Zombies Need Romance

Neal Ambrose-Smith’s mixed-media “mash-up” uses the familiar format of the movie poster to offer his own satirical spin on some of the more popular film genres of the day, from science fiction and Westerns to “rom-coms” and zombie films. Designed to be viewed through 3-D glasses, the illustrated poster advertises a fictional production, Even Zombies Need a Little Romance. Besides the famed starship Enterprise from the popular television and movie series, he includes a mid-20th-century “femme fatale” and a walking zombie, here cast as a faceless American Indian chief in feathered war bonnet. In Native American culture, the headdress is of great spiritual and political importance within the tribe, a sign of respect and honor earned through acts of bravery and selflessness. Seen here, it is little more than a movie prop, a reminder of how mainstream culture often demeans Native customs.