Endure, Not Cure: Rammbock and Pandemic Experience

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17892/app.2021.00012.251

Keywords:

zombie, film, contagion, community, inclusion, exclusion, pandemic

Abstract

This work examines the concept of a pandemic in microcosm through a close analysis of the German zombie film Rammbock (Marvin Kren, 2010, Germany). Unlike blockbuster zombie films that focus on the size and spread of the contagion, Rammbock looks at the individual on the ground, in this case away from the urban centres where assistance and specialist support might be found. Importantly, in this film the virus is harmless until “switched on” through anger or rage. The film is, therefore, about how to avoid activating the virus, which creates interesting links to the present pandemic, where personal responsibility plays a role in limiting contagion and spread of the illness. Rammbock also explores the impact of isolation, again offering comparisons to present circumstances where individuals have had to isolate and in so doing have become cut off from assistance and human contact, leading to varying degrees of mental health issues. That Rammbock’s version of a pandemic does not focus on the ability of humanity to medically remedy the virus is also relevant to the current situation, where it seems to be a case of endure, not cure.


Author Biography

Sharon Coleclough, Staffordshire University

Sharon Coleclough holds a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Salford where her thesis focussed upon the study of cinematic expression and performance. Presently she is a Senior Lecturer in Film Production and Sound Design at Staffordshire University teaching practice and theory in filmmaking, moving image and sound production. Since 2015 she has collaborated with Zane Forshee on the moving image and content design for the Laptop Tour a project which addresses the use of space and connectivity in musical performance, in both the United States and more recently the UK.

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Published

26-04-2021

How to Cite

Coleclough, Sharon. 2021. “Endure, Not Cure: Rammbock and Pandemic Experience”. Apparatus. Film, Media and Digital Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe, no. 12 (April). https://doi.org/10.17892/app.2021.00012.251.

Issue

Section

Articles: Pandemic Cinema in Central and Eastern Europe