by Samantha Shuma
The plan of restoring a country ruined from a zombie apocalypse is executed by the American military. As procedures are followed, mistakes are made, their plans quickly backfire. With no good evacuation plans, horrendous mistakes and poor planning, the death of thousands of people and the resurgence of the population diseased, man eating monsters happens. All of the pitfalls lead to horrific events, and the military is all to blame. This is the main story in 28 Weeks Later (Jaun Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007), showing the world the damaging implications of having the military in charge of a rescue plan. Seeing how incompetent the military’s procedures are, a clear idea of anti-proceduralism is established. This perspective frames the film, letting us know that the military is wrong and that the lives of who we see on screen really mater.
This analysis contains spoilers for 28 Weeks Later, which contains topics that may be disturbing for some readers. Discretion is advised.
This analysis contains spoilers for 28 Weeks Later, which contains topics that may be disturbing for some readers. Discretion is advised.
Defined by the Encyclopedia of Global Justice, proceduralism justifies procedure over making moral choices. It’s an act of orders over goodness, that the ‘right’ thing to do in the moment is what has been laid out by law or some government power. Although procedures can be tedious and sacrifice time, energy and livelihood, it instills a system and creates order. Proceduralism rejects moral decisions for some unforeseen ‘greater good.’ The procedures that the U.S military follows in 28 Weeks Later will result in the death of hundreds of people for no visible justification.
A disease called the rage virus took hold of the population of Europe. It created a kind of ‘zombie,’ not interested in eating human flesh, but used biting as a means of spreading the virus. Eventually, only a population of infected remained, causing the infected to die of starvation and dehydration. It was at this point, the U.S military came in to dispose of all of the corpses. When it seemed that no infected remained, civilians were brought back to live inside a military base. Once the main characters were established, the military base collapsed. A new zombie outbreak took hold, leaving the civilians defenseless and all the decisions to the military. As the virus spread, the ultimate choice was made; total and utter annihilation.
As it became impossible for infected and survivors to be distinguished through a sniper scope, Code Black was put into effect. The military’s procedures lead them to mass genocide, using snipers, fire bombing and chemical warfare as an attempt to stop the spread. The main characters aren’t only running away from the infected, but evading the tactics of the military to avoid certain death. Most of the soldiers are compliant with these methods except for Sergeant Doyle, one of the rooftop snipers. He chooses his moral compass over orders, helping the remaining survivors to safety. It is in his actions that we see the problem with procedure. If it was justifiable, why would a soldier choose to abandon their post? By Doyle leaving, he is demonstrating the morals go beyond procedure, contrasting the compliance of his comrades and commanding officers. If Doyle was complicit, this anti-proceduralist perspective would not land as well. The perspective would become less anti-proceduralist and more anti-human, giving points to a process that resulted in the death of thousands of people.
A disease called the rage virus took hold of the population of Europe. It created a kind of ‘zombie,’ not interested in eating human flesh, but used biting as a means of spreading the virus. Eventually, only a population of infected remained, causing the infected to die of starvation and dehydration. It was at this point, the U.S military came in to dispose of all of the corpses. When it seemed that no infected remained, civilians were brought back to live inside a military base. Once the main characters were established, the military base collapsed. A new zombie outbreak took hold, leaving the civilians defenseless and all the decisions to the military. As the virus spread, the ultimate choice was made; total and utter annihilation.
As it became impossible for infected and survivors to be distinguished through a sniper scope, Code Black was put into effect. The military’s procedures lead them to mass genocide, using snipers, fire bombing and chemical warfare as an attempt to stop the spread. The main characters aren’t only running away from the infected, but evading the tactics of the military to avoid certain death. Most of the soldiers are compliant with these methods except for Sergeant Doyle, one of the rooftop snipers. He chooses his moral compass over orders, helping the remaining survivors to safety. It is in his actions that we see the problem with procedure. If it was justifiable, why would a soldier choose to abandon their post? By Doyle leaving, he is demonstrating the morals go beyond procedure, contrasting the compliance of his comrades and commanding officers. If Doyle was complicit, this anti-proceduralist perspective would not land as well. The perspective would become less anti-proceduralist and more anti-human, giving points to a process that resulted in the death of thousands of people.
That being said, there is a reasonable point to make for proceduralism; through mass genocide, the military is ending the spread of the virus and saving the whole world of being swallowed by the infected. Without seeing the film, it’s a sound argument, it brings back this idea of the ‘greater good.’ However, there are two main ideas in the film that prevent this procedure from being justified in this way. Firstly, the plan doesn’t work. By the time the procedure is put into effect, the infected go underground and thus avoid all forms of military attack. The infected flea the drop zone and continue to spread the virus. If all the infected were destroyed, we could say that civilians were sacrificed for the rest of the world and things can go back as they were. However, seeing how their plan backfires, civilians lost their lives in vain.
Secondly, the setting of the film completely detaches audiences from seeing that larger scope. The film is set in smaller areas, with most of the film being self contained within the military base. There is no tv coverage or any sense that there is a bigger world beyond what we see. It can be inferred, but the idea of a population bigger than what we see on screen is purposely avoided. 28 Weeks Later wants us to focus on the smaller picture, to relate to the characters and situations of the here and now. It distracts us from this idea of the ‘greater good,’ leading us to emotionally believe that this is all there is. The audience becomes so detached from the outside world of 28 Weeks Later that we end up not caring if the world lives or dies. Instead we care more about the people on screen and how they are being needlessly killed by the military.
Secondly, the setting of the film completely detaches audiences from seeing that larger scope. The film is set in smaller areas, with most of the film being self contained within the military base. There is no tv coverage or any sense that there is a bigger world beyond what we see. It can be inferred, but the idea of a population bigger than what we see on screen is purposely avoided. 28 Weeks Later wants us to focus on the smaller picture, to relate to the characters and situations of the here and now. It distracts us from this idea of the ‘greater good,’ leading us to emotionally believe that this is all there is. The audience becomes so detached from the outside world of 28 Weeks Later that we end up not caring if the world lives or dies. Instead we care more about the people on screen and how they are being needlessly killed by the military.
The military is the enemy of this film. It is the power at be that is forcing in this idea of procedure and order. By doing your jobs and following your orders, everything will be okay. The soldiers and commanding officers live for this idea of proceduralism and see it as the only way to live. Even if people die, following the process will be the right call. The film itself, along with the protagonists, are the ones pushing back against these ideas. This small scale portrayal of events supports the protagonists’ will to live. Through character action and setting, we learn to see the protagonists as the most important element. Their survival becomes more important than procedure. Regardless of the harm they could cause, their survival is what keeps us on the edge of our seats. 28 Weeks Later is anti-proceduralist, antagonizing the military because of their strategies and ideals. Typically, the army is an organization to respect. Those who serve put their lives at risk for the livelihood of the nation. However, when placed under extreme pressure, bad things can happen. They chose to act on orders other than morals, villainizing the military’s efforts. Other zombie movies look at how zombies destroy the world, including the military. That their sheer force in numbers brings down society. Although the zombies are a destructive force, the real enemy throughout this film in the U.S military.
Work Cited: Rocheleau J. (2011) Proceduralism. In: Chatterjee D.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9160-5_367
Work Cited: Rocheleau J. (2011) Proceduralism. In: Chatterjee D.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9160-5_367
