28 Days Later is a film by English director Danny Boyle, in which the landscape of a zombie outbreak lends substantial space for social, political, and cultural commentary on the state of the world at the time this film was produced, in 2002. 28 Days Later depicts an outbreak of a disease, aptly named the Rage virus, which transforms humans into zombies, and follows the experiences of protagonist, Jim as he navigates this post-apocalyptic vision of England. The background this film was produced under is significant, as in this time period Tony Blair’s first term as the Prime Minister of England was complete and the September 11 attacks in America still lingered in public discourse and commentary. This eventful period of time also coincided with the beginning of a new century, the 21st, and 28 Days Later examines and postulates what this new future will be comprised of. Notably, 28 Days Later explores and challenges the concepts of terrorism, cultural customs, zombieism, and sociopolitical commentary, including capitalism.
While for a myriad of reasons 28 Days Later is very much a British film, its commentary and the events which helped determine and shape the content and themes of the movie stretch substantially further than simply Britain. This movie was produced in 2002, relatively soon after the horrific occurrences on 9/11in America. These attacks challenged the bedrock of the American mindset and value system of the time, and in a substantial amount of ways, currently still do as well. The issue of safety, both domestic and international, arrived to the forefront of political discourse. This was especially significant not only in America, but also in England, the nation in which the most non-American citizen deaths occurred, claiming the lives of almost 70 British citizens. This act of terrorism, though on American soil, is still one of the most devastating events in the Britain’s past, resulting in the most deaths due to terrorist activity throughout England’s history. Given the nature and importance of this event, 28 Days Later, as one of the initial post-9/11 films, was crucial in its relevance and portrayal of its critiques and themes.
Continuing this dialogue about the significance of Britain and America at the time, it’s also noteworthy to consider the United States’ invasion of Iraq and Britain, to a lesser degree, but also as a tremendous ally to the United States at the time. This is portrayed in the film as well,
“In its exploration of social rage, the movie dramatizes the imperialist worldview and the material realities that inform the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war and the conditions of the Iraq invasion and occupation. In particular, Boyle allegorizes the endless incarceration of enemy bodies from legal due process, the ramifications of torture, and the folly of governments that respond too late to threats and trauma. While concerned with various forms of violence in the world that bloodily embody social injustice, the film’s zombie allegory operates as a proleptic mirror of the ways in which the Bush administration has conceived of and spoken about terror, terrorists, and terrorism throughout its tenure.” (Birkenstein, Froula, and Randell 8)
This passage details a number of the criticisms and critiques incorporated within the film, due to a number of the background events and prevailing systems of thought, at the time. This quote also serves to address the culture of England at the time and the potential course it was heading towards, in its ever-changing methods. One of the primary responses to 9/11 was the increase of surveillance in an effort to ensure greater safety, eventually leading to substantial concern and backlash by the people. This is seen in the film, during the scene in which Jim awakens and wanders endlessly in solitude through the streets of London. This scene details a substantial number of cameras placed throughout the city, as it suggests that Britain either already was or is moving even further towards becoming a surveillance state. This is a direct parallel to the action taken by the United States at the time, including the passage of the Patriot Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and overall substantial increase in surveillance efforts. This increase in surveillance also suggests a connotation of authoritarianism as a designation for the manner of state that Britain is becoming.
Also, 28 Days Later addresses the imperialist culture of Britain, and essentially flips this culture and history. This same scene features Jim walking through the greatest accomplishments of Britain, essentially entailing a walk through the history of Britain, or even more broadly, western civilization, built off of this imperialism being critiqued. This is further showed with the souvenirs of tourist attractions such as Big Ben scattered around, suggesting the status of Britain as a tourist attraction was ceased as more prominent issues emerged. This form of imperialism is also critiqued by the depiction of the economic structures of England as empty. These are the very structures and institutions which established and furthered an imperialist mindset and are essentially a monument to the substantial wealth of the United Kingdom across centuries.
Another important facet discussed in this passage is the film’s portrayal of terror as an act and mindset and detailing and criticizing the responses to terrorism of Britain and the US. This is seen as early as the opening scene, in which on a television screen, the brutality of the police is demonstrated. This is showing us the police, the very authority we trust to safeguard our lives and uphold legality and justice, are capable of the same atrocities committed by terrorists. This critique, is essentially asking the importance of perception in regards to terrorism. While not attempting to make the viewer empathize or relate to terrorists, it is instead asking the viewer to consider what the nature of terror is, meaning how is the perception of activity that can be classified as terrorist different, contingent on which party is propagating and participating in such behavior? Also important in the portrayal of terror in the film is the allegory between the zombies and terrorists. Like terrorists in real life, the zombies in 28 Days Later are stripped of their identities before becoming a zombie, and are only perceived as and prescribed a singular identity and condition as a monstrosity. This idea is portrayed in the film when one of the former army members, Private Mailer, becomes a zombie, his status and identity disappears from this perspective and shifts to an exclusively monstrous identity, asking the viewer to consider how this process is done with terrorists or perceived terrorists, in actuality.