Research - Zombies in the Media (Part 2)

As previously discussed, zombie films depict uniquely modern secular fears and anxieties - especially in the West. A primary concern of the public is immigration and foreigners/foreign interests as (according to oodegr.co) the West seems to have a 'rising xenophobia' which is most likely due to the fear of losing the Western culture or jobs. 

However, this fear of different cultures goes all the way back to the real origin of zombies. In pop culture, zombies originally acted as a "fear of the other"  or would carry a "hint of racial fear" (granta.com and newsweek.com); these zombies were humans that were controlled by witch doctors into acting as slaves. This obviously being quite a different take on zombies compared to the modern ideas of zombies acting as 'infected'.
I would certainly like to include this symbolism of the fear of the 'other', but obviously adding a bit of a modern twist - keeping the idea of 'infected' zombies as to maintain the current fans of the genre. I feel that this would be a good focus for the plot of my film opening as it clearly indicates the influence of the original meaning behind zombies, acting as a neutral fear or even a homage to the original movies. Additionally, it seems that the fear of the 'other' is still prominent in society - making it a key topic for exploration.

I also feel as though I could make a negative representation of the predominantly white Western society, focusing on the bias and prejudice that foreigners suffer by exaggerating the situation - i.e. showing the breakdown of civilisation to allow people to freely show their reaction to those 'different' to them. Likewise I can perhaps include a positive representation by having a character befriend a zombie.