He came to **** the dead back to life’

Ambiguous (de)pathologization in Bruce LaBruce’s L.A. Zombie

Bibliographic Data

ID13086354
AuthorsJoshua W Katz (0000-0003-0063-7055, University of Saskatchewan, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume10
Issue4
Pages402-410
Publication date2023-08-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePorn Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2326-8743 • E-ISSN: 2326-8751
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23268743.2023.2228327
OpenAlexW4385662904
LanguageEN
References cited16

A visionary, if controversial, queer director, Bruce LaBruce is known for his ambiguous films. L.A. Zombie, LaBruce’s second feature-length pornographic zombie film, serves as one such example. The purpose of this article is to investigate the source of this ambiguity. In particular, the article will highlight L.A. Zombie’s ability to depathologize gay men and gay sex whilst simultaneously further pathologizing them. In concluding the article, the implications of this ambiguity will be discussed.KEYWORDS: Bruce LaBruceL.A. Zombiepornographygay sex(de)pathologizationhorror Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Notes1 Note that while not illegal in all jurisdictions, necrophilia is typically considered an immoral and punishable offence. For example, individuals who have engaged in necrophilic sex have been charged with crimes such as sexual assault in places where no explicit necrophilia laws exist (see Troyer Citation2008).2 Prior to their reinvention in 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, zombies were commonly presented as corpses that had been reincarnated through the use of, typically Haitian, magic. Early zombie movies include White Zombie (Halperin, dir. Citation1932).3 This is also supported by the fact that the zombie, by its very nature, exists in a liminal space somewhere between the living and the dead

Aesthetics · Ambiguity · Art · Art history · Liminality · Literature · Psychoanalysis · Queer · Sociology · Trope (literature · Vampire · Zombie · Cinema and Media Studies · Gender Studies · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · Philosophy · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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