to Romero, between cultural self-models and translations

language: italian

abstract: The current media landscape presents a rich variety of zombies, differing in appearance and nature. However, prior to the recent “zombie renaissance” (Hubner, Leaning, and Manning 2014), the zombie underwent a “classical” development, from the original Haitian tradition to the “tailor-made” translation by Romero's interpreters. The zombie thus progressively went from being a single, docile and succubus figure to an emblem of the post-World War II capitalist form of life, anomic and collective. The article reconstructs this transformation, taking into account both ethnographic investigations and cinematic productions, highlighting the translation mechanisms.

citation information: Eduardo Grillo, Divenire zombi. Da Haiti a Romero, tra automodelli e traduzioni, "Ocula", vol.26, n.35, pp.56-74, September 2025. DOI: 10.57576/ocula2025-32

Ocula.it publishes articles and essays in semiotic research, with a particular eye on communication and culture; it is open to dialogue with other research fields and welcomes contributions from all the areas of the social and human sciences. See the Editorial Board and the Editorial Committee.