MovieChat Forums > In the Flesh (2013) Discussion > The show is a homoesxual allegory

The show is a homoesxual allegory

posted 11 years ago by the-twist
73 replies | jump to latest

Is my reading. A few ideas:

Becoming "a zombie" is not a choice the person makes. At a certain point it just happens to them, similarly to how at a certain point, someone just realises they are gay. The MP says in the first episode the rotters didn't "choose" to attack anyone.

A big part of the show is family acceptance. Ren's sister refuses to believe he is the same person at first, and the act of "coming home" from treatment was akin to the act of "coming out". Ren's parents awkwardly and uncomfortably accept him.

There is a strong line of bigotry in the town and a refusal to accept the zombies. The town is portrayed as a bit hickish, so I feel this works with the gay-bashing backwoods town archetype.

Ric's dad is fiercely anti-rotter, until he finds out his son is one. This happens frequently with more conservative families.

Ric "became undead" and then came home from the military. It's flakey, but one could draw some don't ask/don't tell similes there.

Ric and Ren just seem to have that relationship. Ren states his world was empty without Ric, that he kept the idea of "them" alive when Ric left etc. He even said they "fooled around" (though that could be read as them just goofing off or hanging out).

There are also a bunch of little things - the one guy saying Ren would have fit in at a girls school, etc. During the first episode, a few specific choices of language stuck out to me, but I can't remember them all. I don't know if the schow is TOTALLY about homosexuality, but in the case of Ren, it seems to be a metaphor. What do you guys think?

[–] eric20other2002 10 years ago

My thoughts are the that its about a world that is prejudice against them for situation most can't help. It could just be prejudice overall and homosexuality is in that category, but I see it more in a racism sense. But good call either way

[–] deb127 10 years ago

well said

[–] reynosorosio 10 years ago

Hello,

The show is a homosexual allegory

exactly my thoughts.
I don't care if the show has some kind of metaphor or allegory, is a very good show so far, I was waiting for a zombie drama after I saw that warm bodies film.
First episode is very depressing but so far I like the acting, the chemistry among the cast, I loved the parents, they will go against the whole world to protect his son and I cried when they killed the old lady

The only thing I don't like is christians given a bad name because of narrow minded religious people.
But again, as you said: is a homosexual allegory and the first community to go against gay people are the religious.

I like this show, definitely watching it.

[–] Stoshie 10 years ago

"What do you guys think?"

I think you, and too many other people here, are seeing things that aren't there. Perhaps you guys are obsessed with homosexuals, for one reason or another, huh?

I could read "homosexual allegories" into anything, if I tried hard enough. If I want to see something, I could find it.

Too bad you couldn't just enjoy the show without reading some conspiracy into its themes.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Ithilfaen 10 years ago

I think you, and too many other people here, are seeing things that aren't there. Perhaps you guys are obsessed with homosexuals, for one reason or another, huh?

are you accusing us of being *gasp* secret homosexuals? lmao
Dude, you're a little late to my coming out party but thanks for the laugh.

I could read "homosexual allegories" into anything, if I tried hard enough. If I want to see something, I could find it.

Good for you, I guess?

Too bad you couldn't just enjoy the show without reading some conspiracy into its themes.

Who is talking conspiracy? Allegories are what all great scifi is about. We take extraordinary events to remind us of the very ordinary things in life, all the issues that plague our society like intolerance, political manipulation, self-hatred, civil rights, etc and make them look like something else so that people like you, who only stop at the 1st degree aren't threatened by it and so that people like us, who are not afraid to think for a minute, can learn something or reflect upon it.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] sistik 10 years ago

I am sure you meant Rick, not Ric....

[–] goeth-benn 10 years ago

No it's an allegory about mental health!

He's gay but he's gay before he's a zombie!

:)

Good show though eh?

:)

[–] clearance-level1 10 years ago

I think this series is just as it is. Not meant to be anything more than en exploration on how would it go if the dead rise and could be treated.

I also think that every minority can recognize themselves in this series.

[–] kenobiwans 10 years ago

Having started and finished the show in 3 days, I think it's not an allegory. At first I thought it was a homosexual allegory too but no, it's just that society sucks. Society sucks and it will always find a new reason to discriminate and alienate people and gather mobs against these new crowd. In today's world it's matters like same-sex marriage and sexism, at the past it was racism(not saying it's not happening today too) and In the Flesh, it's the PDS. The show's not an allegory, it just shows that the dominant part of the society will always start picking on a certain crowd and try to kill them or draw them away, the only thing that changes is the minorities that's under the spotlight.